Mac 'n' Cheese 'n' Burgers

This recipe is basically a homemade Hamburger Helper. It is from Rachael Ray's book Just in Time.

1 Pound of Rotini or Penne
1 Tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Pound of Ground Beef
3 to 4 Tablespoons of grated onion and juice
4 Tablespoons (1/2 stick) of butter
3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
1 Cup of Chicken Stock
2 Cups of Milk (whole or 2%)
2 Cups of Cheddar Cheese
Black Pepper to taste
Up to 1 Tablespoon of Dijon Mustard

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook al dente.

While the pasta cooks, heat a nonstick skillet with EVOO over medium to high heat.
Add the beef and cook until brown, breaking it up.

Add the grated onion with its juice and pepper to the skillet and combine.

While the meat browns, heat a saucepan over medium to medium-high heat.

Add the butter and melt. 

Whisk in the flour and cook for a minute.

Whisk in the stock and milk.

Season with pepper.

Bring sauce to a bubble, then cook for a few minutes to thicken.

Stir in the mustard.

Add the cheese a few handfuls at a time, stirring in a figure 8 motion as it melts into the sauce.

Drain the pasta, then return it to the hot pot. 

Add the beef and cheese sauce to the pasta.

Stir to combine. 

The ingredients.

Brown the beef in the skillet.

Add the onions.

Melt the butter.

Add the flour to the butter.

Add the stock....

then the milk.

Add the cheddar cheese.

The completed cheesey goodness.

Combine the pasta, beef, and cheese sauce.

The completed dish.

We added turkey bacon to the top. Yum!

~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday Week 4

Breakfast
Low Sodium Apple Muffins and Turkey Bacon. The Apple Muffin recipe is from the 500 Low Sodium Recipes book. The muffins need some tweaking, but they are pretty good. 

 Lunch
Salad with Turkey Bacon, Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Croutons, and Ranch Dressing and Grilled Cheese. I can't resist Grilled Cheese. 

Dinner
Fried Scallops with a Panko Bread Crumb crust, leftover Fried Rice from the previous day's homemade Chinese, and Peaches mixed with Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce. 

Dessert
Cookie Dough Ice Cream. Which I consumed so fast that there is no photographic evidence. 


~Stefani =)

Italian Wedding Soup

Joshua is always wanting hearty soups. This one does the trick. Especially, since I make the meatballs a little on the large side. We found this recipe in our Taste of Home Casseroles, Slow Cookers, and Soups book. The same book with the famous corn chowder recipe. This soup is great for a crowd, because it makes a large quantity.   

1 egg

3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 cup dry bread crumbs (I used Panko, because they are lower in sodium)

1 small onion, chopped

3/4 teaspoon of salt, divided (obviously, I left this out)

1 1/4teaspoon of pepper, divided

1 1/14 teaspoon of garlic powder, divided

2 pounds of ground beef

2 quarts of chicken broth (I use homemade to lower the sodium)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 1/4 cup cooked medium pasta shells

In a large bowl combine the egg, cheese, bread crumbs, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder (I used fresh garlic). 

Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into 1 inch balls (or make a heartier size)

In a dutch oven, brown meatballs in small batches; drain. 

Add the broth, onion powder, and remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the meatballs; bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered for 5 minutes. 

Stir in pasta and heat through. 

 The ingredients.

The egg, cheese, bread crumbs, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, 1/4 teaspoon of garlic. When a recipe calls for onion and garlic I just put them both in the food processor to chop. It makes life much easier. 

Crumble the ground beef over the mixture.

Mix it all together.

Make meatballs and fry them in a dutch oven or large pot. 

Add the broth/stock to the same pot the meatballs were cooked in along with the onion powder, and remaining salt, pepper, and garlic powder to the meatballs; bring to a boil. . 

Add the meatballs to the boiling broth. Heat at a simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add the pasta and heat through. 

 Served with some Parmesan cheese if you so desire. 

The recipe calls for spinach, but I am not a fan. I have tried it over and over again, but I can't make it stick. 

~Stefani =)

  

What I Ate Wednesday Week 3

Breakfast
Low Sodium Waffle with butter and Apple Cinnamon Syrup from Knaebe's and Jennie-O Turkey Sausage.

The Waffle recipe is from the book 500 Low Sodium Recipes that we got for Christmas. We made them for the first time on Saturday. We may do some tweaking to the recipe, but they were pretty good.

Lunch
Homemade Lasagna and Garlic Parmesan Toast with ciabatta bread from our local grocery store.

The Lasagna recipe was from the 500 Low Sodium Recipes cookbook. I used our Marinara sauce.


Snack
I needed an afternoon snack. I found leftover Peaches and Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce from a dessert we had a couple nights ago. 

Dinner 
Italian Wedding Soup. There will be a post coming later on this recipe. It was a hit at church.

Dessert
Cheesecake Pudding and Michigan Blueberries that were in the freezer.

This edition was way more exciting than previous editions. Doing this week by week has encouraged me to become more creative.


~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday Week 2

Breakfast
I had to grab a quick breakfast, because I had physical therapist appointment for my shoulder. So, I had my old standby...cereal. I chose Blueberry Crunch. As far as I know it is exclusively sold at Target. I have to stock up when I can.

Lunch
A salmon patty and a salad with Parmesan dressing, salami, and cheddar cheese.

Dinner
We had so many leftovers in the fridge, so leftover fest it was. Even though I didn't eat any leftovers. I had another salad and a grilled cheese sandwich.  

Dessert 
A mug of hot chocolate from a mix that a member made us for Christmas. It was rich and delicious.

I am hoping to eat some more exciting food next week. Blogging about eating has inspired me to get more creative. 

On a complete different note: It is my best friend's birthday! Happy Birthday, Carolyn! You are an amazing friend. Panera will always be our place. (See, I connected it to food.)

~Stefani =)

Turkey Tetrazzini

This is a great post-Thanksgiving meal. We froze one of the turkey's breasts from our Thanksgiving turkey and used it for this meal this past week. Making a roux with homemade chicken broth reduces the sodium greatly. This is another dish where I do not miss the salt. 
This recipe was adapted from the one that can be found here.


12 oz egg noodles, spaghetti, linguine or other pasta
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of milk
1/4 cup cream
2 cups chicken broth
3 cups coarsely chopped cooked turkey
2/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan (divided into 1/3 and 1/3 cups
Salt and Pepper
1/3 cup bread crumbs (panko are best for low sodium cooking)
 
Preheat oven to 375°F. 
Start heating 2 to 3 quarts of water for the pasta. Follow the package directions and cook until al dente.
In a large, heavy saucepan, melt 1/4 cup of butter. Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture over low heat, stirring, for 3 minutes.
Into the saucepan with the butter and flour, slowly whisk in the milk, cream, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for about 5 to 8 minutes.
When the pasta is ready, drain it. In a large bowl combine the pasta, the sauce, and the turkey. Stir in 1/3 cup of the Parmesan. 
Transfer the mixture to a buttered 3-quart casserole.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/3 cup of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs evenly over the tetrazzini, and dot the top with the remaining butter, cut into bits.
Bake the Tetrazzini in the middle rack of the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the top is golden.

The Ingredients.

Cubed turkey breast.

The unsalted butter melting.

The flour added to the melted butter.

The broth added to the butter and flour mixture.

The milk and the cream.

The turkey and the sauce.

The pasta and cheese added to the sauce and turkey.

The mixture put into a 3 quart glass casserole dish and topped with panko bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and dotted with butter. 

The final product baked to golden brown perfection.


You can add mushrooms and peas if you so desire. I do not like mushrooms and Joshua doesn't care for peas. Hence, why we leave it plain.


~Stefani =)

What I Ate Wednesday

This is a popular thing to do with people who have food blogs. I thought I would give it a try. The premise is to post what you ate on Tuesday on Wednesdays. I can't guarantee that it will always be healthy.

Breakfast

I am addicted to Chocolate Chex. It is so wrong, but feels so right!

Lunch

I made grilled cheese with Tom's Market (the local grocery store) cibatta bread with cheese that is terrible for you. You know, the creamy fake stuff. No, I did not feed this to my husband.

Dinner

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Marinara and Salad with Parmesan Dressing. For the meatballs I used ground beef and ground pork. My husband enjoyed the combo. I am not a huge pork fan.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this first "What I Ate Wednesday".

~Stefani =)