Mac& Cheese off...and fire, what else could you ask for on a Sunday night?

Last night at the McDow house we held a Mac & Cheese competition with some friends of ours. It was a cheesy, noodley (is that a word?) gluttony fest.

The contenders were Ham with Mac & Cheese, Truffled Sausage Mac & Cheese, Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese, Baked Mac & Cheese and mine, Green chili Mac & Cheese.

We have some very creative friends! We also had chicken, BBQ meatballs ( a recipe I got from pioneerwomancooks.com- you should check it out, yummmm!) chicken strips, seafood fondue and birthday cake for our friend Taylor.

We were all sitting on the porch as it was a beautiful Sunday, everyone was enjoying the different variations of gooey goodness and one of our friends ran around from the side of the house and said, " The House next door is on fire!" There was black smoke billowing out from the roof and flames were starting to appear.

Needless to say, that kind of ended the party atmosphere. We all ran out the front door, checking to see if anyone had called 911, making sure the guy who lived there got out ( he did) and trying to decide if we should hose down the side of our house, but by the time we got the hose, 6 fire trucks had arrived!

It was really amazing to watching the firemen and women work, rushing in the burning house and climbing on the roof, making sure that the fire was put out. It took them about 30 minutes to get the flames under control.

Everyone in the neighborhood piled onto our street, into each other's yards, one guy even brought his entire family- including the baby in the stroller! - I think this is the most excitement people on our block have seen in a long time!

So - Mac & Cheese night turned out to be extremely interesting. I won the cook off, but it pales in comparison to the excitement next door.

Please be in prayer for the family who owned the home, they were a troubled family to begin with and this of course doesn't make it any easier.

Oh and as promised, the Green Chili Mac & Cheese- warning, this is NOT health food dish!

1 stick of salted butter divided in two

1/2 of a large onion diced

2 cans of green chilies ( get the larger cans)

1 tomatillo chopped

1 small container (pint) of heavy cream

1/4 cup of flour

1/4 cup of milk to deglaze cream pan

1 box of pasta- I used mini bow tie pasta
1/2 small block of sharp white cheddar grated

1/2 small block of mozzarella grated

1/2 small block pepper jack cheese

Parmesan cheese to sprinkle over top

2 cups of dry breadcrumbs

2 teaspoons of minced garlic

kosher salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Directions:

Melt half of the butter into a large saute pan and add onions and tomatillo and saute until onions are opaque. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Add in the two cans of chopped green chilies and saute about a minute. Stir in your container of heavy cream and slowly whisk in the flour. Sprinkle in black pepper- I used about 1/4 tsp. Let simmer on low until thickened.

Boil pasta and drain. make sure to run cold water over it so it gets to room temp quickly.Pour pasta into buttered large casserole dish and stir in cheeses. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese all over the top and mix. Now pour sauce over casserole and use the milk to get the residue out of the pan and pour into dish. Mix well.

In a separate dish include bread crumbs. melt the other half of the butter and pour over crumbs and include 2 tsps of garlic and a pinch of salt. mix well and spread evenly over the pasta dish.

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes and then pop on the broiler for a couple minutes to crisp up the top. take out when nice and toasty. Make sure to watch it carefully as it can burn very quickly!

This is really good, creamy, cheesy and about as down home as you can get.

It's Friday night-sounds like clean out the fridge night to me!

First things first,
Ryan and I found out this week that our Baby Mac, as we have been calling the little one growing inside my ever rounding belly, is most likely a girl!!! The Doctor managed to get a really good shot of the baby with her legs sticking straight up and he said, " Yep, its a girl" But there is about a %10 chance it could still be a boy.
Highly unlikely, but we will confirm at our next sonogram in a few weeks:)

Now,
I know I promised my Green Chili Mac & Cheese next, but I actually want to make it again just to be sure it is worth posting:)
So tonight- we are having Chili beef casserole- aka left over stuff in the fridge I managed to actually concoct something quite tasty!

Here we go!

1/2 lb of browned ground beef seasoned with onions/cumin/and fajita seasoning ( my taco meat from the day before)
2 cups of white rice ( again from the day before)
1 can cream of mushroom
1/2 onion chopped
1 Anaheim chili chopped finely
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1/4 cup softened cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
grated cheddar/jack cheese- about 1 cup

Saute onion and chili in butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper, when onions are opaque throw in your garlic. Add beef,soup,rice and cream cheese and mix thoroughly. Taste warmed mixture to see if you need any extra seasoning. Pour mixture into a casserole dish and top with grated cheese. Pop into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes or until casserole is bubbly.

Pretty darn good for leftovers!!!

Monday night kickoff

Still on the quest to become the ultimate housewife, I decided to try my hand at an old recipe last night- Cornflake Crusted Chicken.
My grandmother used to make this and I remember it was really good, but she cooked the whole thing in oil.
I have been trying to cook healthier as we have a little one on the way, so I wanted to find something that would taste just as good, but eliminate the extra calories.
I found several recipes, but decided to make my own version.
I made this just for two ( well two and a half:)

Here is what i did, and it turned out pretty well!

2 large chicken breasts- trimmed of all skin and fat
Buttermilk
1 cup cornflakes crushed
1/4 tsp each salt, black pepper, paprika, poultry seasoning and garlic powder

Soak chicken breasts in buttermilk for about 20 minutes- I simply poured it over the chicken till barley covered.
Sprinkle a pinch of salt and pepper on the breasts and turn then over and repeat salt and pepper.
Place cornflakes in a plastic baggie and crush, then open up the bag and throw in your seasonings. Shake well. Then pour your mixture into a shallow bowl.
Remove the chicken from the buttermilk and place chicken in crumbs. Flip chicken to coat both sides.
Place your pieces on baking sheet in over at 400 degrees and bake for 20-25 minutes ( depending on how our oven cooks)

This is really tasty, relatively low calorie and super crunchy. I served it with garlic mashed potatoes and corn. I know, I know starch and starch, but it was yummy:)

Coming soon- Our mac and Cheese off!!! We are hosting a party this coming Sunday for our small group and folks are bringing their own version of Mac & Cheese to be tasted and judged- I'll post my entry into the competition a little later this week. For now, I have to start cleaning. Who knew to people and two furry kids could make house so messy!

Fun on a Tuesday

Yesterday I me up with a dear friend of mine whom I grew up with. She and her hubbie and sweet little girl now live in Nevada, so I haven't seen her in several years!
We met at Chick-Fil-A , as apparently they don't have those where she lives. When they come to Texas to visit family, they get as much of the Golden, chickany goodness as possible.
Once we entered the restaurant, she asked her adorable little 3 year old girl what she would like. Perhaps some chicken nuggets or strips? Her daughter proclaimed loudly, "No mommy, I want a hamburger!" You gotta love those little independent personalities.
After lunch I went to my folks house in Carrollton and my mother and I whipped up a batch of the most amazing gingersnaps. It is a super easy recipe- sugar, butter, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger...I'll have to dig up the exact measurements and post a little later. These would be perfect for the summer with a little peach ice cream!

I can however post what I made for dinner last night- pulled pork sandwiches and Down Home cheesy grits.

I have to admit, the pulled pork was REALLY hard work (note the sarcasm)
Ingredients-
1 barbecue season dry rubbed pork shoulder already seasoned from the store. (Yes, I cheated, but I'm a big fan of things that make life less complicated)
Place the pork shoulder in a crock pot, with 1 cup of water.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
When finished, this will practically shred it self! I served it on butter toasted buns with pickles and some additional BBQ sauce.
Whew, that was tough.

Now for some real cooking.. The cheesy grits
You will need:
3 cups water
3/4 cups instant grits
pinch salt
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 yellow onion chopped
1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
ground pepper to taste
1 cup grated Cheddar/ Jack cheese.

Prepare your grits according to the package directions
In a separate saute pan, place your butter and let it melt. Add your chopped onions and caramelize. Add your garlic and lightly toast, don't burn! Add your cooked grits and stir. Now is the time to add your fresh ground pepper- I used about 4-5 twists and a pinch of salt (about a 1/4 teaspoon)
Now comes the magic, ad about 3/4 cup of your cheese and stir until melted.
Pour all of the mixture into a bowl and top with remaining cheese.
If you really want to be sinful, you can add some crumbled bacon on top.
This makes enough to serve probably 4-6 people so adjust if you don't need as much!

This was delicious and my house still smells like a Carolina kitchen:)
Tonight we will use the left over pulled pork for tacos. I'll lightly fry up some corn tortillas and serve with avocado and shredded lettuce, cilantro, onion and a squeeze of lime. Yum.

Lessons from the stay at home mom in training:)

Ok, so I normally am a proponent of meat. I love it, beef, chicken, turkey, fish you name it, I'll eat it. Well, except for liver. I won't touch that. However, I digress.
For lunch today I made a veggie wrap to kind of mimic one that Ihave had at one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas, Breadwinners.
Warm veggies mixed with a little cool lettuce, avocado, jack cheese and creamy hummus. I must admit, it turned out pretty good.
SO, I decided to share with everyone.

Again, I am lacking pictures, I need to work on that!

Some of the ingredients might sound a little strange, but trust me, it is reallllly good. I almost made another one as soon as I finished the first one!
I doubled the recipe here so you can make it for you and another person:)

You will need:
1 red pepper, cut in thin strips
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup button mushrooms sliced ( I used the ones from a jar, but you can use fresh- they will just take longer to saute)
hummus
slices of avocado
lettuce
jack cheese shredded
kosher salt
olive oil
black pepper
flour tortillas (get the bigger ones, they are easier to roll)

Here's what you do!
Get out your favorite saute pan and saute the red pepper strips first in about a tablespoon of olive oil, throw in a pinch of kosher salt and saute for about 4 minutes, then throw in your onions and mushrooms. You might need a tad bit more olive oil just to make sure these don't stick. Use another pinch of the salt and use a bit of fresh ground pepper. Saute until onions are nice and caramelized and the mushrooms have cooked down. It should take a few minutes.

While your hot veggies are doing their thing, take a tortilla and spread a couple teaspoons of hummus all over it- this will act as the "glue" that holds the wrap together.Then, grab a couple lettuce leaves and place on 1/4 of the tortilla. Next to the lettuce put a couple slices of avocado, then grab some of your hot veggies and layer next to the avocado, throw a couple pinches of the shredded jack on the hot veggies and roll! Make sure to tuck in the sides as the veggies kinda like to slip out. I cut mine in half so it would be easier to eat, and I wanted to see what it looked like all rolled up, but you can do what you like:)
If you want you can dip in a little salsa, but my preggy tummy isn't handling spice so well these days.

This is crazy delicious and if you are trying get more veggies in your diet, this would be one way to do it.

Next time, something with meat, I promise.

New Orleans

We spent this Easter Weekend with Ryan's family in LA. No, not L.A. as in Hollywood, but Louisiana!!
We left on Thursday after Ryan got finished with work and started our road trip. After a short stop in Houston to pick up Ryan's momma, and sister and brother-in-law, we took off early Friday morning.
We went to New Orleans on Friday and enjoyed some amazing food at the Acme Oyster House. Ryan had been talking about this place for several months and it lived up to our expectations!
I think we took in our monthly allowance fried goodness- catfish, shrimp, french fries covered in cheese and gravy, and we also ate PO boys, gumbo and I can't remember what else we ordered. By the time we left, I think we were more waddling out the door then walking!
We spent the afternoon wondering down the streets of the French Quarter. I will use Ryan's mom's favorite word to describe the experience. Weird. Sort of old world beauty mixed with the interesting culture that is New Orleans.
Actually some of it was really beautiful, all of the old buildings that have been transformed into restaurants, art galleries and more. Then,there were street performers, gypsies, two of whom got into a yelling match,artists and of course more then an eye full on Bourbon Street.
Saturday morning we had fully intended on heading back to the French Quarter to enjoy the delicious delicacy known as beignets, but the city was hosting the annual Easter Race so getting into the area where they were was impossible! We decided to forgo the beignets and travelled into the 9th ward to see the progress that has taken place since Katrina.
It really is an amazing mix of progress, new buildings and re-building and then buildings that are still abandoned, crumbling and marked with spray paint to denote what rescuers found.
The new homes going up are really incredible, have funky architecture, crazy colors, you just have to see it to appreciate it. Unfortunately, we left our camera in Dallas, so hopefully we will get some pics from Ryan's sister to post up eventually.
We headed out from there to Baton Rouge to enjoy a fantastic Louisiana feast-Ryan's family knows how to cook!!! From the homemade muffalletas, jambalaya, lemon bars, desserts and this crazy drink called a yellow bird, I think we all gained about 5 lbs! We also competed in a ping-pong tournament with family. I proved that once again my talents lay more in the creative arena:) We all had a blast though.
Next year will be our turn to host, well at least Houston side:) It will be a blast to have the family together again, and we will have to make sure the have all the Texas favorites- brisket, maybe some Tex-Mex:)