Monday, May 14, 2007

4 recipes...not your average Mac N' Cheese

Good Monday Morning!  Time for a recipe and today I have 4 of them for you.  They are all pasta...well, three of them are different versions of Mac N' Cheese and the last is a pizza pasta.  Enjoy!

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The first 3 are all from Better Homes and Gardens.  It will take a bit more time than plopping the pasta in boiling water and then adding the powdered cheese, milk and butter...but MMMMM, it will be so worth it.

Macaroni and Cheese with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients
4  strips bacon
1  large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
1-1/2  cups regular or multi-grain dried elbow macaroni (6 ounces)
2  cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
4  ounces processed gruyere cheese, shredded, or blue cheese, crumbled
1  cup half-and-half or light cream
1/8  teaspoon black pepper

Directions
1. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, turning once. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble. Reserve bacon drippings in skillet.
2. Cook onion in reserved bacon drippings for 5 to 8 minutes or until onion is tender and golden brown. Set aside.
3. In a large saucepan cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and return to saucepan. Stir in the crumbled bacon, onions, 1-1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the gruyere cheese, half-and half, and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Spoon into a 1-1/2-quart casserole.
4. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree F oven for 20 minutes. Stir gently. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes more or until top of casserole is brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.
5. Makes 4 servings

Three Cheese Macaroni


Ingredients
12  ounces dried elbow macaroni (2-2/3 cups)
1-1/2  cups milk
1/4  cup butter, melted
1/2  teaspoon ground white pepper
1/4  teaspoon salt
8  ounces American cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
8  ounces sharpCheddar cheese, shredded (2 cups)
2  ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (1/2 cup)
20  rich round crackers, crushed

Directions

1.Preheat  oven to 350 degree F. In a large pot cook macaroni according to package directions; drain. Return to pot.
2. Add milk, melted butter, pepper  and salt. Stir in cheese. Transfer to a greased 2-quart casserole.
3. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Carefully stir mixture. Sprinkle with crushed crackers. Bake 5 minutes more or until crackers are browned and mixture is just heated through (don't overheat or mixture will curdle). Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Makes 8 to 10 side-dish servings.

Creamy Macaroni and cheese


Ingredients
4  strips bacon
1  large sweet onion, thinly sliced
oz. dry elbow macaroni
oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
2 to 4  oz. blue cheese, crumbled
1  cup half-and-half or light cream
1/8  tsp. pepper
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, turning once. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble. Reserve bacon drippings in skillet.

2. Cook onion in reserved bacon drippings for 5 to 8 minutes or until onion is tender and golden brown. Set aside.
3. Cook elbow macaroni according to package directions. Drain and place in a 1-1/2-quart casserole. Add the crumbled bacon, onions, 1-1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese, the blue cheese, half-and half, and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
4. Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir gently. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes more or until top of casserole is brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

This recipe is from Kraft and sounds pretty good. 

"Pizza" Pasta Toss

 

Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 25 min
Makes: 4 servings
 
3 cups (8 oz.) penne pasta, uncooked 
1/4 cup KRAFT Balsamic Vinaigrette Dressing 
2 oz. OSCAR MAYER Pepperoni, quartered 
10 mushrooms, sliced (about 2 cups) 
1 green pepper, chopped (about 1 cup) 
2 cups spaghetti sauce 
1 cup KRAFT Finely Shredded Italian Style Five Cheese Blend 

 

COOK pasta as directed on package. 
MEANWHILE, heat dressing in large nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add pepperoni, mushrooms and peppers; cook and stir 8 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Add sauce; mix well. Cover. Reduce heat to low; simmer 3 min. 
DRAIN pasta; place in large serving bowl. Add sauce mixture and cheese; toss to coat. 
 
KRAFT KITCHENS TIPS
Variation
Omit pepperoni. Reduce vegetable cooking time to 5 min. Add 2 slices cooked and crumbled OSCAR MAYER Bacon along with the cheese.

 

Shortcut
To quickly cut the pepperoni, simply stack the slices before cutting into quarters as directed.
 

***This entry has been edited.***

Well, I have got to get busy here.  I have a little girl who is standing here with her shovel and bucket and wants to go outside and help me garden.  Which means she wants to go out and dig up all my flowers and seedlings...hm, this should be a fun day.  LOL

Have a great one!
Hugs!
Preview

 

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