Feature Recipe: Grandma's Mac and Cheese (amanda)

Amanda made this for cooking club sometime back in 2009, before we started this blog. We all love it and make it often in our kitchens. So easy, affordable, and delish! Plus who doesn't love a homecooked meal passed down from their grandma?!

Cheese Elbow Macaroni for 2
1 C macaroni
1 C grated cheddar cheese
1 beaten egg
1/4 C sour cream
4 tsp. butter- cut into small pieces
1/4 tsp salk
1/2 C 2% milk

Boil macaroni until done. Drain. Add cheese while still hot. Combine remaining ingredients into macaroni mixture. Pour into buttered casserole dish. Top with additional cheese. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes. Great with ground beef or hot dog chunks mixed in (brown before adding)

Feature Recipe: Chicken Salad (cherise)

Best Chicken Salad EVER!

Ingredients: (eyeball it, no measurements needed!)

chicken

cooked rotini pasta (or any pasta you love)

celery

red onion

dried cranberries

chopped walnuts or almonds

poppyseed dressing

mayo

Directions:

chop celery and red onion - pan fry some chicken breast with a little olive oil, all purpose seasoning and white wine - to make dressing combine mayo and poppyseed dressing using a 2 to 1 or even 3 to 1 ratio of mayo to dressing (If you add too much dressing it can make it overly sweet) - mix together - refrigerate for a couple hours to blend flavors and ENJOY

*** Cherise is an original member of cooking club and moved to Texas with her family. We miss her a lot and are thrilled for her to provide some feature recipes that are AMAZING!

April Theme: cooking with CHEESE (sarah)

Tofu and Cheese Stuffed Shells

16oz jumbo pasta shells
1/3 cup grated carrot
1/4 cup shredded zucchini
3 tbs chopped onion
8oz soft tofu
1/2 cup shredded pepper-jack (or monterey jack) cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (divided)
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg white
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
24 oz pre-made pasta sauce
1 can diced tomatoes

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Bring large pot of water to boil and cook pasta
3. Meanwhile in medium bowl mash tofu then add carrot, zucchini, onion, jack cheese, 1/2 mozzarella, ricotta cheese, egg white, salt and pepper. Mix well.
4. In sauce pan combine pasta sauce and drained diced tomatoes, heat until warm.
5. Stuff each shell with cheese/tofu mixture and place open side up in a lightly greased 9x12 baking dish. Pour sauce over shells
6. Cover and bake 25 min or until heated through. Sprinkle with more mozzarella (if desired) and fresh Parmesan (if desired).

April Theme: cooking with CHEESE (amanda)

Veggie Pasta with Sour Cream and Chive Dressing
Serves 3-4

1/2 lb Pappardelles's Trumpet Blend pasta (or other veggie pasta- I used Organic Veggie Bowties from the bulk section at Vitamin Cottage)
1/4 lb green beans, blanched for 3 minutes
Dressing:
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 C mayonnaise
2 oz. asiago cheese, grated
1 T lemon Juice
1 minced garlic clove
2 T minced fresh dill
2 T chopped fresh chives
2 T minced fresh parsley
1/2 t cracked black pepper
1/2 t salt

*Combine dressing ingredients
*Blanch green beans and reserve the water for cooking the pasta
*Rinse pasta well with cold water
*Combine dressing, green beans and pasta and chill for several hours
*garnish with chives and cucumber if desired

April Theme: cooking with CHEESE (heidi)

Quinoa Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 box Ancient Harvest Quinoa Pasta (gluten free!) - i used Veggie Curls for color and texture)

1 cucumber

1 red onion

1 pepper

1/2 lb Ford Farm Seaside Cheddar

1/2 lb Smoked Mozzarella

3/4 cup Italian Dressing

Directions:

Cook pasta according to box - chop all veggies and cheese - mix together and stir in dressing - refrigerate for at least 4 hours for flavors to blend - ENJOY

March Theme: cooking with GREEN (sarah)

SPINACH STRAWBERRY SALAD

2 bags fresh spinach
1 sm. red onion (opt.)
1 qt. fresh strawberries, sliced

DRESSING:

1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. poppy seeds
2 tbsp. sesame seeds
1 1/2 tbsp. onion
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/2 c. salad oil
1/4 c. cider vinegar

Mix dressing early. Or use 1 bottle poppy seed dressing.
Tear washed spinach into bite sized pieces. Place in salad bowl. Toss with dressing. Add strawberries and onion, if desired. Toss lightly. Serves 6 to 8.

March Theme: cooking with GREEN (amanda)

Crock-Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

3-4lb corned beef brisket
1/2 C chopped onions
2 minced garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 head cabbage

Place corned beef in crock pot. Add enough water so that the top is just covered. Add onion, garlic and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low at least 10 hours. 1/2 hour before serving add cabbage wedges (and carrots and potatoes if desired) and cook on low for 30 minutes.

March Theme: cooking with GREEN (heidi)

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz.) pkg. dried green split peas, rinsed
• 1 meaty hambone, 2 ham hocks, or 2 cups diced ham
• 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 ribs of celery plus leaves, chopped
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped, or 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 1 tbsp. seasoned salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp. fresh pepper
• 1 1/2 qts. hot water

Preparation:

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given; pour in water. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 to 5 hours or on low 8 to 10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off bone. Remove bones and bay leaf. Mash peas to thicken more, if desired. Serve garnished with croutons. Freezes well.
Serves 8.

February Theme: cooking with SEAFOOD (sarah)

Crab Quiche

6oz crab meat (drained)
1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/3 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups eggs (about 6 eggs I think)
12 fluid oz. fat-free evaporated milk
3/4 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp salt-free lemon-pepper seasoning (if your lemon pepper has salt in it, just omit the plain salt)
Dash of paprika

In a bowl combine the crabe, cheese, zucchini, and onions. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 9in pie pan (or 8in square baking dish), coated with non-stick spray. In another bowl mix eggs, milk, mustard, salt, lemon-pepper. Pour into crust. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered for 25-30 min at 400, or until a knife inserted near the middle comes out clean. Let stand for 10 min before cutting.

February Theme: cooking with SEAFOOD (amanda)

Capers and Halibut

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 (8 ounce) steaks halibut

1/2 cup white wine

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1/4 cup butter

salt and pepper to taste

3 tablespoons capers, with liquid

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the halibut steaks on all sides until nicely browned. Remove from pan, and set aside.
2. Pour the wine into the pan, and use a spatula to scrape any browned bits from the bottom. Let the wine reduce to almost nothing, then stir in the garlic, butter and capers. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the sauce simmer for a minute to blend the flavors.
3. Return the steaks to the pan, and coat them with sauce. Cook until fish flakes easily with a fork. Serve fish immediately with the sauce from the pan poured over it.

February Theme: cooking with SEAFOOD (heidi)

SHRIMP TACOS with FRESH MANGO SALSA

Shrimp: cook in a little bit of olive oil and add pepper and salt if you want - the shrimp will be done when they turn pink

Tortillas: heat each one over a burner to warm up

Fresh Mango Salsa: (Qdoba's recipe)

2 cups mango

3/4 cup red pepper

1 cucumber (scrape out seeds and discard)

1/2 cup red onion

1 1/4 tablespoon jalapeno

1/4 cup cilantro

2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tablespoon sugar

pinch of salt

* chop everything - mix together - and refrigerate

Place salsa and shrimp in tortilla - roll up and enjoy!

January Theme: cooking with Alcohol (sarah)

Stir-fry

3 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. dry sherry
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 sm. onion
1 sm bag snow peas or snap peas
2 boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1/2 lb. broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces
1 carrot, pared and thinly sliced

Combine soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch, garlic and 1/4 cup water; set aside. In wok or large skillet, stir-fry chicken in hot oil 2 minutes. Add vegetables; stir-fry 4 minutes. Add soy sauce mixture; cook and stir until slightly thickened. 4 servings.

In this recipe I think I doubled the liquid portions because we like more sauce. Serve over rice.