Here's to winging it

Yesterday was cold and grey. Adam has been feeling a little under the weather with a cold and I wanted to make him feel better. I figured a big bowl of homemade soup would hopefully do the trick.

We were driving home from Ramsey after spending time with our families and I realized that I hadn't looked up any recipes for what soup to make that night. I decided that since I had made soup a dozen times before, that at this point I should be able to make up a decent soup recipe on my own. I also knew that I certainly didnt want to go out again to the grocery store once I was home. I decided here goes nothing i'm gonna wing it.

So I racked my brain to try to remember the elements of favorite soups i've made in the past to combine everything into one. First off, sausage makes everything better, so i knew I had to include that. I wanted it to be hearty and healthy and deemed that kale was good choice for a vitamin-packed veggie. There's a pureed lentil soup that we both love that starts with celery, carrots and onion. Adding those to my basket, I grabbed a package of lentils. Knowing that I wanted to mix it up a little with another bean, I decided on white cannelli's.

In my head this "new" soup was a variation of Adam's favorite soup, Tuscan Ravioli Stew, but without the pasta and some other ingredients. I knew i wasnt reinventing the wheel here, but at least i was fairly confident the flavors would work. Just to be safe, after we got home, I consulted The Joy of Cooking cookbook tome and realized I was basically making a lentil soup with a twist.

Satisfied in knowing I was gonna make something delicious, I set upon the task of peeling, chopping and dicing. This soup takes some prep, but it's worth it. The smells emanating from the kitchen as everything is simmering away always makes me remember why I love homemade soup. It makes your soul feel good.

Lentil and Cannellini Bean Soup, with Sausage and Kale

3-4 carrots, diced

3-4 celery stalks, diced

1 large onion, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 package turkey sausage (sweet or hot), casing removed, cut into small pieces

2 cans of white cannellini beans, rinsed & drained

1 pound dried lentils

1 bunch of Kale, cut into small pieces, ribs removed

2 quarts chicken stock/broth

1 can of stewed/chopped/fire roasted/whatever is on hand tomatoes

3 teaspoons dried rosemary, crushed slightly using your hands

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

2 bay leafs

1 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

salt to taste

Parmesan Cheese, grated/shredded

Add sausage to large soup pot and saute in olive oil, breaking up pieces with a spoon. When sausage is mostly cooked through, add carrots, celery and onion, saute for a few minutes, then add garlic, rosemary, thyme and pepper. Continue cooking until vegetables are soft, but not brown.

Add dried lentils, cannellini beans, tomatoes, bay leafs, and chicken stock to the pot and stir to combine. Bring to a boil and skim the foam off the top. Cover and reduce to a simmer. Continue cooking for 35-40 minutes until the lentils are tender, checking occasionally and giving everything a stir.

Once lentils are to your liking, add balsamic vinegar and the chopped kale in batches until its wilted and soft.

Taste. (Don't burn your tongue, soup is very hot!) Add more salt if needed.

Serve with grated/shredded parmesan cheese on top if desired.

Enjoy!

Note: This makes A LOT of soup. I would not try to double it unless you have a massive stock pot. It will make at least 6-8 servings.

The stuff dreams are made of

How could anything be bad with half a bottle of wine in it? Or with turkey sausage and Chicken Tortellini?

Adam loves this Tuscan Ravioli Soup. He told me it was, "the stuff dreams are made of." Can a soup get any better a compliment than that? This soup, along with one other, Pureed Lentil Soup, are probably his two favorite soups that i've made... and i've made a lot of soups. (One of these days i'll get around to posting the lentil soup because that one is also soo good)

This soup is heart warming, smells delicious and really hits the spot on those chilly fall and winter nights. It has a ton of rosemary and garlic in it so of course if anyone walks anywhere near the kitchen they'll be asking what smells so good. (and don't you just love hearing that?)

The main veggie in it is Kale, arguably one of the healthiest vegetables there is. It's great in soups as it holds up to heat without wilting away as much as spinach or swiss chard does. Or it's great simply prepared sauteed with some olive oil and garlic, like this as a side dish. One of it's other bountiful benefits is that it's super cheap. A huge bundle of it that barely fits into those plastic produce bags was only 79 cents. It take a little time to prep it, as you can see here, but it is well worth the couple extra minutes.

I've made this recipe a few times with a couple variations. One of the best alterations was when my Mom made it and added italian style turkey sausage to it. That seemed to be the tipping point that brought it to a new level from the additional spices and flavors that it added. When cooking turkey sausage i usually remove the casings before cooking it. I find that the flavors spread out more through the dish and allows you to either treat it more like ground meat if you wanted to or cut into pieces and cook normally. This time the only kind i saw in the store was the hot version of it (instead of sweet), which ended up being not as hot as i worried it might be, but gave a subtle crushed red pepper kind of heat to the soup.

The other addition is adding wine. I like that the recipe keeps the sodium level lower by only using 2 cans of beef broth plus one can of water. But i find that despite all the rosemary, garlic, and bay leaves that the broth still tastes a little thin for some reason. So i usually add a cup or two of whatever wine i have on hand. The first couple times it was red, this past time it was white. If using red wine, one cup is probably fine. When using white this time i kept adding more of it in. Once that's added and you give it time to simmer and reduce slightly, the real depth of flavor seems to come out.

I keep calling this a soup, but it's really a stew. A hearty stew. There's so much in this yet it still remains fairly economical. I didnt have any of the ingredients on hand and it cost about $14 for 4-5 servings. Unless you have a massive soup pot, i wouldnt try doubling the recipe until you know that your cooking vessel can hold all of it.

So here it is:

Tuscan Ravioli Stew

1 bunch of Kale

6 large cloves of garlic

1 large onion, sliced thinly
2 Bay leaves
2 tbs of fresh rosemary or 2-3 tsp. of dried

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cans of beef broth
1 1/2 cups water

1 cup red wine (or white, and add more if you'd like)

2 (14 oz) can of stewed tomatoes
1 9 oz refrigerator package of fresh Chicken Ravioli (i often use chicken tortellini as well)

1 package of turkey sausage

Garlic salt to taste
Shredded fontina cheese (or parmesan, or Romano)

(feeds 4 with some leftovers)

Slice garlic thinly (all six cloves). Coarsely chop Kale into about 1 inch pieces. Slice onion thinly.

Heat olive oil in a large soup pan. Cook turkey sausage and then add garlic, sautéing garlic for a minute. Add onion and kale and sauté another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add crushed Rosemary and stir - heat one minute.

Add Beef Broth, water, Bay leaves, wine, and stewed tomatoes, including all liquid. Heat to boiling and let simmer on low for 10 minutes with lid on.

Add chicken Ravioli and stir. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until Ravioli is tender, about 10 to 12 minutes. After about 6 minutes taste broth and add garlic salt & salt to taste.

Serve in bowls, top with shredded cheese and accompanied by chunks of a good Artisan Bread of your choice.

And now for something simple

There are times when i love big complex flavors. Lots of spice, lots of ingredients.

And then sometimes i just want something pure and simple.

Yesterday was one of those nights.

I had been eating meatloaf for a couple days and shockingly i got a bit tired of it and was craving something healthy and filled with veggies. From time to time i crave a really good vegetarian dish, usually it's after i've been indulging in unhealthy things like lots of bad carbs, meat-heavy dinners or too much take-out food.

In college i had a roommate who was vegetarian. Most of the time we'd whip up something super simple, with only a few ingredients and 99% of the time it would turn out amazing. If it weren't for my roommate, Sonia, there's a chance that i would have never tried tofu. Granted, one of the tastiest preparations of tofu is lightly fried in olive oil till golden brown with a little salt and pepper... but it certainly isnt the healthiest. Extra firm tofu by itself has around 4-5 grams of fat per serving, but none of it is saturated. Overall it's a very healthy with 9g of protein per serving and about 80 calories. Alone it doesnt have a ton of flavor but can be easily enhanced by absorbing flavors that it's cooked with. Honestly, i've gotten used to the taste of it plain and it has a nice soft but firm texture. If for some reason you really don't like tofu or want to try it, by all means, replace it with some chicken.

Chickpeas, or garbanzo beans, have quickly become one of my other favorite things to cook with (in addition to eggplant). They're very cheap-- anywhere from 80 cents to a dollar per can, and pack a ton of protein and fiber as well. Generally the healthiest and most economical way to use all beans is to buy them dried and soak them over night so that you avoid all that sodium that usually comes with canning anything. I often do not plan out my meals ahead of time so generally this doesnt work for me, but it's something that i've been meaning to do to save even more money on food.

In my free time at work i'm often reading recipes and blogs about food, and stumbled upon this blog, 101 cookbooks, by way of Bon Appetite's website. I'll be coming back her website often to look for more tasty things to make. This recipe combines lots of readily available healthy ingredients that you may already have in your pantry, freezer or fridge and is very low in cost. It serves roughly 3 large main course servings.

Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 small onion or a couple shallots, sliced or diced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup chopped kale (can substitute other dark leafy greens)
• 2 small zucchini, 1/2 inch dice
• zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat 1 tbs of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chickpeas and saute until the chickpeas are deeply golden and crusty. Stir in the tofu, season with salt and pepper. Cook until tofu is just heated thru, about a minute or so. Stir in kale (or other greens) and cook for a minute or two more. (At this point i also added my own additional seasoning of a little "italian seasoning blend" and a small pinch of nutmeg.) When the greens have slightly wilted, remove everything from pan. In the same skillet add one more tablespoon of olive oil and the zucchini and saute until it starts take a little bit of color. Add everything back to the skillet, add the lemon juice and zest, and adjust seasoning as needed.

Serve & Enjoy!

I would assume that this recipe is really a no-brainer to most vegetarians. But what i liked about it is the toasting of the chickpeas and the ease of how quickly the whole thing came together. You can substitute out other ingredients to adjust for what you have on hand, but i wouldnt leave out the chickpeas-- they're my favorite part of the dish. For some reason i couldnt find any kale so i used a box of frozen chopped spinach. While i know that most purist would probably say to always use fresh when you can, i just think that you get so much more out of a box of the frozen stuff rather than the bag, and it's cheaper.

Basically i didnt change anything else except for adding a little italian seasoning and a pinch of nutmeg. I also cheated and used bottled lemon juice that i had in my fridge. I'm sure it would have been even better with a fresh lemon and the zest. Dinner smelled delicious while cooking it and was delicious while eating it! I had a massive portion for dinner, so much so that my stomach hurt afterwards from being so full. Those chickpeas are deceptively filling!

I had this as leftovers for lunch two days in a row at work. People asked me what smelled good. I love making my coworkers jealous with my home-cooked meals while they spend their money on not-so-great stuff they buy at deli's or other places. Big money saving tip: bring lunch from home! By the time i get to work in the morning i'm already looking forward to eating lunch-- it keeps me going throughout the day.

Sidenote: The more i read other people's food blogs, the more i realize that my writing stinks. Please bear with me as i try to improve :P

mmmm Curry!

I've been wanting to make a curry dish for awhile now. Adam and I both love big bold flavors and it's those dishes that i tend to get the most excited about. Over the past couple weeks i've looked at a couple curry recipes and finally decided on one that didnt have a billion ingredients that would break my food budget and was simple to make.

I settled on one from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman. I often fall back on this massive cookbook for when i have something that i'm not sure what to do with or i need a fairly basic recipe for something (like curry!). It's a similar style cookbook to The Joy of Cooking. Both are great resources to have in your kitchen.

The original recipe is Braised Cauliflower with Curry and Tomatoes (p.555 of his book) What i liked about this one in particular is that it used about 6 spices (common to most spice cabinets) to make your own curry spice mixture and that it used Cauliflower, something i've never tried cooking before. I made several changes to the original recipe based on what i remembered to buy from the grocery store and then i added a couple things to it to make it heartier. I made the mistake of not checking the recipe before buying my ingredients at the store, and sure enough, i forgot to buy tomatoes. Fortunately i already knew that i wanted to add eggplant to the curry and figured that the eggplant would take the place of the tomatoes and that i could add some tomato sauce that i had on hand to help substitute the flavor. I also added some chick peas, onion, chicken and chicken broth that were not in the original ingredient list.

So here's the adapted recipe i've come up with:

(for orginal recipe, see p.555 of How to Cook Everything)

Cauliflower, Eggplant and Chickpea Curry w/ Chicken

(Serves 4 plus some leftovers)

2 Tbs. Olive Oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. peeled & minced ginger

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 tsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 head cauliflower (about 1 1/2 lbs. trimmed of green leaves, cut into florets)

1 large eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

1-2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup tomato sauce (can substitute w/ canned diced tomatoes)

1 can chickpeas

prepared jasmine or brown rice (optional)

1 lbs. chicken pieces (tenderlions, breasts, or thighs - your choice) (optional)

If using chicken, season it w/ salt and pepper and cook till done, cover and set aside.

Heat oil in a large pan, add onion, ginger and garlic & saute a couple minutes.

Add salt and spices and cook stirring for 30 seconds to toast slightly and release their aromas.

Add cauliflower, eggplant, tomato sauce, chickpeas and broth. Stir to combine. Depending on the size of the pan your using, the eggplant will take up a lot of room at first, but don't worry, it will cook down considerably.

When eggplant has started to "wilt" and all ingredients seem well mixed together, cover and cook for at least 10-15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. The amount of cooking time is up to you based on desired doneness of your cauliflower and desired the thickness of your curry. I liked it better a little softer with a thicker consistency, so i believe i cooked it for 15ish minutes.

Serve with rice and top with chicken.

As always, taste as your cooking and adjust seasoning as you like it.

My Review

One of the main things i liked about this dish is that it's very adaptable and there's great depth of flavor. It has some nice heat without being so hot that you can barely taste anything else. (helps clear those sinuses too) I'd recommend definitely using the spice mixture listed rather than store bought curry powder, it was way more flavorful. It can be made purely as a vegetarian dish or you can cook up some chicken with it to make it heartier for more protein. I'd recommend serving it with some nice jasmine or brown rice to help give some relief from the spice. (But no rice for me this time, still doing the low carb thing)

This made a ton of food. It served Adam and me dinner twice this week, gave me a lunch portion for work, and there was still a little bit leftover. Eggplant is still ridiculously on sale for 79 cents a pound so i got a massive eggplant for only $1.30! (The cauliflower was more expensive at $2.50 a head) The total cost of the meal for me was probably less than $10, including have to buy turmeric. (i already had the chickpeas, broth and tomato sauce). I really love that i can create delicious, hearty, healthy, rememberable meals while still remaining easily on my small food budget.

A few tips:

• When using fresh ginger, go ahead and buy a large piece of it even if you only need a little. It's generally pretty cheap so why not, and then you can always have it on hand when needed. The trick is to freeze it, but make sure you peel the whole thing first. Then when you want to use it, take it out and grate it on a microplane. (i thank Rachel Ray for that tip) Since i grated the ginger that way i went ahead and did the same for the garlic.

• Fresh cauliflower is kind of a pain in the butt to prep (at least to me it is). I would assume that frozen cauliflower would work fine in this dish but you may have to adjust the cooking time based on how well done you want it.

• Red wine does not help cool your mouth down when eating spicey foods

Who needs taco seasoning?

Taco Seasoning - i'll never buy it again. It's not worth the money, even if it is cheap. You can make much better tacos without it, and without all extra stuff like preservatives and mystery added ingredients.

OLD EL PASO TACO SEASONING INGREDIENTS:
Maltodextrin, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, spice, monosodium glutamate, corn starch, yellow corn flour, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, silicon dioxide (anticaking agent), natural flavor, ethoxyquin (preservative).

Recently i've been making a concerted effort to use more in season vegetables. This not only makes dinner healthier, but bulks up the meal with more food while still remaining very cheap. Eggplant, summer squash and green peppers are constantly on sale right now at the markets. Generally i find them for less than a dollar a pound. This week eggplants were $0.79 a pound, you can't pass that up. Ground turkey was also $1.99 a pound so i decided on making tacos for dinner. I figured that i could chop up the eggplant into a small 1/2 inch dice, cook it down a bit and season it well where you almost wouldn't even realize it was there. It mingled nicely with the meat and was delicious. I bet this would also taste great with some zucchini. When i made this last night, Adam said it made his list of "top ten dinners" that i've ever made.

I wanted to experiment with making my own taco seasoning since i find that when the store bought mixes are used, it often doesnt make me feel so great - probably from all the unnecessary added ingredients listed above, along with a lot of sodium. I looked at a couple taco recipes online and came up with my own mixture.

TURKEY TACO'S (4-6 servings depending how hungry you are)

1.3 lbs. Ground Turkey

1 Eggplant

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 can of diced fire roasted tomatoes, drained

1 can of black beans, mostly drained (keep some liquid) + 1 tsp. Balsamic Vinegar

Shredded Cheese for topping the tacos

1 1/2 Tbs. Chili Powder (i used Ancho Chili Powder)

2 tsp. Cumin

1 1/2 tsp Oregano

1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Salt

1/2 tsp. Fresh ground Black Pepper

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

1/4 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

(all seasonings are estimates, i didnt measure exactly - adjust seasoning to taste as you're cooking)

In a large pan, brown meat then add vegetables and seasonings. Stir well to combine. The eggplant will decrease in size significantly. Add the diced tomatoes and cook vegetables, stirring often. While cooking meat and veggies, in a separate small pan cook down the beans with a splash of balsamic vinegar, plus some salt and pepper. (Balsamic vinegar is my not-so-secret ingredient in black beans). Add beans to pan with the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. My version is fairly mild in spiciness (but still full of flavor), so kick up the spice even more if you'd like!

Serve in whole wheat wraps, or taco shells with shredded cheese and other topping as desired. I'm doing a low carb diet so i just ate the meat and veggie mixture in bowl with some shredded cheese. i didnt miss the wrap or taco shell in the least bit!

Adam and I each had a healthy serving and there was plenty left for me to bring for lunch and for a 2nd dinner. Total cost was about $6 (i had the cheese and the whole wheat wraps already on hand). When people claim that you can't eat healthy on a budget, they're just not trying hard enough. Watch the sales, review the circulars and buy in season vegetables. You could stretch this meal even further by making some brown rice to go with it. It was 100x better than taco bell, much cheaper and way healthier!

A quick guide to what vegetables and fruits are in season

The one that started it all

Last year for Adam's birthday i decided to try out a new recipe. I had never made meatloaf before and honestly, most meatloafs don't excite me. But this one changed it all. It has chunks of fresh mozzarella in it and a ton of fresh basil and parsley. It's also made with ground turkey. We loved it, it was a huge success. What made Adam even happier is that i sent him home with basically half the loaf so that he could eat it for lunch during the week at work.

The next day i shared the recipe with some friends in our normal email chain. It sparked so much curiosity that a new found love of meatloaf was born. People talked for weeks about meatloaf, how to create the best one and what crazy ingredients should be added to make it the best. Soon we decided that we should have a meatloaf cook-off. Some of our friends baked a new meatloaf each week trying to perfect their recipe adding things like bacon, corn bread mix, different ground meats, different cheeses, and so on. It was talked about so much in the email chain that other people who were not interested in delicious loafs of ground meat asked that we talk about different things. It turns out that the competition never happened. It was set for the day after a large party and many, including myself, felt to hungover and tired to even think about making meatloaf. The date was never rescheduled, but maybe someday it will happen.

I've made this meatloaf about 4 times since then and i rarely ever change the original recipe. It's mostly perfect as is. Since the cold weather has been winding down i decided to make it as farewell to winter. The other week i also moved to my new apartment i have not tried out the oven. It's a little ancient looking doesn't even have a temperature gauge light or buzzer to tell you if the oven is hot enough. Turns out that it works great, but maybe get a little too hot based on what i set it at, so it was a learning experience. My side dishes were peas and brown rice to round out the dinner.

ITALIAN TURKEY MEATLOAF

2 lbs. ground turkey
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
2 large eggs
1/4 cup skim milk
3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
salt& pepper to taste
chopped basil to taste
1/2 lb. mozzarella cheese, cut into chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all ingredients, except the mozzarella, in a large bowl and mix well. Divide the mixture in half.

Lightly spray loaf pan w/Pam. Fill pan halfway w/turkey mixture and pat down firmly. Press 1/2 of the mozzarella chunks randomly into the meat. Top w/remaining meat and press firmly. Top w/remaining mozzarella cheese, pressing pieces into the meat.

Bake for approx. 1 1/2 hrs. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes.

My Review

Like i said above, i rarely ever change this recipe. I use either 93% fat free or 97% ground turkey or sometimes i use one container of each. This time i used all 93% because the other one was a dollar more! (this annoys me greatly when the healthier options are more expensive). The only way i see ground turkey is in pre-packaged containers of 1.3 pounds, so i use two of those and keep the amount of the other ingredients the same even though its a little more meat. I use fresh mozzarella and fresh herbs. I know this makes it more expensive but i feel it just wouldn't be as good with a more processed mozzarella and dried herbs. A new discovery i've found is whole wheat bread crumbs, so i always use those now in place of regular ones.

It's a good idea to use an instant read meat thermometer for this. Unlike beef where you can get away with eating it less done, i wouldnt gamble it with turkey. You also don't want to over cook it so that it's too dry. Your meatloaf is done when it has reached 160 degrees. Take it out and let it rest for 5 more minutes. (it will continue cooking slightly) Test the temperature a couple times towards the end of the cooking time. Since i was using an oven i've never used before i was very happy that i checked my meatloaf 20 minutes early. It was already at 180... So it turned out a bit dryer and crispier around the edges than normal, but it was still good.

I recommend the best way to mix all your ingredients together is by hand. I know, yuck. At least that's what i say in my head when i have to do it. Up until halfway through college i had really not even touched raw chicken, let alone any other types of raw meat. It's still a contention at my parents house that i've yet to come anywhere near the uncooked turkey at Thanksgiving. They're convinced i'm on the 12-step program and will someday (hopefully soon) make Thanksgiving dinner instead of my mom doing most of it. I've overcome dealing with most boneless, skinless raw meat and have mostly come to terms with ground meats. It's still not pleasant for me but i deal with it to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated with the turkey. You'll also get a feel if the mix is too dry or liquidy. If too dry add a little milk and if too moist add more bread crumbs, then remix.

I've thought about making a sauce to go with the meatloaf. Maybe a marinara sauce or even a reduced balsamic glaze. I've yet to do it, but maybe some day i will. Variations that you could also try is adding a couple cloves of minced garlic, some finely chopped onion, or even adding more herbs like thyme or herb de provence. One of my friends tried out this recipe and added bacon.

As you can probably guess, 2+ pounds of turkey meatloaf is a lot food. That plus 2 sides for dinner is very filling. It has fed Adam and I all week. So even with the fresh herbs, mozzarella cheese and ground turkey making it more expensive than a regular meatloaf, if it feeds us all week that's still a very cheap meal per serving. My total cost was about $13. I already had the parmesan cheese, the bread crumbs, milk and eggs. Most people have these on hand as part of keeping a well stocked kitchen so hopefully making this won't cost you too much. Even if you have to buy all the ingredients need to make this, i highly recommend it. It's one of our favorites and hopefully will soon become one of yours. Enjoy!

Hold the Spam

From time to time there are a few dishes i crave from childhood. All of them are made by my mother. Spaghetti Carbonara, Pot Roast, Angel Food Cake with Coolwhip as icing, Lime-Pear Salad, and Mac'n'Cheese. Most of these used to be requested by me on my birthday when i had the choice of what we had for dinner. To me they're the ultimate comfort food. Unhealthy, but hearty and filling.

Recently i have been craving Mac'n'Cheese. This is not your standard box mix by Kraft or Annie's Mac or god forbid, Velveta (yuck). It's completely homemade from scratch and well worth the time and calories to make it. For Christmas i also received a food processor and have been dying to try it out to grate all that cheese. (and let me tell you, that thing is amazing! 2 seconds, bam! done!)

Now, the original recipe calls for Spam. My dad is the only one who requests it this way and thinks it better. The rest of us prefer to leave it out. But just incase you're one of those people love Spam, i'm including it in the recipe. Apparently there are lots of new varieties of Spam, including a bacon and a lite version. So take your pick if you chose to use it.

This recipe is basically perfect in my opinion and i didnt want to change it much from how my mom makes it make. It's simple, uncomplicated, and so cheesy. I gorged myself on it, i'm surprised my stomach didnt hurt afterwards. I only made slight changes but i'll get to that in the review.

Macaroni Spam Casserole

12 oz. Can of Spam
3 cups Macaroni
6 Tablespoons Butter
6 Tablespoons Flour
¾ teaspoon Salt
¾ teaspoon Dry mustard
3 cups Milk
¾ lb. (or up to a pound) sharp chedder cheese, shredded
Parsley (opt.)

Prepare macaroni, drain. Cube Spam, reserve a few for top of casserole. Mix Spam & macaroni in 3 quart casserole, set aside.

Cheese sauce:
Combine flour, salt & mustard. Melt butter in large pot, stir in flour mixture & cook until bubbly, don’t brown. (This step is making a roux) Gradually stir in milk (note: heat the milk for about 2 minutes in microwave to make this step go faster). Cook over medium heat until thickened, then add shredded cheese off the heat.

Pour cheese sauce over macaroni & Spam. Add reserved Spam cubes & top with parsley. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

My Review:

To try to make it somewhat healthier, i used whole wheat macaroni. You can't tell the difference at all since the sauce is so rich. I used a full pound of cheese since i had to buy two 8oz. cubes anyway. One of them i used low fat sharp white chedder, and the other was regular sharp yellow chedder. To also help cut some of the fat i used 1% milk. I'm sure it would be even richer and creamier with full fat cheese and a higher fat milk, but it's super tasty this way and nobody will notice the difference if you don't say anything.

The only changes to the seasoning was using a full teaspoon of dry mustard, and i added a pinch of nutmeg and a pinch a paprika when making the roux. As said before, i omitted the spam, but added whole wheat seasoned bread crumbs plus a little more paprika to top for a little crunch.

The result? I had a massive serving of it. There's a whole 3 quart casserole, it's gotta be eaten some how... I microwaved some frozen peas with it so i could get in a serving a veggies. They taste great with the cheese and mix in easily on your plate if you so chose to do so :) Geoff came home from class and was super psyched to have it for dinner and had a healthy portion for himself. There's still tons of leftovers for the week... i may gain five pounds from this.

When making the roux and then adding the milk i kept wondering how much it would thicken. Give it time, and keep stirring the milk/flour/butter mixture. It will thicken quite a bit and you'll know when it's time to add the cheese. Make sure to add the milk slowly and keep stirring the whole time making sure to mix in the flour well. When adding the cheese do a little at a time to make it easier for yourself.

I'll also make a side note that food processors are amazing! I've wanted one for a long time and have wasted so much time chopping and grating things. My arms and knife skills are better from it, but man, what a time saver. That cheese was gone in 2 seconds! It took about 5 times as long to clean the parts than it was to grate the cheese. I'm looking forward to making pesto, hummus, and possibly even dough in the future with this thing. Stay tuned for those recipes.

This recipe makes a massive amount of food. It's easily to make, and really cheap too. The whole cost of the meal was about $13, which included buying dry mustard, the pasta, the milk, and the cheese.

(A photo will posted this afternoon)