Mushroom Mac & Cheese

When I saw this recipe on Annie's Eats I knew that I wanted to try it, but that I would never be able to make the exact recipe. Even though Redner's is great for carrying the non-standard ingredients that I need, they don't always have what I need on the week that I need it. Example: Gruyere cheese. The recipe calls for shredded Gruyere. That would be like finding a winning lottery ticket 5 minutes before the drawing. I also knew that I wouldn't be able to find all of the fresh herbs that the recipe called for either.

So I decided to make do with what I could find and see how it turned out.
 




Mushroom Mac & Cheese

Adapted from: Annie's Eats
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Ingredients:
3/4 box elbow macaroni
6 tbs. unsalted butter, divided
1 lb. mushrooms, roughly chopped (baby bella/cremini)
1/2 small onion, diced 
2 tbs. minced garlic
1 tbs. white wine
3 tbs.  all purpose flour
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. paprika
2 cups milk (I used 2%)
6 oz. Swiss cheese, shredded
6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 tbs. bacon bits (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Annie's recipe calls for a whole box of pasta (which I made but was just too much for the dish), a shallot instead of onion, 2 tbs. of all the fresh herbs, no paprika, white wine vinegar, whole milk, shredded Gruyere and shredded white cheddar. Honestly, I didn't even look for the white cheddar, I just grabbed a bag of the finely shredded cheddar and went with it.

Directions:
1. Grease a 9x13 baking dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to directions for al dente. Drain the pasta and set it to the side.
2. Melt 2 tbs. of butter into a medium sized skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped mushrooms and onion and cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more or until almost all of the liquid has evaporated from the pan.
3. Remove from heat and add in the white wine. Set to the side. Preheat the oven to 350.
4. In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tbs. of butter over medium high heat. Whisk in the flour to form a paste. Cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly until the mixture is golden. Stir in the herbs and cook for a few more seconds. Whisk in the milk and cook until until the sauce begins to thicken and simmers. Remove from the heat and add in the cheeses. Whisk until completely smooth.
5. Add the mushroom mixture into the cheeses and stir until combined. I found it easier to add the noodles into the pot and stir until they were coated with the cheese. Pour into the greased baking dish.
6. Melt the last tbs. of butter (I used the microwave to save another dish) and add the panko breadcrumbs to it. Toss until coated. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs over the pasta.
7. Put the baking dish in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is browned. Let sit up to 15 minutes before serving.

Cooking for Beginners: Chicken & Zucchini Pasta

Once again, I plan a recipe for Cooking for Beginners (CFB from now on) and it doesn't turn out perfectly, so I decided that it was meant to be that way. How often do you go to cook something and realize your missing an ingredient? (Please tell me I'm not alone!)

Then I realized, even beginner cooks should know what to do when you forget that key ingredient or want to change up a recipe a bit. Ready to get started?

Chicken & Zucchini Pasta
Servings: 4
Adapted from: www.allrecipes.com

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Ingredients:

1/2 package pasta (I used Penne)

4 slices of onion (it rolled out of the picture)

2 tsp. garlic

1 zucchini

1/2 tsp. oregano

1 cup mushrooms

1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

1 1/2 cups chicken broth

3 chicken breasts (or tenders or precooked chicken)

2 tbs. cream cheese

parmesan cheese

basil

salt

pepper

olive oil

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into strips and season with salt and pepper. If you are using precooked chicken then just skip this. 

2. If you forgot to buy chicken broth (which is really weird for me since its a staple in the pantry), you can use bouillon cubes. Add about 1 cup of water per bouillon cube in a small saucepan and heat over medium high heat until boiling and the cube has dissolved. However, if your like me and couldn't manage to find bouillon cubes in the grocery store and had to settle for the packets from the international aisle, then add one packet to 1 1/2 cups of water and heat as instructed above. The picture below would obviously be before it dissolved.

3. In a medium sized saucepan, add 3 cups of water and lightly season with salt. Put over medium high heat. (This is for the pasta.)
4. Cut the zucchini into thin slices, dice up the onion and cut the mushrooms into bite sized pieces.
5. In a large skillet, add a little bit of olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook for approximately 10 minutes, flipping over once, or until the chicken is cooked through and browned on all sides.

6. Transfer the chicken to a plate. (I always use paper plates for this, there is no point in dirtying up another dish)

7. Add a little bit more olive oil to the skillet. Turn down the heat to low because the pan should be pretty hot by now. Add the garlic and onion and cook for about a minute or until the the garlic is lightly browned and fragrant.

8. Add the mushrooms and zucchini. Season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and oregano. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the zucchini is soft. By now the water should be boiling for the pasta. Add in 1/2 box to the salted water and stir to make sure the shells don't stick together. I usually spend the 10 minutes loading the dishwasher with everything that I've used, cleaning off the counters and putting away any ingredients that I'm done with.

9. Pour in the chicken stock and add the cream cheese. Stir until the cream cheese is combined.

10. Add the chicken to the skillet and cook for 5 minutes more until everything is heated through.

11. Drain the water from the pasta (the kind I used took 12 minutes). Spoon the pasta onto plates and add the chicken mixture. Season with basil and Parmesan cheese and serve. Enjoy!

Tom wasn't a big fan of this recipe, he thought that the sauce tasted funny. I thought it was pretty good and would definitely add it to my list of things to make again, but I don't think the zucchini did anything amazing for the recipe at all. It kind of just blended in. I wouldn't have had any problems omitting it entirely.

Lime & Cumin Pork Chops and spiced corn

This is another Rachael Ray recipe so I was kind of hesitant as to how it would turn out. Luckily, except for the pork chop being a bit dry, it wasn't bad at all and the corn was amazing.

Lime & Cumin Pork Chops with baked potato and spiced corn
Servings: 4
Adapted from: Rachael Ray 30 Minute Meals

Ingredients:
3 pork chops
3 large potatoes
10 oz. frozen corn kernels
1 red pepper
1 jalapeno
1/2 small onion
1 tsp. cumin
3 tbs. lime juice
2 tbs. minced garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup light cream
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tsp. olive oil
1 tsp. butter
1/4 tsp. Old Bay
salt, pepper, cilantro and parsley for garnish/to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. Dice the red pepper and onion. Remove seeds and membrane from the jalapeno. **Wear gloves when handling the jalapeno. It takes forever to get the juice off your hands.  In a medium skillet, add the butter and olive oil over medium heat. Once melted, add in the red pepper, onions, corn and jalapeno.
3. Stab the pork chops with a fork or knife. Squeeze lime juice over the pork chops, spread the garlic on top of the pork chops and season with cumin, salt and pepper. Place pork chops in a baking dish and put into oven. Bake for 15 minutes.
4. Once the vegetables are softened, whisk in the chicken stock and light cream. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
5. Wash potatoes, stab with fork and wrap in paper towels. Put the potatoes in the microwave and used your preset option for 3 potatoes, usually 11.5 minutes.
6. Slowly add the panko bread crumbs to the corn mixture until it starts to thicken up. Leave over medium heat until the mixture is thick and creamy. Add in the Old Bay and mix well until combined.
7. Remove pork chops from the oven and let rest for 1-2 minutes while you are plating everything else.
8. Enjoy!

Pretzel Crusted Chicken w/ Cheddar Mustard Sauce and corn, tomato and onion salad

I don't know what it is about Rachael Ray recipes. Sometimes I can make them and they turn out perfectly fine and other times they are a complete disaster.

Lemon Chicken - disaster
Hot Pepper Steak and Smashed Potatoes - disaster
Pretzel Chicken with Cheddar Mustard Sauce - 1 for 2

This time, it was a disaster. But, considering I know what I did wrong I figured it was worth a blog anyway. However, this is the picture I'm associating with the meal. But don't let it deter you or anything.

Pretzel Crusted Chicken w/ Cheddar Mustard Sauce
 Source: Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
1 package chicken tenders (RR says 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
5 oz. salted pretzels
1 tbs. thyme
1 tbs. black pepper
1 tbs. paprika
2 eggs
vegetable oil
2 tbs. unsalted butter
2 tbs. flour
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 tbs. spicy brown mustard
1/4 cup parsley

Directions: (Here is where I'm making the changes)
1. Put the pretzels in a zip lock bag and crush them with a mallet. (Or use a food processor)
2. Transfer the pretzels to a shallow dish and season with thyme, black pepper and paprika. In another dish, crack two eggs and mix together.
3. Preheat a large skillet with vegetable oil over medium high heat. Preheat the oven to 450. Dip the chicken into the egg mixture and then the pretzels to coat.
4. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side in the skillet, or until the pretzel coating is brown.
5. Transfer the chicken to a sheet pan and stick in the oven. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until cooked through.
6. In a large (and by large I mean 3 or 4 times the size you think you need) saucepan, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk to combine. Let cook for 1 minute and then add the milk, whisking the entire time. Turn down the heat to medium low. Wait patiently for the milk to bubble. No, I'm serious, really wait patiently. If you have the heat up too high the milk will skip the bubbling part and instead will foam and rise and make a gigantic freaking mess all over your kitchen. So, patiently wait for the milk to bubble.
7. Once its bubbling nicely, add in the cheese and mustard and stir with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Its going to be gooey, fair warning.
8. Once the chicken is done, serve with the cheddar mustard sauce.

Corn, Tomato and Sweet Onion Salad
Adapted From: allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 can sweet corn
2 thick slices tomato, diced
2 thin slices sweet onion, diced
1 big squeeze lime juice
2 hearty shakes cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Remember how I said that I'm horrendous at measuring? So obviously the recipe above shows that. I have no idea what the measurements are honestly, but that was my best description.

1. Mix onions, corn and tomato together. Add lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper. Stick in the fridge for 10 minutes or until chilled.

Pan Seared Scallops with Mushroom Risotto and Garlicy Green Beans

You could expect to read this on a restaurant menu, right? That's one of my favorite things about cooking; making something that sounds complicated and intricate when its really just simple ingredients that create an awesome meal.

If you read my first risotto post, you'll know that I think everyone should learn how to make risotto because well, its not difficult at all! It takes a bit of time, yes, but its definitely not rocket science. Hell, I even think that with the right cooking utensils, some close supervision and a better kitchen, even my mother could make risotto. And that speaks volumes!

Also, you may have noticed that I don't blog about just the main course for dinner. Why? Well, because I can usually figure out what to do with the chicken, steak, pork, ground beef on my own, but the side dishes are where I'll sit there and flip through my recipes trying to figure out what to make for sometimes 30 minutes. So, I like to be a well rounded blogger and include the side dishes. Does it make the blog longer, sure, but at least you get an idea of an entire meal instead of just 'cream cheese chicken' because really, what does one serve with cream cheese chicken?

Pan Seared Scallops

Source: google and allrecipes.com reviews

Servings: 2-4

Ingredients:
1 lb. bay scallops
sea salt
1 tbs unsalted butter
1 tsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Rinse the scallops in cold water. Scallops are usually packed in an ingredient that keeps them white. You want to wash that off.
2. Put scallops on a paper plate and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Season liberally with salt.
4. Add olive oil and butter to a pan (unsalted works best, but if you don't have it, don't worry) over medium-high heat. Wait until the pan just begins to smoke.
5. Add the scallops to the pan. Now DON'T TOUCH THEM! I know its hard to resist the temptation to peek and see if they are searing or not, but trust me, just leave them there.
6. In about 2-3 minutes (2 if you have tiny scallops) its okay to lift them up and see if there is some searing going on there. If they are at the pretty caramelized color, turn them over and repeat the process.

A scallop is cooked through when its still squishy to the touch. If its firm, you've overcooked it.

Mushroom Risotto
Servings: 3-4
Source: Adapted from allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken stock
3 tbs. olive oil, divided
1 package mushrooms (I use Shitake or Bella)
1/4 cup onion, diced
3/4 cup Arborio rice
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tbs butter
2 tbs Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Pour the chicken stock into a small pot and put over medium-low heat. You're just going to warm it up.
2. Put 1 tbs. olive oil in a large pan and put it over medium high heat. Dice the mushrooms and add in. Cook for 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms are soft.
3. Remove the mushrooms from the pan and put into a small bowl or on a plate, just keep them nearby.
4. Add the rest of the oil to the pan and the onion. Cook until the onion is soft.
5. Stir in the rice and toss it around until it is coated with the oil. Add the white wine and stir until it is completely absorbed by the rice.
6. Add the chicken stock to the rice in parts, no more than 1 cup at a time and wait until the rice has fully absorbed the stock (and it looks like its going to stick) to add in more.
7. Once all of the stock is in the rice and absorbed, put the mushrooms, butter and Parmesan cheese into the risotto and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt.

Garlicy Green Beans
Servings: 2-3
Source: my brain, again

Ingredients:
2-3 handfuls green beans, ends trimed
1 tbs. minced garlic
1 tsp. butter
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Melt butter over medium high heat.
2. Add in garlic and let cook for 2 minutes.
3. Add in green beans and salt and pepper.
4. Cook, covered for 5-7 minutes or until green beans are soft.

To cook as an entire meal, start the green beans and scallops when you add in the second cup of chicken stock to the risotto. If all goes well, you should have everything done at the same time.