Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I'm slowly trying to get back into the swing of things.  The baby is four months old now, and it would be nice to have dinner again every once in awhile.  While he is able to amuse himself for longer stretches than before, he's still only four months old, and those stretches aren't all that long, so quick and easy is the name of the game here.

Drew recently requested some baked macaroni and cheese.  I had no idea how to go about this, because the only macaroni I've ever made in my life came out of a box, and when I gave up Shit That Is Bad For Me (TM), I pretty much stopped eating that.  So I just sort of made this up as I went along, using what we had in the house.  It's certainly not vegan.  It's also not my usual low fat, healthy fare, but it is better than the packaged processed stuff, and I'm nursing.  I can get away with the extra calories right now, because I've seen first hand what not getting enough calories does to my milk supply!

Laura's Make It Up As You Go Along Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• 3 eggs or equivalent amount of Egg Beaters
• 1 1/2 cups evaporated milk
• Generous pinch salt
• Scant shake cayenne pepper
• Shake ground nutmeg
• 2 1/2 cups grated cheese of choice - I used Swiss, Colby Jack, and Mozzarella.  I suppose most normal people would use sharp cheddar and American, but I'm not normal.  I also don't like cheddar, and we didn't have American.
• Something crunchy for the top - I used crushed Corn Flakes.  Crushed crackers of some sort or Panko would work really well too.

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 425.

2.  Bring large pot of salted water to boil.

3.  Add macaroni and cook two minutes less than package directions.  Drain and set aside.

4.  If you didn't buy pre-shredded cheese, grate your cheese in whatever manner you       use to grate cheese.  Personally I'm lazy, so I use the food processor.  I'd still be  shredding cheese if I had to do it with a manual grater!

5.  In a large bowl whisk eggs and evaporated milk together until foamy.

6.  Add a generous pinch of salt, the cayenne, and the nutmeg and whisk well.

7.  Stir in the grated cheeses, and mix well.

8.  Add the macaroni and stir well to coat.

9.  Pour into a sprayed casserole or baking dish, and gently smooth the top to make an even layer.

10.  Crush up your crunchy stuff and completely cover the top.

11.  Bake 15 minutes covered and 15 minutes uncovered.

12.  Let rest for ten minutes before serving.

13.  Lastly, if you have one of these, put him in the kitchen and let him help!

My hope is that he'll develop healthy habits early on and not have to struggle like I did.

Enjoy!

Low and Slow Baked Yams

I've mentioned before how much I love sweet potatoes, ¿no?  They ever remain one of my favorite foods, but despite that fact, I'd never tried a yam until recently.  What could possibly be the difference (aside from 12¢ a pound), right?  However, our local Hispanic market had a bumper crop, so I finally gave in and tried them a couple of weeks ago, out of nothing more than sheer curiosity.  Oh my yyuummm am I ever glad I did! 

Only after tasting the yam did I do any research at all, and I was surprised to learn that they aren't even distantly related to the sweet potato.  I feel like a real traitor saying this, but I like them so much better than sweet potatoes.  They are sweeter and creamier and moister and just so much better.  You have to be careful though to get an actual real yam.  Many many places in the U.S. label their sweet potatoes as yams, and that's just not so.  You're more likely to find an actual yam in a Hispanic or other ethnic type market, as they are generally imported from the Caribbean.

Earlier this year Kath posted about the Low and Slow method of baking sweet potatoes, and I've been making mine in that method whenever possible since then.  They are just amazing.  They are chewy and almost crispy on the outside and so soft and gooey inside, and it really brings out the natural sweetness.  This recipe is my take on the low and slow method of baking.

Low and Slow Baked Yams

Ingredients:

• Large yam
• Olive Oil
• Sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Ground turmeric

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350°

2.  Scrub yam and cut into thick rounds.

3.  Spray both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, and turmeric.

4.  Place on greased baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes.

5.  Turn oven temperature up to 400° and bake for 20 minutes longer.

I topped mine with a scant drizzle of maple syrup.

Enjoy!

And just for fun, a couple of shots of my brand new kitchen.  It's so tiny that you can't actually stand in the kitchen and take a picture.  Despite it's smallness, it's WORLDS better than the one I was in before.  I loathed that kitchen with a passion!  This one, while small, is set up so much better.  Drew and I bought a great big island, and that helped a lot, giving me both counter space and much needed storage, and the fact that there's a dishwasher scores some huge points with me!

Potato Pancakes

Sometimes having leftovers is a good thing.  I am ever mindful of waste, so I try not to have very many, but sometimes it happens, and I have to find a way to use them, because we just don't waste food in this house.  Sometimes it's rather challenging to figure out how to use them up, and sometimes it's really easy.  This was one of those easy times.

Leftover Potato Pancakes:

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cold mashed potatoes
• 1 TBSP ground flax seeds + 3 TBSP cold water (or one egg if you aren't vegan)
• 1 TBSP soy milk
• 2 TBSP flour (I used whole wheat)
• Seasonings to taste (Since my potatoes were already roasted garlic mashed potatoes, I used Italian seasoning and onion powder.  Cajun is good.  Garlic and onions powders are good.  Just use what you like.)

Directions:

1. Grind flax seeds in coffee grinder or capable blender and mix with 3 TBSP cold water.  Set aside for ten minutes to thicken.
2. Mix everything else together well, add flax mixture when thick, and mix again.
3. Form into three pancakes.
4. Spray non-stick skillet with olive oil or cooking spray.
5. Lay pancakes in skillet in a single layer and cook until each side achieves desired done-ness.  I like mine to be really crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

Today's lunch:  zucchini and tomato slices with a potato pancake and a roll left over from last night's dinner.

Enjoy!

Creamy Crock Pot Red Potatoes

Sometimes comfort food really is in order.  I try to make my comfort food as healthy as possible, and sometimes I have to compromise.  For instance, this recipe isn't necessarily healthy, but it's not really bad for you either, as it has some extremely healthy elements.  I've cleaned it up a lot by using low fat and fat free versions of several ingredients.  The good news is that these potatoes are so rich and so creamy that just a few of them make a satisfying side dish.  And the potato part is GOOD for you!

Potatoes have about 620 mg of potassium-that's more than a banana. Potassium is essential to the body because of its role in attaining optimal muscle performance and improving the nerves' response to stimulation. Iron, essential in helping the body convert food to energy as well as resist infection, is also present.

One would expect potatoes to have minerals, as they spend their life underground. But potatoes are also a great source of vitamins, even supplying vitamin C, which is essential to help maintain healthy connective tissue and heal wounds. The many varieties of potatoes are also good sources of B vitamins, helping the body make healthy red blood cells and amino acids.

 Potatoes contain no fat or cholesterol and minimal sodium. What they do have is natural fiber in the skins, all those vitamins and minerals and great flavor. And a six-ounce potato contains 2 grams of highly digestible protein, almost as much as half a glass of milk, making it a great foundation for a whole meal.

 There's a bunch more nutrition information about the potato over here, if you'd like to read it.

Creamy Crock Pot Red Potatoes

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds small red potatoes, cut into eighths--cut potato in half, then quarter the halves
• 2 (8 ounce) packages fat free cream cheese, softened for one minute in microwave
• 1 can low fat cream of potato soup, undiluted
• 1 envelope ranch salad dressing mix
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (soy, rice, cow, almond, etc.)

 Directions:

1. Place potato pieces in crockpot.
2. In a large bowl, with an electric mixer on high, beat together cream cheese, soup, salad dressing mix, and milk.
3. Stir into potatoes.
4. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until potatoes are tender.

These are for dinner tonight.  I'm going to serve them with Vegan Fried Un-Chicken and fresh corn on the cob.  Check back later for the Un-Chicken recipe and pictures of the finished meal.

Scrambled Tofu with Grilled Vegetables

The kiddo has baseball practice tonight, so that means we'll be eating a late and light dinner.  I decided that a filling and hearty lunch was in order.  I've been cooking all day, so I also wanted something quick and easy.  This meal came together in mere minutes.

Scrambled Tofu

Ingredients:

• 1/2 block firm tofu, frozen/thawed/drained 
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Crumble tofu into small mixing bowl.

2.  Add all other ingredients and mix well with fork, making sure tofu is evenly coated.

3.  In an oiled skillet cook the tofu for eight to ten minutes over high heat.  It's done when the tofu begins to brown around the edges.
 

 
Because I live in Chicago and went from three feet of snow to never ending thunderstorms in the course of a week, I had to grill my vegetables inside.  I used the George Foreman Grill.  This is a fantastic invention and not just for meat eaters!
 

 
Anyway, cut your vegetables into uniform thickness.  I used zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, and onions.  Spray George with some olive oil, lay out your veggies, mist the tops of the veggies with more olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and then cook 'til grilled through.  Mine took about five minutes.
 

See, aren't they lovely?

 
Enjoy!