Food on Friday: Homemade Mac ‘n Cheese January 23, 2009

Now, I know that we all have our favorite homemade recipes and I in no way want to impose mine upon yours. But as a person who did not grow up with homemade mac ‘n cheese (it was Kraft all the way), I have learned to enjoy this one recipe which I found in none other than a kids’ cookbook. Let me know what you think and pass along yours!

Ingredients:
1 cup uncooked elbow pasta
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. dry mustard (yellow)
1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 cup milk
1 1/4 cups mild or sharp cheddar cheese cubes
1/4 cup crushed plain Goldfish crackers or Ritz butter crackers (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water for about 8-10 minutes. Drain. In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Reduce heat to low. Add the flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Stir until smooth. Add the milk and cheese. Continue stirring until the cheese melts and the sauce is creamy and smooth. Stir the pasta into the cheese sauce. Pour the mixture into a casserole dish and top with the crushed crackers if desired. Bake in the oven 20 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving so sauce can thicken.

Food on Friday: Hazelnut Butter Cakes August 1, 2008

If you think I have a liking for Nutella, the yummiest chocolate-hazelnut spread ever, based on past recipes, you are correct. I am learning new ways to bake with this gooey concoction and had to share. This recipe makes about 10 cupcakes (although you could make them smaller to get a dozen) and comes from a base cake recipe I found in a kids’ cookbook. I added the easy Nutella filling/topping. I say filling because when you bite into the cakes, the delish chocolate is inside and I say topping because the swirled effect of the Nutella makes these treats cupcakes without the frosting! No messy eating – just yummy treating!

Ingredients:

1 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softend
2/3 granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella (can be found on the peanut butter aisle of grocery stores)
Muffin cup paper liners

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter and sugar in a medium bowl with a hand mixer. Add eggs and vanilla, and mix. Then add in flour and combine until mixture is smooth and lighter in color (about 2 minutes.) Line a muffin pan with the paper liners (10-12) and half-fill each paper cup with the cupcake batter (about 2 Tbsp. of batter.) Place a heaping teaspoon of Nutella on the top of each of the cupcakes and swirl into the batter with a sharp knife. Bake in the oven for about 15-18 minutes. When you start to smell the cupcakes, check them by inserting a toothpick into the cakes to see if they are done.

Do you have any favorite Nutella recipes? Do share!

My newfound-love for the library July 2, 2008

In our Internet-savvy society, heading to the library to do any kind of research or check out books just doesn’t seem to make sense. It’s inconvenient, time-consuming and sometimes a hassle. Why drive when you can surf – the Net, that is.

Aside from carrying collections of reference, fiction and biographical books, the library is also a great FREE place to participate in fun FREE summer activities with your kids (am I trying to save money or something?) My son loves the story time at our local library and he’s really catching on to hand and finger rhymes the librarian does with such enthusiasm. We even practice them at home. He prefers, however, jumping and rolling on top of the “umbrella,” large colorful parachute that can be used for many things.

But just recently I applied for a library card because I haven’t had a working one for at least 5 years. I thought about checking out books for my son. Instead, I’ve only checked out books for myself! Cookbooks is all I’ve checked out. And I love it! I can scour all these different books, test the recipes, retain what I like and then return the book.

So, what’s the difference between this and finding online recipes? Well, not all that much but I am just traditional, I guess, and like the actual hardcopy. And I can search through pages of colorful pictures rather than online images that are often bad quality. I can take my time, reread recipes and not have to worry about bookmarking a page or running back and forth between my computer and kitchen to bake up a sweet treat. Borrowing the library’s cookbooks – there is nothing like it. I am smitten.

And I am even more excited because the library has caught on to the technological advances of the 21st century and provides a great online Web site for searching for books at other branches and get this – RENEWING your book online! I renewed one of my cookbooks today and it took I think 5 seconds. Amazing.

The library always stirs up fond memories of my childhood, especially during the summer when I spent hours upon hours reading books and writing short stories. My time is limited now but I’m thankful for our library where cookbooks are colorful, plentiful and FREE. Now, if only I could find more FREE time to hide myself away in between the library’s shelves and search…

What do you love about your library? What good book have you read lately?

In need of a good, everyday cookbook January 22, 2008

Calling all chefs and cooks…do you have a cookbook that you live by? Maybe you have more than just one. I love to cook and bake – I really enjoy trying new recipes and am always looking for a good challenge (can I really make Chili’s Southwest Egg Rolls following this copy cat recipe?) But I am in need of a good cookbook that contains reasonable recipes (i.e., not extremely fancy but some challenges are OK.)

Here are the books that I have and how often I use them:

- Better Homes and Gardens New CookBook: I use this one about 2 or 3 times a month

-  Better Homes and Gardens Our Best Recipes: once a month

- Cooking Light Annual Recipes 2001: once a month

- Rachael Ray 30-Minute Meals 2: once every 3 months (these are quite involved)

- The Everything Kids’ Cookbook: 4-5 times a month (I have a toddler and these recipes are actually really good!)

- Land O Lakes Treasury of Country Recipes: not very often, can’t find recipes that I or my husband really like

I also get a lot of recipes from magazines and the Internet. But if there’s one cookbook you could not live without, which would it be? I am very interested in knowing!