BBQ Pulled Pork Mac & Cheese

My husband came home from Noodles &Company, telling me we could make this dish that he'd had there at home. I thought it sounded awful. He promised to make it for me, and that it would be hearty, creamy, tangy, decadent and delicious. He was right.

To start, make pork as you would for Pulled Pork Sandwiches. Then, make Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. In a pinch, you could use a box version, but it won't be as good.

Put a large dollop of the macaroni and cheese on your plate. Add a medium size dollop of pulled pork. Then drizzle with a fair amount of bbq sauce. I prefer a sweet variety, my husband prefers a smokey version. Both are good.

Enjoy. Indulge. Luxuriate. Nap.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I have a serious love affair with Taste of Home and Reiman Publications. This recipe comes from their The Taste of Home Cookbook. I brought this dish to my daughter's Kindergarten potluck. It was a hit.

Double this recipe to main it a main dish; triple it for a potluck. 

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
4 TBSP butter
3 TBSP all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup (4 oz) shredded cheddar cheese (you can use a mix of varieties - even work in Parmesan)
2 ounces processed cheese (like Velveeta) cubed

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain.

In a saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, salt and pepper until smooth (you're making a roux.) Cook for a minute or two, then gradually add milk.

Bring the sauce to a boil; cook and stir for two minutes or until visibly thickened. Reduce heat, then gradually add cheeses and stir until melted.

Add macaroni to a greased casserole dish. Pour sauce over and stir to combine.

Bake uncovered at 375 for 30 minutes or until heated through.

Basil Pesto

I have learned to love pesto. Nutty, zesty, creamy. If purchased from a store, pesto can be quite pricey, but when you grow the basil yourself, it becomes much more affordable. I've grown basil from seed indoors, but most frequently I purchase a plant. Sometimes I put that plant in a pot indoors, sometimes I put it in a pot on the deck, sometimes I plant it in my garden. All work. All produce abundant amounts of basil.

8 cups of fresh basil (2 cups packed)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 nuts (pine nuts, walnuts, I've even used pecans)
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put the basil, cheese, nuts, garlic salt and lemon juice in a food processor with 1/4 to 1/3 of the olive oil. Turn the food processor on and allow it to run for a few seconds. With the food processor running, slowly drizzle in the rest of the olive oil. Process until smooth.

Now comes the best part. Mix little bits with hot pasta, spread it on crusty bread, bagels, smear it on a sandwich, dot it over chicken - whatever you enjoy! Save any leftovers in the fridge. 

Yummy Vinaigrette

When I went to my mom's for Easter, she asked me to make a spinach salad with this dressing. She'd recently gotten the recipe from my aunt Mary Beth. This dressing is my new go-to. Forget the bottled stuff! It's not too sweet, it's not too sour, it's just right.

1/3 cup sugar (or Splenda)
1/2 cup oil (I like canola)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 tbsp sesame seeds (the original recipe called for 2)
1 tbsp poppy seeds (the original recipe called for 2)
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp minced onion

Toss it all into an container with a tight fitting lid, and shake until it's well combined and the sugar is dissolved. Shake again just before serving. I like this dressing over spinach, romaine, or as a last resort, iceberg lettuce.

I make this recipe in jam jars, salsa jars, whatever jar I've most recently emptied.

Pecan Pie

I'm a Midwestern gal. My family did not eat pecan pie on Thanksgiving or any other time of the year, but I learned to love it when I worked at Willems's restaurant. Sticky, sweet, crunchy and creamy, I now am in charge of bringing the pies to my in-laws each Thanksgiving.

The first time I made pecan pie, I called my Aunt Mary Jo. She's the best cook in my dad's family, and fairly adventurous (I mean, she'd MADE a pecan pie...) When I called and asked for her recipe, her answer surprised me: "Do you have a bottle of Karo syrup?"

I did. The recipe was on the side of the bottle. This is that recipe. Simple and straightforward. Considering my semi-southern father-in-law likes it, I think it's good.

3 eggs, slightly beaten.
1 cup Karo Syrup (I say use light or dark)
1 cup sugar
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 cups pecan (well, maybe a little more. I like pecans.)
1 9-inch unbaked or frozen deep dish pie crust

Combine first five ingredients until well-blended. Stir in pecans. Pour in pie crust. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50-55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between center and edge comes out clean.

One final note: My semi-southern mother-in-law taught me how to properly pronounce "pecan" by telling me pee cans are what truckers use. (Bet you'll say it properly from now on.)

My enchiladas

Enchiladas are not something I ate growing up, but my kids LOVE them! We usually use a mild prepared variety of sauce from the grocery store, but one night I promised enchiladas and we had no sauce. I found this recipe in my Betty Crocker Cookbook, used the same technique I usually do and was surprised at how similar the finished product was to the rich, creamy not too-spicy concoction we were used to. Oh! And I know exactly what's in them.

I like this recipe so much, I'm working on a recipe to can the sauce in bulk. (More on that when I get it right.)

1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, diced (1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese + a handful
2 tbsp chopped parsley
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
2/3 cup water
1 tbsp chili powder
1 1/2 chopped fresh or 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cumin
2 whole green chilies, chopped (I use the canned ones)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 can (13-15 ounces) tomato sauce
About 8 flour tortillas

Part 1: Brown the meat and onions.

Brown the ground beef and onions and drain.

Part 2: Make the sauce

Heat bell pepper, water, chili power, oregano, cumin, chillies, garlic and tomato sauce to boiling, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. If you prefer a smooth sauce (vs. slightly chunky) remove from heat and puree in a blender or in the pot with an immersion blender. Don't mind the chunks? Skip the blending.

 Part 3: Make the filling


Combine the ground beef mixture, sour cream, cheese, parsley, pepper and 1 cup sauce. Spoon about 1/4 cup of the mixture into each tortilla and roll.

Part 4: Bring it all together

Place the filled tortillas into a greased 9 x 13 (ish) baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over all, and sprinkle with an extra handful (or two) of cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Cheat Chicken Soup (aka, my daughter is sick and I have neither time nor a can!)

To me, homemade chicken soup is something that should take time. Probably something that should only be made on a weekend, when I have that much time.

(Am I the only person whose ideas about soup means they are only eating canned soup?)

Tonight, my little girl wasn't feeling well. I offered her soup, thinking there was a can in the pantry. *sigh.* No can. Now what? Well, I had my trusty chicken soup base, a chicken breast, noodles and veggies. That's soup - right?

So I tried it. And it worked! Better than the canned stuff even - though, not as good as mom's.

10 cups chicken stock or soup base*
1 large (or two medium) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 stalk celery, including leaves, chopped
1 bag (12-16 oz) frozen soup vegetables**
1 1/2 cups dried pasta (your favorite variety, I had elbow macaroni - and if you don't like THIS many noodles, use less.)

Begin by adding the cubed chicken breast and celery to the stock. Bring to a boil. Add the soup vegetables, bring back to a boil. Add the pasta, and cook until it's tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

* I always keep a soup base mix in a my pantry. It's a cross between a powder and a paste. You can certainly use boullion cubes or canned or refrigerated chicken stock. Feel free to use a low-sodium version as well. I found it fascinating that my full-salt mix had less salt than the "healthy" canned soup.

** I just happened to have an actual bag of "soup vegetables" in the freezer. (99 cents on sale - score!) You could really use any bag of frozen veggies that includes veggies you like in soup.