Recipe Review: Kyle's Crockpot Mac N Cheese

Kyle's Crockpot Mac N Cheese

I had a tablespoon of this and knew it was probably the best macaroni and cheese I've ever had, I am low carbing, which I was barely able to remember once that golden goodness hit my tastebuds. I asked him to give me the recipe, which he did. Here it is in all of it's gooey goodness!

• 1 small can of evaporated milk
• 1 pint half and half
• 3 cups of extra sharp shredded cheddar cheese
• 8oz container of sour cream
• 1 jar of Ragu double cheddar sauce 1 quarter stick of butter or margarine, softened Black pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 16 ounce box of macaroni
• 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Turn crockpot to High. 

Combine all ingredients in crockpot except pasta and eggs. Stir until ingredients are mixed. Make sure you pepper the mixture before adding the eggs.

Beat eggs separately, add to pot and stir well.

Boil pasta in water for 6-8 minutes - not quite al'dente. (just to soften in up). Drain. 

Add pasta to pot stir and cover. let cook for 2 hours on high. then add 1 cup of shredded cheese to top and let cook for another 30 minutes to an hour to desired consistency

SO GOOD! Thanks Kyle for giving up the info!

Vegetarian: Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas

Made these for my vegetarian band camp staff members. They were pretty good and even the non vegetarians [the VegeCurious] liked them.

INGREDIENTS:

2 teaspoons olive oil 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 (10 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained 1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/4 cup salsa 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes 2 tablespoons butter, divided 8 (8 inch) flour tortillas 1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided

DIRECTIONS:

1.

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in onion, and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in beans and corn, then add sugar, salsa, and pepper flakes; mix well. Cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

2.

Melt 2 teaspoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Place a tortilla in the skillet, sprinkle evenly with cheese, then top with some of the bean mixture. Place another tortilla on top, cook until golden, then flip and cook on the other side. Melt more butter as needed, and repeat with remaining tortillas and filling. I really did not tweak this recipe. It was great as is. I did leave out the red pepper flakes.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-and-corn-quesadillas/

Vegetarian: Easy Vegetable Pot Pie

Easy Vegetable Pot Pie

Original recipe makes 6 servings

    1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of potato soup

    1 (15 ounce) can mixed vegetables, drained

    1/2 cup milk

    1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

    2 (9 inch) frozen prepared pie crusts, thawed

    1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

    Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

    In a medium bowl, combine potato soup, mixed vegetables, milk, thyme, and black pepper.

    Spoon filling into bottom pie crust. Cover with top crust, and crimp edges to seal. Slit top crust, and brush with beaten egg if desired.

    Bake for 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

*I did bake the bottom crust for about 5 min before filling it based on the reviews of the recipe.

**This recipe went over well with my vegetarian friends. You could easily add cooked chicken for a meat dish. 

Original recipe is here:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-vegetable-pot-pie/

Vegetarian: Zucchini Alfredo

Every year I spend a week in July cooking for about 20 people, some of which have special food needs [vegetarian, celiac, low carb, diabetic] My other food blog [http://bigbuttmountain.blogspot.com/ ] has all of the low carb/celiac/diabetic recipes. This one will be normal eating as well as vegetarian. So for all the vegetarians that I have cooked for and failed to deliver the recipes for you, I'm sorry, and here is the first one. :]

Original recipe makes 6 servings

    1 (12 ounce) package uncooked egg noodles

    3 tablespoons vegetable oil

    2 cloves garlic, minced

    4 cups shredded zucchini

    1/2 cup milk

    4 ounces cream cheese, cubed

    1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

    salt and pepper to taste

    grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

    Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.

    Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in garlic, and cook 2 minutes. Mix in zucchini, and cook 10 minutes, until some of the moisture has evaporated.

    Pour the milk into the skillet, and stir in cream cheese until melted. Mix in basil. Season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Serve over the cooked pasta.

Original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/zucchini-alfredo/

New blog

I have added another blog to my stable of blogs that  I do not write upon nearly enough.

It is entitled, " Does This Mountain Make My Butt Look Big?" and oddly enough it came from a conversation about just that one afternoon in Pigeon Forge TN. with some lovely friends of mine.

It went on to become a blog on a message board that had quite a bit of positive interaction so I am bringing it out of the message board and online publicly. Lord help me!

Here is the address:

http://bigbuttmountain.blogspot.com/

If you are interested in being added to the email list that will be sent out when I post please email me here:

robinmcnew@aol.com

I will continue to use this blog to review recipes, talk cooking, etc but the other blog will be specifically low carb only. 

Thanks and come over and check it out!

Blessings, y'all!


Robin

Crack Candy

• 4 oz saltine crackers (that's about one sleeve of crackers)
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup dark brown sugar
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup pecans

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Line cookie sheet with saltine crackers in single layer.

In a saucepan, combine sugar and butter. Bring to a rolling boil for 3 minutes. Immediately pour over saltines and spread to cover crackers completely.

Bake at 400 degrees for 5-6 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. 

Let sit for 5 minutes. Spread melted chocolate and sprinkle pecans on top.

Cool completely and break into pieces 

[I stick mine in the freezer and store it there too.]

Recipe Review: PHILLY CHEESESTEAK STUFFED PEPPERS

Found this at a wonderful blog, which I am linking to below. The pic on this blog is of the ones I made. I am pretty impressed with them. I did increase the seasoning as Bill and I love a lot of seasoning.

PHILLY CHEESESTEAK STUFFED PEPPERS

INGREDIENTS

8 oz. Thinly Sliced Roast Beef

8 Slices Provolone Cheese

2 Large Green Bell Peppers

1 Medium Sweet Onion – Sliced

6 oz. Baby Bella Mushrooms - Sliced

2 Tbs. Butter

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 Tbs. Garlic - Minced

Salt and Pepper - to taste

(2 Tbs. Peace and Love)

DIRECTIONS

Slice peppers in half lengthwise, remove ribs and seeds.

In a large sauté pan over low-medium heat, add butter, olive oil, garlic, mushrooms onions and a little salt and pepper.  Sauté until onions and mushroom are nice and caramelized.  About 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400°

Slice roast beef into thin strips and add to the onion/mushroom mixture.  Allow to cook 5-10 minutes.

Line the inside of each pepper with a slice of provolone cheese.  Fill each pepper with meat mixture until they are nearly overflowing.  Top each pepper with another slice of provolone cheese.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese on top is golden brown. 

Prep Time – 15 Minutes

Cook Time – 50 Minutes

Makes Servings: 4

Per Serving: 

Calories – 458

Protein – 27 g

Carbs – 8.5 net g

Fat – 36 g





This recipe and many other low carb good ones can be found here: 


http://peaceloveandlowcarb.blogspot.com/2012/06/philly-cheesesteak-stuffed-peppers.html#.Uc9YPW3m-AS



My Tweaks: 
Pressed as much grease out of the meat mixture as possible before stuffing. It was super greasy. 
Added shredded cheese in the middle of the meat mix layers