cheddar – Carrots 'N' Cake

Monday, February 2, 2009 at 07:41 PM

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

“This is the best thing you’ve cooked for dinner!”

-Mal, 7:01 pm

Unfortunately, I can’t take sole credit for tonight’s dinner. The recipe is from this month’s Real Simple magazine: Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

I really wish this recipe was mine though! I haven’t eaten comfort food this heavenly in a long time!

Macaroni and Cheese with Cauliflower

Cooking with extra-sharp Cheddar lets you use less cheese without giving up flavor. Tender cauliflower adds fiber and vitamin C.

12 ounces multigrain elbow macaroni
1 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
4 slices multigrain bread, torn*
1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups grated extra-sharp Cheddar (6 ounces)
1 1/2 cups reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup 1 percent milk
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

* Instead of bread, I used 1 cup of breadcrumbs.

Heat oven to 400° F. Cook the pasta according to the package directions, adding the cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time; drain.

Meanwhile, pulse the bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Add the parsley, 2 tablespoons of the oil, and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper and pulse to combine; set aside.

Return the pasta pot to medium heat and add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Add the onion, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, just until soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Mix in the pasta, cauliflower, cheese, sour cream, milk, and mustard.

Transfer to a shallow 3-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the bread crumbs, and bake until golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Note: The serving size for this recipe is huge! Together, the pasta and cauliflower were so incredible filing, I could barely finish my portion… but it was sooooo delicious, I managed!

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 537; FAT 23g (sat 9g); CHOLESTEROL 51mg; CARBOHYDRATE 63g; SODIUM 692mg; PROTEIN 24g; FIBER 8g; SUGARS 8g

Posted by: Tina 55 comments

Posted in: Uncategorized, recipe

Tags: cauliflower, cheddar, macaroni, sour cream

Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 09:05 PM

New England Pizza

Boboli is currently holding a very exciting online contest that I thought some of you might be interested, especially those of you who are football and pizza fans! Every city has a flavor of its own, and Boboli is looking for pizza recipe submissions that reflect your favorite football city. To give you an idea, last year Boboli had submissions like New England “Clam Bake” pizza, Miami “Halftime in Havana” pizza, and Tennessee “Coin Toss” fried chicken pizza. Check out Boboli’s Great American Football City Tour contest for more information and how to enter.

As you know, I love homemade pizza, and I love coming up with creative pizza recipes even more! So, tonight, I cooked-up my own New England-themed recipe: Autumn Maple Bacon Pizza.

Ingredients:

1 Boboli Pizza Crust
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 Granny Smith apple
1/4 BBQ sauce
1/2 cup chopped red onion (raw)
4-5 pieces of cooked maple bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

How to:

Preheat oven to 450*F

Add 1 tsp of olive oil and 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar to sauté pan. Sauté red onion until soft, approximately 2-3 minutes.

Meanwhile, spread 1/4 cup BBQ sauce on Boboli crust.

Top pizza crust with 1 cup shredded cheese, cooked bacon, and sauteed onions.

Thinly slice apple and place on top of the other ingredients.

Cook for 10-12 minutes, until edges of apple slices are golden brown.

Allow to pizza to cool. Enjoy!

Yuuuummm! This pizza recipe reminded me why I love homemade pizza so much! It’s another favorite for me! I wasn’t sure how all of these different ingredients would jive together, but the pizza came out great! (Well, it is tough to mess up pizza!) The BBQ sauce and the maple flavor of the bacon were smokey and sweet, but subtle, and the onions and apple slices added some fun texture to the pizza. Overall, it was a delicious pizza pie!

Posted by: Tina 41 comments

Posted in: Uncategorized, recipe

Tags: apple, BBQ, cheddar, pizza, red onion

Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 08:25 PM

Mal’s Calzone

After a long, hard 5.5 mile run on the treadmill, I started my evening with a nice, cold glass of vino.

While I rehydrated with water and dehydrated with wine, Mr. Mal cooked dinner for us: a honey-baked turkey and cheddar cheese calzone.

This evening’s glass of wine…

On the side, I had a “salad” of lettuce and leftover Maple-Glazed Carrots with balsamic vinegar drizzled on top.

I also had two pieces of Mal’s calzone.

For the calzone, Mal used whole wheat dough from Hannaford’s, marinara sauce, sliced deli turkey, and sharp cheddar cheese. It turned out awesome! And we have SO MANY leftovers!