Dear Macaroni and Cheese

temerityjane

crfische - I have the same problem, frequently, especially with fresh vegetables, but it usually ends up being more of a "I couldn't be bothered to make them" thing.Luckily, I've mostly mastered a few recipes that I just keep making over and over - baked ziti, this killer cheese/tomato/red onion/green chili/dijon mayo sauce sandwich, some roasted red pepper pasta (it actually CALLS FOR BURNING OF FOOD).I've actually had pretty decent luck with the recipes on The Pioneer Woman Cooks. Not health food, to be sure, but there are a few lighter recipes mixed in there. And since it's so photo-heavy, I can see what it is "supposed" to look like at any given time.

julezlee

Fische - if you come to NYC after I get back from my HM I could get FI to prepare a home cooked meal for you. It's an amazing thing.

ricksang

PW has some kickass recipes.

temerityjane

ricksang - Have you tried this one?[url]http://tinyurl.com/4maveg[/url]We eat it at least every 2 weeks.

annakatebride

I think you can't be considered good at cooking something until you've a) made it several times and b) f**ed it up at least once.

temerityjane

Aw, crap.

crfische

Free meal? I'm there. Forgot that it will cost me 400 to get there, but still! I'm all over it!

juliebug1997

My brother adds some sugar (not much) and mint to his spaghetti sauce. 

annakatebride

way to go, TJ

annakatebride

I hate sugar in marinara. Or carrots. It's so wrong to me.

bbyckes

Since I'm obviously a FN whore, Paula Deen has some easy to follow recipes in her cookbooks - especially "Just Desserts" for when you're craving something sweet.I usually modify her recipes b/c of fat content etc - but she'll get you off to a really good start.  I really love Tyler Florence's books as they're none too complicated and G. Garvin's books are great too.I have about 40 cookbooks - most I use.  I wish I had more time to devote to cooking and experimenting.

ricksang

Jane- No, but damn that looks so good. My H would not eat it but I would.

NuggetBrain

Whenever I cook anything outside of my tiny little collection of recipes, I always feel like Neville Longbottom in Potions class.

temerityjane

ricksang - do it! Making just one isn't a waste since you can always use red onion, etc in salads, too.I will say that I don't use as much butter as she does, and I slice the vegetables SUPER thin - it takes a long time to cook and gets a bit soggy if everything is too juicy.

mocha beans

Mac and Cheese from Betty Crocker cookbook(at least I think this is the one I use, haven't made it in awhile)2 cups uncooked elbow noodles1/4 cup butter1/4 cup flour1/2 tsp salt1/4 tsp pepper1/4 tsp dry mustard1/4 tsp worchestershire sauce2 cups milk2 cups shredded cheese, or some combination of cheesesHeat oven to 350*Cook macaroni until tender.While macaroni cooks, add butter to 3 qt sauce pan and melt over low heat.Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard, and worcestershire sauce.Cook over low heat stirring constantly until mixture (roux) is smooth and a bit bubbly. (low heat to keep from burning the flour, stir frequently to keep it from sticking, don't leave it alone, watch it)Slowly, with low heat, stir in milk and whisk together. (keep low heat to avoid scalding the milk)Increase heat to a boil, stirring constantly.Boil and stir for 1 minute.Add in cheese, stir until melted.Drain macaroni, and add to cheese sauce, gently stir to coat.Pour into a 2 qt ungreased casserole pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.

annakatebride

Nugget you just made my night with that one.

temerityjane

Nugget, I have never (in the whole entire month I've lurked/posted) had a P&E favorite until this very moment.

juliebug1997

Nugget, Do you end the cooking experiment with "Why does it always happen to me?"

bbyckes

I have to bone up on my HP characters - I totally had to google that reference.

ricksang

Jane are you a vegan/veg?

julezlee

Nugget - do you often end up with a melted cauldron?

temerityjane

ricksang - we're not, but we did an experiment recently of having an entirely meatless week. I wanted to see if I could come up with enough good and healthy recipes that we would eat without realizing we were really "missing" meat, and without relying solely on grilled cheese/mac and cheese. Since then, we've been trying to bring our meat consumption down to just a couple of days a week, and we plan on doing a whole veg month in January. After the week we did, we of course went to Outback - and both felt like absolute shiit for the two days following our steaks.We're not doing it for any moral or other reasons - we just both feel better with less meat in our diets, but really need to work on expanding the filling vegetarian recipes we like.

annakatebride

TJ, do you do beans and rice? I've had some amazing black bean/brown rice combos that are veggie, and italian cooking is great for veggie stuff, though not exactly low cal. Do you do tofu? It's amazing in stir fry over udon noodles. Yum.

temerityjane

annakatebride - That's the other of our big vegetarian stumbling blocks. I have an intolerance of certain textures and just don't eat beans. I keep trying to find some I'll eat but the reaction is really unpleasant.

annakatebride

Yeah, that eliminates a lot. Which have you tried? Do you only do the ones from a can, or have you bought them dried and started from scratch? How long do you cook them? Overcooked beans are terrible...

ricksang

I have tried the vegetarian thing. I can't do it! It is too hard for me.

temerityjane

I've never started from scratch myself. Most of my bean experience is from my mother's cooking - chilis, baked beans, bean salads, etc. The way I react when that texture touches my tongue, you'd think the beans actually bit me in the face.

annakatebride

Ooo, what about stuffed peppers with rice, mushrooms, onion, & cheese? Or risotto with different veggies? I'm not actually a vegetarian anymore, but I was for 3 years. I definitely didn't do it the right way though and never got enough protein/good nutrients. But I probably didn't when I ate meat in those days either, so it didn't really matter. How about homemade pizzas? Whole wheat crust, fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil or just tons of veggies?

temerityjane

We're definitely enjoying finding a lot of ways to make a full meal from just vegetarian ingredients. I'm not even very GOOD at cooking meat. Those all sound like great ideas, annakatebride.ricksang - I agree that it's tough. That's why we had a test week - it was really important that it not feel like something was missing in the meals. We ate big baked potatoes, big salads, PW's roasted red pepper pasta, a stir fry, veggie pizza... i will definitely be challenging long term.

ricksang

I do eat a lot of meatless products. Morningstar breakfast patties are THE BEST.