Caramelized Onion Mac and Cheese

 

I went to a party last month. It was a chic, industry, big-city party with open bar and and a caterer. I was sooooo out of my element, heck, I had my 5 month old baby with me! Thankfully everyone was so lovely, Will was taken out of my hands almost as soon as I walked in the door to be oooo'd and awwww'd over and I was pointed in the direction of the wine and food.

I grabbed a glass of red and wandered over to the spread of appetizers. I was nibbling on a celery stick when a server came by and offered me a "plate" (it was the size of a coaster) of Mac and Cheese. I think it took me all of 17 seconds to inhale it. It was AH-MAZE-ING. I tasted a hint of sweetness and it was definitely not made with Velveeta. I sought out another server and had 2 more plates before I started wondering if everyone was looking at me like "who's the girl eating all the Mac and Cheese?!". 

If you live in or around Toronto, check out Cheesewerks on Bathurst, they know their Mac and Cheese. If, like me, you live no where near Toronto, you need this recipe! I've come up with my own version that's pretty damn good if I do say so myself! I kept it simple using ingredients I had in my fridge and pantry, but feel free to switch up the cheeses and noodles to create your own version!


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Caramelized Mac and Cheese

6 medium onions, sliced thinly
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp brown sugar
450g uncooked macaroni
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (I used an Italian blend of mozzarella, asiago, parmesan and provolone)
1/2 cup aged white cheddar, shredded
1/2 tsp dry mustard powder
Salt to taste


1. Put the 3 tbsp of oil and 1 tbsp of butter in a heavy bottom frying or sauce pan and put over medium heat until the butter is melted and oil is glistening.
2. Add the onions. Stir to coat all the onions in oil.
3. Cook onions over medium-low heat (I had my burner set at 3) stirring ever 5 minutes or so. 
4. After 15 minutes add the salt and stir. Continue to stir occasionally not letting the onions burn.
5. Add the brown sugar and continue to slowly cook, stirring and moving the onions around as needed until they're soft and golden brown. This could take up to an hour.
6. In the meantime, cook the macaroni to under al denté. (you want them slightly under cooked so they don't go mushy)
7. In a large saucepan heat the butter over medium-high heat until melted and then add the flour. Stir with a whisk to incorporate and continue to stir for 3 minutes to cook the flour.
8. Add the milk and continue to whisk until the mixture thickens. Add the cheeses and stir until the cheese has melted. 
9. Pour the cooked noodles, cheese sauce and onions into a slow cooker and mix. Set the slow cooker to low and cook for 4 hours. Serve hot.

(You can do this on the stove as well, just cook your noodles to al denté, mix your cheese sauce and onions with the noodles in the pot and serve)

Maple Pecan Squash Casserole

Thanksgiving is upon us, and I don't know about you but it seemed to me to pop up out of nowhere this year! Wasn't it just summer? Not that I'm complaining mind you, I could eat turkey and stuffing and pie every day of the year!

Our friends Devin and Laurie had our family over for dinner last fall and Laurie made this amazing squash dish that had me going for thirds and fourths. The sweet, smooth squash is topped with a crunchy sweet crust packed with pecans that will make your toes curl it's so good! I made it for dinner last Thanksgiving and made a few batches for the freezer to pull out whenever I had a craving! As soon as I noticed Thanksgiving was coming up I ran out for more butternut squash to make another batch since my freezer was all out.

 I changed her recipe (which I understand she got from her mom who found it on the internet a few years ago) slightly to incorporate maple syrup which just hits this dish out of the park! Try this for your Thanksgiving dinner this year, you'll be thanking Laurie!

 

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Maple Pecan Squash Casserole

1 butternut squash, cooked and mashed (about 3 cups)
3 tbsp butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla

topping
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup butter

1. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds and innards. Place cut side down in a casserole dish with 1/4" of water and bake at 350˚F for about 40 minutes or until the squash is cooked and soft.
2. Allow to cool for 15 minutes and then scoop out the cooked squash and add to a blender or food processor.
3. Add the butter, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla and blend until smooth.
4. Spread the squash mixture into a casserole dish.
5. In a small bowl mix together the brown sugar, flour, pecans and butter until the mixture is crumbly.
6. Sprinkle topping mixture over squash and bake at 350˚F for 45 minutes.

Vegetarian Lasagna with Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables

We are a meat-eating family, and proud of it! But ever since my husband was diagnosed with high cholesterol (high is a very generous term, I believe his doctor actually said "WTF do you eat???" when he saw hubs's number) I've been trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my repertoire.

A friend on the twitter @TNy_Photography asked me the other day if I had a vegetarian lasgana recipe, and as luck would have it, rolling around in my head I did! when I had heard that my cholesterol pill-popping husband had 4 gigantic hot dogs for lunch at work the other day I knew it was a good time to serve him some veggies and make this lasgana.

You can make this lasagna the traditional way by just alternating layers of noodles and cheese and veggies, but I think the rolls look pretty and are better for portion control as you can see exactly what you're getting. They also don't take that much more time to make than the layering method and they hold together very well.

 

Start out by laying out your cooked to slightly under al denté noodles.
Sorry about the picture, the lighting over my island is okay for cooking, not so much for picture taking.

Blend the goat cheese and ricotta together and spread out over the noodles
stopping short 2" from one end.

Purée 1/2 your roasted veggies and add to the jarred marinara. Spoon about 2 tbsp of the sauce over the cheese and then top with roasted veggies.

Stand back and admire how amazing this looks, Seriously. I'm dying here.

Roll up the noodles towards the end you left the gap.

Place the seam side down and voilà! A lasagna roll!

Spread a bit of the sauce over the bottom of a dish and arrange the rolls seam side down in the pan.

Top with some more sauce and the shredded mozzarella, and bake at 350˚F for 30 minutes.

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 Vegetarian Lasagna with Goat Cheese and Roasted Vegetables

1 onion, diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 yellow zucchini (summer squash), diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1 c mushrooms, diced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp oregano
salt and pepper
12 lasgana noodles
1 jar of your favourite marinara (or your own homemade)
4 oz herbed goat cheese (plain goat cheese works too)
1 c ricotta cheese
2 c mozzarella, shredded

Instructions:

1. Toss your diced onions, peppers, zucchinis, and mushrooms with the olive oil, oregano and a bit of salt and pepper and spread out onto a cookie sheet. Roast at 450˚F for about 15-20 minutes or until nice and soft.
2. In the meantime, boil your lasagna noodles in salted water until just slightly under done from al denté (they will continue to cook in the oven). Drain and rinse and allow to cool slightly.
3. Bring your goat cheese and ricotta to room temperature and blend together with a spatula or hand mixer.
4. Remove your veggies from the oven and purée half of them until almost smooth. Add the puréed mixture to the jarred marinara and mix well to combine.
5. Lay out your cooked noodles and spread about 2 tbsp of the goat cheese/ricotta mixture over top leaving about 2" uncovered at one end.
6. Spoon about 2 tbsp pf the purée/marinara mixture over the cheese and top with some of the roasted veggies.
7. Roll the noodled up towards the end with the gap.
8. Spread some of the sauce over the bottom of a casserole or lasagna dish and arrange the lasagna rolls seam side down in the dish.
9. Top with the remaining sauce and the mozzarella cheese.
10. Cover with tinfoil and bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes. Remove the tinfoil and bake an additional 5-10 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve!

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Baked Gnocchi

We're in the middle of one heck of a heat wave. 38-40˚C (that's 100.4-104˚F for my American readers) everyday now for a week. The humidity is wilting, the heat, oppressive. Thankfully my darling husband, foreseeing me being super uncomfortable this summer should the temperature skyrocket (I'm in my 3rd trimester now), bought me central air 3 weeks ago. He really does love me. So I've been coping with the heat fairly well. But the temperature certainly changes how we eat. As it gets hotter you tend to want to eat lighter. Simple salads and cold dishes tend to be what we all crave when the mercury rises... unless you're a pregnant gal and you have A/C. Then you want crazy things like baked pastas.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been trying to cook better for my hubby, really watching every single ingredient I cook with for cholesterol, sodium and fat. I love Gnocchi, as does he, so when I found myself craving pasta this week I headed to the refrigerated section of the grocery store (it's too hot to make gnocchi from scratch!) and picked up a package of gnocchi to read the label. 0 mg cholesterol, low in sodium, low in fat, low in calories... I was thrilled!

In 40˚ weather I made my Baked Gnocchi. I'm crazy, I know. But really it's quite a light dish (as gnocchi goes) and served with a generous side salad we felt satisfied and not like we had eaten a big heavy meal. You could certainly just make this stove top and not turn on your oven, or "bake" it on your BBQ, any way you choose to make it I hope you give it a try cause it's incredibly tasty!

Look at all those Bocconcini pearls. Little balls of cheesy goodness.

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Baked Gnocchi

2 pkgs of premade Gnocchi (I use Maestro but any will do)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
5 fresh basil leaves, jullienned
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 500ml container Bocconcini Pearls*
2 c baby spinach
1/4 c shaved parmesan cheese

Instructions:

1. In a sauté pan, heat the olive oil and add the onions and garlic and cook over medium heat until the onions are translucent.
2. Add the tomatoes, Italian seasoning and salt & pepper. Continue to simmer over med-low heat while you cook the gnocchi.
3. Bring a pot of salted water to boil and add the gnocchi. Cook just until the gnocchi rise to the surface of the water and drain immediately.
4. Add the gnocchi, bocconcini and spinach to the tomato sauce and stir to incorporate. (you can continue on the stove top here if you wish heating over low until the bocconcini pearls melt.)
5. Pour pasta into a greased (Pam) casserole dish and sprinkle with the parmesan cheese.
6. Bake at 350˚F for 20 minutes or until the bocconcini melts.
7. Serve alongside a salad for a light and healthy meal!

* If you're unfamiliar with Bocconcini it's just small balls of fresh mozzarella. I've tried using shredded mozzarella and the larger Baby Bocconcini but I find the pearls to be best because they don't overpower the gnocchi or make it too chewy. Bocconcini Pearls can be found in the deli section with the other specialty cheeses.

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enjoy!

Cheesy Baked Penne with Roasted Veggies

I think I was Italian in a former life. Pasta calls to me. If I could have it every night without my husband rolling his eyes and saying "Pasta, again?", I would.

I'm always looking for new ways to dress up noodles so I watch a lot of Bobby Flay and Mario Batali and Giada DeLaurentiis on the Food Network. One afternoon Giada was on and she made this incredible baked pasta dish full of roasted veggies. I was licking the TV screen by the time she pulled it out of the oven. I rushed right out and got the ingredients. Then, being me, I added some of my own and changed some quantities and what resulted was A-MAZE-ING. My husband had seconds... and then thirds, both my kids ate it up like I hadn't fed them all day, and I felt like I really gave my family something nutritious and satisfying for dinner.

More cheesy than saucy, this pasta bake is full of veggies and the recipe makes enough for leftovers. It's easy, it's filling, it's vegetarian (I snuck that one by my husband!) and it's delish!

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Cheesy Baked Penne with Roasted Veggies adapted from Giada DeLaurentiis

1 red pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
1 green pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
1 yellow pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
2 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
2 summer squash (yellow zucchini), quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix or Club House Roasted Garlic & Peppers Seasoning
1 pound penne pasta
1 jar (3 cups) marinara sauce (store bought or homemade, I use Classico Garden Vegetable)
1 cup grated fontina cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
2. On a baking sheet, toss the peppers, zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onions with olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and dried herbs. Roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for about 6 minutes. Cook to just under al dente since you will be cooking the pasta a second time in the oven.
4. In a large bowl, toss the drained pasta with the roasted vegetables, pasta sauce, garlic, cheeses, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Gently mix, until all the pasta is coated with the sauce and the ingredients are combined.
5. Pour the pasta into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan. Top with the remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and butter pieces. Bake until top is golden and cheese melts, about 25 minutes.

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enjoy!

Amanda

Hashbrown Bake

Sometimes you just need a big ol' bowl of comfort food. That time was this week for us. My kids were sick and my husband and I were on call 24/7 for days and days. We were tired, drained and needed some TLC for ourselves. I pulled out my trusty recipe cards (I know, so retro) and stopped flipping when I came to this recipe.


Originally called "Hashbrown Casserole"(a very popular recipe as I discovered upon googling it), I changed the name to Bake cause I've been told the mention of the word "casserole" can incite riots at the dinner table. This (shhh!) casserole is creamy and cheesy and fills you up with warm, gooey, yumminess. I usually serve it alongside Honey Baked Ham (a tradition in my Husband's family), but it would be great with steak or chicken, or as an addition to your brunch table as my sister is fond of doing.


It's quick and easy to assemble, and is always met with smiles at dinnertime. Give it a try and see what your family thinks!

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Hashbrown Bake recipe from my lovely sister-in-law Cindy Friolet

1 bag frozen country style hashbrowns (I use McCain)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 c. light sour cream (a small container)
1 med. onion, diced
1 c. shredded cheese (I use marble cause it's what I always have on hand)
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. crushed black pepper
1 stick (1/2 c. ) butter, melted
1 c. seasoned bread crumbs (You can also use cornflake crumbs)

Instructions:

1. Combine the soup, sour cream, onion, salt and pepper.
2. Mix in the hashbrowns and cheese and mix to thoroughly combine.
3. Pour mixture into a greased oven safe dish.
4. Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs and crumble over top of the hashbrown mixture.
5. Cover and bake at 350˚F for 1 hour. Uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes to allow top to brown.

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Enjoy!

Amanda

Taco Bake

We are koo-koo for Mexican food. Even our (almost) 3 year old loves taco night. It's one of the foods my husband refers to as 'Fun Dinner Night' along with pizza, wings and hamburgers, basically anything you east with your hands.

Although I'm usually a purest when it comes to favourite dishes (whole wheat pasta for spaghetti night? blasphemy!) I decided to try a recipe I stumbled upon on allrecipes.com when I did a search for Mexican. This is what I found, originally called Taco Pie, I changed the name only because I made it in a square dish and it looked nothing like a pie and I added some refried beans cause it ain't mexican without'em!

I really enjoyed it, my husband prefers another dish I make where I layer tortillas with con queso and taco meat. Like most Mexican food is far from low-fat, but definitely worth a try.

Taco Bake adapted from allrecipes.com

1 pkg. Pillsbury Cresent Rolls
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 pkt. Taco Seasoning
1/2 c. Sour Cream (I used Light)
1/2 can of Refried Beans
2 c. Tex Mex Shredded Cheese
10-12 tortilla chips, crushed

Instructions

1. Roll out cresent rolls into a square cake pan pressing together to cover bottom. Bake according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the taco seasoning and stir together well.
3. Mix together the sour cream and beans and set aside.
4. When dough is done, remove from oven and spread out the sour cream& bean mixture over top, then layer with meat, and top with the cheese, and then with the crushed tortilla chips.
5. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and it is heated through.
6. Serve with sliced scallions, salsa and sour cream. Olé!