For the love of all that is good in this world

make THIS.

Make it. Tonight. And revel in its deliciousness.

I want more and I am stuffed. You know that's a good sign.

Makeover Mac 'n Cheese

So, I am a subscriber to the Taste of Home brand magazine, Healthy Cooking. I love it. One of the things I love most about it is that readers can submit their favorite recipes that are, shall we say, not exactly "lite," and ToH's cooks will revamp the recipe and make it a million times better for you, but still really, really yummy. It's pretty cool. I have yet to submit a recipe, but I will someday. As you can probably gather from the title of this post, someone submitted a recipe for homemade mac 'n cheese. When I saw it I thought, yeah, no way that is going to be as good as regular homemade mac. But I tried it anyway. SO good. I love it. Beware, it makes a LOT. We STILL have leftovers and I've been eating some every day for a bit. Here you go...

Makeover Macaroni and Cheese

1 pkg. (16 oz) elbow macaroni (or whatever noodle you want)

2 T. flour

2 c. milk

1 pkg. (16 oz) reduced-fat process cheese, (e.g., Velveeta) cubed

1 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Cook noodles according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine flour and milk until smooth. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in process cheese and 1/2 c. cheddar until smooth. Drain macaroni. Stir into cheese sauce.

Remove from heat; sprinkle with remaining cheddar cheese. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.

Now, for the best part. Get this:

Nutrition Info for 1 serving of the original Mac n Cheese:

Calories: 593

Fat: 32 g

Saturated fat: 20 g

Cholesterol: 100 mg

Nutrition Info for 1 serving of the makeover Mac n Cheese:

Calories: 403

Fat: 11 g

Saturated fat: 6 g

Cholesterol: 36 mg

Carbs: 54 g

Fiber: 2 g

Protein: 23 g

And really, this makeover recipe was yummmmy. Mac n Cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. I am so glad I found a recipe that will let me eat it without killing myself slowly. :)

Tomato Feta Basil Pasta Salad

I have long associated pasta salads with the soggy, mayo drenched affairs seen at church barbecues. Furthermore, I never understood the reasoning behind cold pasta. Why have pasta cold when it is so very delicious hot?

This was before I moved to a place with no air conditioning. Yesterday it was 88 degrees in my house, and there was no way in this apt simulation of hell that I was going to turn on the stove, oven, toaster or any heat-emitting device. In the middle of the night, when with all the windows open and fans blasting the house had chilled to a comfortable 75 degrees, I mass produced cooked pasta, meat, and rice so today I could pull them out of the fridge to make oddities such as pasta salad.

Steering clear of mayo, I made this baby with stuff I had laying around. It's fresh and light and totally fulfilling. Give it a try!

3/4 lb cooked whole wheat penne pasta, cooled (DO NOT over cook--if refrigerating overnight, knock a couple minutes off the cook time)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/4 C feta cheese, crumbled (or to taste)
1/2 C sun dried tomatoes in oil (thank you, Costco)
Big bunch of basil, sliced in to ribbons (thank you, garden)
1 TBS good olive oil
1 TBS good balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Toss ingredients together and serve.

Alfredo with Clams

This used to be the dish I'd make for new boyfriends to either 1) impress or 2) determine we were fatally culinarily incompatible.

Alfredo with Clams:

Ingredients:

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. butter

2-3 cloves fresh garlic, chopped

1/2 c. milk (2% is best)

3/4 c. Parmesan or Parmesano-Reggiano, grated

8 oz. cream cheese (1 block)

2 cans chopped clams (with juice)

Direction:

1) Over medium heat, brown garlic in oil and butter. This doesn't take more than 3-4 minute. Do NOT let the garlic burn, or your alfredo will be a disgusting brown color. Ewwww!

2) Add all other ingredients and stir constantly until cheese are thoroughly melted.

3) Reduce by half (reducing means that the liquid will evaporate and the sauce will thicken to about one-half the original volume) over medium-low heat.

4) Remove from heat. Add 1/2-1 tsp. salt and 1 Tbsp. fresh chopped parsley to taste.

5) Serve over fetuccini noodles or other sauce-delivery devices as strikes your fancy.

6) Mop up the lovely sauce with lots of crusty bread.

Penne alla vodka

Talk about a simple, tasty dish of garlicky goodness. Don't skimp on good ingredients. Yum.

Penne alla Vodka

One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid
1 pound penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 lb. finely chopped pancetta or prosciutto
Crushed hot red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil for finishing the sauce, if you like
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing if you like

1. Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.
2. Pour the tomatoes and their liquid into the work bowl of a food processor. Using quick on/off pulses, process the tomatoes just until they are finely chopped. (Longer processing will aerate the tomatoes, turning them pink.)
3. Stir the penne into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 8 to 10 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and add them to the hot oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Cook pancetta until slightly sizzling. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully — they will splatter — slide the tomatoes into the pan. Bring to a boil, season lightly with salt and generously with crushed red pepper, and boil 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka, lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.
5. Just before the pasta is done, fish the garlic cloves out of the sauce and pour in the cream. Add the 2 tablespoons butter or oil, if using, and swirl the skillet to incorporate into the sauce. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper if necessary. Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and boil until the sauce is reduced enough to cling to the pasta.

6. Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. 7. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese if you like.

Best Manicotti Ever . . . and yes, I am still alive.

Hello my cooking friends:

I must apologize for my absence these past few months. Life has been insane! But I am still here, still cooking (as much as I can), and still interested in recipes from all of you.

So, without further ado, and as Teah said in her last post . . . if anyone is out there, here is a recipe!

Best Manicotti Ever

Tomato sauce:

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, in juice

1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes

2 T. EVOO

3 medium cloves garlic, minced

1/2 t. red pepper flakes

1/2 t. salt

2 t. basil

Cheese filling & pasta

3 c. part-skim Ricotta

4 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (~ 2 c.)

8 oz. shredded Mozzarella cheese (~ 2 c.)

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3/4 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 T. chopped fresh parsley

2 t. chopped fresh basil

16 no-boil lasagna noodles

- Adjust oven rack to middle, preheat to 375.

- Heat oil, garlic, red pepper flakes in sauce pan over medium heat until fragrant but not browned. (~ 1-2 minutes)

- Stir in tomatoes, basil, 1/2 t. salt, and simmer until slightly thickened (~ 15 minutes).

- Medium bowl: combine Ricotta cheese, 1 c. of the Parmesan cheese, Mozzarella cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and herbs. Set aside.

- To assemble: Pour 1" boiling water into your 9x13 pan, then add the noodles one at a time. Let soak until pliable (~ 5 minutes). Separate with the tip of a knife to keep from sticking. Remove noodles and place on a dish towel. Dry the dish. Spread 1 1/2 c. sauce on the bottom of the dish. Then spread 1/4 c. cheese mixture evenly onto the bottom 3/4 of each noodle. Roll up into a tube shape and arrange in your pan, seam side down. You should be able to fit 8 manicotti in each row, 16 in all.

- Top evenly with remaining sauce, covering pasta completely. Cover with foil. Bake until bubbling (~ 40 minutes). Remove foil and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered until cheese is browned and bubbly (~ 6-7 minutes). Remove from oven and let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Notes:

- I halfed this recipe and it turned out just fine. Delicious. I even baked mine in a round pan, because my 8" square had other food in it. No problems!

- I did not use fresh herbs, only dried.

- I really like the Barilla brand no-boil lasagna noodles. I'm sure this would work fine with real manicotti tubes if you prefer.

- This cheese filling is awesome! Probably the best manicotti I've ever had.

- This recipe can be made up to the baking point and then refrigerated or frozen. Refrigerate for 3 days at most. It can be frozen for up to 1 month. If frozen, thaw it in the fridge for 1-2 days. Increase the baking time to 1-1 1/4 hours. (*This is the advice that came with the recipe.)

Basically: really, really good. And very easy.

Lasagna Florentine

It is hard to get my boys to eat their veggies so this is a great recipe to sneak in spinach. My boys eat this up and ask for more!! We call it white lasagna cause it has a white sauce. Serves 8-10 but for us it makes leftovers for days. :)

9 lasagna noodles, cooked & drained

spinach mix:
1 (10oz)frozen, chopped spinach, drained
2 c. cooked, diced chicken(I boil & shred it)
1 1/2 tsp. italian seasoning
nutmeg to taste
2 eggs
4 oz. mozzarella cheese

white sauce:
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 chicken boullion
2 c. skim milk or 2 c. half&half
1/4 c. parmesan cheese
1/4 cup romanoff cheese (I can never find it and so I use more mozzarella)

1. Cook noodles & drain.
2. Combine spinach mix ingredients in bowl and set aside.
3. White Sauce: melt butter over low heat. Add garlic, chicken boullion, flour and milk. Stir until boiling. Remove from heat. Slowly add parmesan and romanoff cheese until melted.
4. Lightly rub 9/13 pan with butter. Layer lasagna: 3 lasagna noodles, then 1/2 chicken mixture, 1/3 white sauce. Repeat. 3 noodles and sauce on top.
5. Bake 350 degees for 25 minutes. Sprinkle mozz. cheese on top and bake 5-10 more minutes.