White Cheddar Mac

Yep, that’s right! Another Mac and Cheese to add to my list. This is Panara’s recipe. If you have never been to Panara, you are missing out! It has amazing sandwiches, bagels, soups and salad. AND, as of last year, this Mac and Cheese. From the second I tasted it I have been trying to duplicate the flavors at home. I have gotten close, but never hit it right on. Recently, Panara posted the recipe on their website! I made it immediatley and it was spot on! I changed a couple of things, less mustard, parmesan to top, and I changed the milk to cream ratio. We loved it. I will be making it again soon. Thanks Panara, for sharing the creamy yumminess!

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese
Printable Version

16-ounces pasta shells
¼ cup butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½  cups 1% milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 slices white American cheese, chopped
1 cup (8 ounces) shredded extra-sharp white Vermont cheddar
½ tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon Tabasco hot sauce
Parmesan cheese, to top

Prepare pasta according to package directions.
While pasta is boiling, melt butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly.
Gradually whisk in milk and cream; cook over medium heat, whisking until mixture thickens and bubbles. Remove from heat.
Add cheeses, mustard, salt, and hot sauce, stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth.
Drain and stir in pasta and cook over medium heat for 1 minute. Top with Parmesan and enjoy the creamy yumminess!

Serves 4 to 6
Recipe adapted from Panara.

Mongolian Beef

We love american versions of asian meals. We may love true Asian meals, but to tell you the truth, we have not eaten at real Authentic restraunts. P.F. Chang’s is about as authentic as we have gotten! We love our share of sweet and sour chicken, orange chicken, and honey sauced chicken. It is nice to have a beef meal to mix it up a bit. This was super duper easy, and honestly, I had to go back for more! It was delicious. I even shared it with my friends at work and they were all raving!

Mongolian Beef
Printable version

1 lb flank or sirloin steak, thinly sliced crosswise
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 Tbs. canola oil
1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
3 cloves chopped garlic
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (adjust to change heat)
green onions, for garnish

After slicing the steak thinly, pat dry with a paper towel.  Put cornstarch in a large ziploc bag and add the steak pieces. Toss to coat. If needed, place beef slices in a strainer and shake off excess corn starch.

Heat wok to medium high and add the oil to the wok. Add the beef and cook, stirring until it is all browned. While meat is cooking, combine ginger, garlic, water, soy sauce, brown sugar and red pepper flakes in a bowl. When meat is sufficiently browned, pour the sauce back into the wok and let it cook along with the meat. The longer it cooks, the thicker it will become. Turn off heat when desired thickness is reached. Serve over rice or quinoa and top with green onions.

Serves 2.
Recipe from pinterest

Buffalo Chicken Tacos

He took seconds! And thirds, I think. We loved this meal. It was definitely too hot for my palate, and brinking on too hot for my hubbs. So, I added a little sour cream and some brown sugar. BAM! A perfect meal. We have eaten this 3 times already, it is one of those easy, go-to meals that I always have everything for. ENJOY!

Buffalo Chicken Tacos
Printable Version

2 chicken breasts, skinless, boneless, cut into 1 inch pieces
⅓ cup flour
3 tablespoon cornstarch
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
⅓ cup buffalo wing sauce (we did Frank’s Buffalo Wing), plus extra for garnishment
3 Tbs sour cream (optional, to lessen amount of spice)
1 Tbs brown sugar  (optional, to lessen amount of spice)
1 Tbs olive oil
10 6-inch yellow corn tortillas

Toppings
shredded Lettuce
cilantro
tomato
Avocado slices
Ranch dressing-(so good!)

Heat a large saute pan oven over medium-high heat.

In a bowl, combine cornstarch, flour, cayenne, and garlic powder. Season the chicken pieces with pepper, then dredge in the flour mixture.

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the saute pan, add chicken and cook until done, stirring frequently-about 5 minutes.

While chicken is cooking, mix buffalo wing sauce, sour cream, and brown sugar. Both of these ingredients are optional, they cool down the “hotness” of the wing sauce.

Once the chicken is done, drain on paper towels. Then, toss chicken in wing sauce mixture.

Assemble tacos, dividing the toppings evenly among each taco.

Serves 2.
Adapted from Mrs. Ruguerio

The Thanksgiving Low Down

I am so excited. Okay, so at first, and earlier this week, I wasn't so excited, but now I am. We are staying in Omaha for Thanksgiving, and making a feast just for the two of us. When you think of holidays you think of huge meals and the whole family, and we will totally miss our fan, that is for sure. But, sometimes you don't have a choice, so we are doing it in our beautiful home, just with one another. Cody has been excited about whipping up some yumminess for weeks. Really, he has been scoping out recipes and getting me to forget that we don't get to go home. He is making it FUN that we get to do a holiday with just he and I. I am so blessed to have a "be positive no matter what you are doing" attitude of a hubby. He sure is amazing. I love that he is my best friend, and I am his. I look forward to a weekend of nothing but him. We have our Black Friday shopping stores scoped out and hopefully find some good deals! We are just gonna eat ourselves silly one day, and shop ourselves silly the next!

Grandma's Rolls

Sweet Potato Filled Ravioli or Turkey Noodle Soup (just can't decide! Cody's homemade noodles:))

Cranberry Sauce

Delightful Mashed Potatoes

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Homemade Stuffing (with no chunks!)

Brined Turkey Legs (We did this last year...perfect!)

Apple Crisp with whipped cream

I hope your plans are as fun as ours! Happy Thanksgiving, be thankful no matter where you are or what you are doing!:) Take it from me, it is way better that way!

California Veggie Sandwiches

For some reason, me and veggies have been getting along REALLY well lately! I saw this recipe on Pinterest and was at the store the very next day getting all of the goodies to make it. Now, not that I need to mention this, but this meal isn’t right up Hubbs ally...so we made it for a girls lunch. It was A+ perfect for us. I gobbled up 2 of these babies, and was wanting more with every bite. Fresh, delicious heaven on a peice of toasty toast. Who could as for more? O, and the company was pretty great, too:)

California Veggie Sandwiches
Printable Version

Chive Spread:
1/4 cup greek yogurt  or mayo
1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh chives
salt and pepper

Avocado Salad:
1 avacado, pitted and diced
1 tomato, cored and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 lime, juiced
2 Tbs. chopped cilantro
salt and pepper

4 slices bread, toasted or 4 wraps
1/2 cup alfalfa sprouts
4 slices havarti cheese

For the chive spread, mix the Greek yogurt or mayo and chives. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, gently toss together the avocado, tomato, cucumber, lime juice and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.
Assemble the sandwiches by spreading the chive-yogurt mixture on all four bread slices. Divide the sprouts between the four slices of bread, and top with avocado salad and cheese. Serve open-faced. (If using tortillas, spread the chive-yogurt mixture on the tortillas, and top with cheese, avocado salad and sprouts. Roll, and eat.)

Serves 4.
Recipe adapted from Pinterest-ezzrapoundcake

Coconut Crusted Chicken with Orange Dipping sauce

MMM mmm good! Perfect crunch, perfect sweetness, a little tang, and, like I said, MMM mmm good! Every bite left me wanting more.

Coconut Chicken with Orange Dipping Sauce
Printable Version

1 egg
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
½ cup flour
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. black pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ cup butter, melted
1/2 cup orange marmalade
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Beat egg in medium bowl; set aside. Mix the coconut, flour, garlic powder, salt and peeper in a shallow bowl. Working with one chicken breast at a time, dip the chicken in the bowl with the beaten egg and then coat with the coconut mixture.

Place on the baking sheet. Once all the chicken breasts are coated and on the baking sheet, evenly drizzle with the melted butter. Bake for 30 minutes, or until cooked through.

Prepare the orange sauce by combining the marmalade and the mustard together. Serve with rice or quinoa.

Serves 4.
Recipe adapted from Pennies on a Platter

Sun dried tomato Basil pasta

Girls, gather round! I served this at a girls lunch, and it was devoured. I then served it to my hubby, and he ate it, but did not devour. Ha. This was an awesome dish, but it is definitely a girly one! Perfect flavor from the combo of sun dried tomatoes and basil. Also, I LOVE that I could make a cheese sauce from evaporated milk, I will now be stocking it in my pantry for food storage macaroni and cheese!

Sun Dried Tomato-Basil Pasta
Printable Version

2 cups (8 oz.) dry penne pasta
8 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
1 can (12 fl. oz.) Evaporated Lowfat 2% Milk
2 cups (8-oz. pkg.) shredded Italian-style four-cheese blend
1 bunch fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Prepare pasta according to package directions, adding sun-dried tomatoes to boiling pasta water for last two minutes of cooking time; drain.

Meanwhile, combine evaporated milk, cheese, basil, (leaving some basil for garnish) garlic powder and pepper in medium saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Remove from heat.

Add pasta and sun-dried tomatoes to cheese sauce; stir until combined. Garnish with additional basil and serve.

Serves 4.
Recipe adapted from Taste of Home.