Lunch

Chicken - Veggie Wrap

Using last nights leftover chicken, I made the delicious and low calorie wrap!!

Leave a comment for the recipe!!

Breakfast

Greek Yogurt with Homemade Zucchini Bread

Leave a comment for the recipe to the Zucchini Bread! It's very flavorful and moist!!

Grilled Balsamic-Gremolata Chicken

Leave a comment for the recipe!!

Family Time

As we, here at my house, still finish up leftovers from Easter, I thought I'd post a different kind of message.

There are times that I wonder how my parents did it all when I was growing up... carpooling, working, ballet or tennis lessons, swimming meets, and vacation time... and I question myself all the time, "how in the heck am I going to get everything accomplished today" (- or this week, month, year, etc) All too often I feel like we are rushing from one project or obligation to the next. This generation which is both blessed and cursed with technology seems to be having a very hard time relaxing, unplugging, and merely getting outside together as a family. I am very guilty of this. And even when I do get outside to be with my boys or even to hang out with them on the couch for a bit, I find myself wishing I could have more of that.... 

This past week during Spring Break, I took a good look at my kids - I've always known they are wonderful and amazing, but this week I also realized that they are growing so damn fast! And those amazing qualities are shining brighter than ever... am I missing it? Sometimes I feel like I am - Like I am too busy doing other stuff and not getting to cherish it as much as I could. They are all growing like weeds and I smile when I think about each of them becoming young men. Wow - it's going by too quick. I say this last line very often... and so I started thinking instead of wishing I had more time with them - make it happen. 

At dinner we sit and talk and often my husband and I try to talk to the boys about life, history, learning lessons, local and global news.... and they boys have a lot to say! I am blessed that my husband felt the same way as I did about family dinners. How they are important in knowing who our children are and having them have strong family values... 

If I can squeeze in exercise time, babysitting for others time, girl time, date night time, even TV show time... I better start squeezing in more kid time, because it is flying by at lightning speed!!! So this month I am starting to not do personal TV time. This month that time is my kids time. And yes, every other moment of my day is making sure they are fed, they are clean, the house is clean, the laundry done.... but I mean TIME WITH THEM... time to just listen to them. To cherish them. To be near them (more) and hear what they have to say... because just like my close friends and family, their opinion of their life and the world is important and I want to hear it!!

I wish all of you a beautiful day!

Easter Dinner

Legs of lamb are all prepped and ready to for our Easter dinner! Happy Easter to each and every one of you!!!

Seared Scallops with Lemon-Wine Sauce

Served over Wild Rice... Leave a comment for the recipe!

Bacon Wrapped Pesto Chicken

This was so easy and delicious!! My father-in-law fell in love with it!! Pleasing others through food is a true joy!

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, butterflied

8 slices bacon

1/4 c pesto sauce (see below)

1/8 c parmesan cheese, fresh grated

pepper

1/4 tsp  dried oregano

Directions:

1. Heat grill to medium (350 - 375 ℉ ). Combine the pesto sauce with the grated cheese, mix well.

2. Spoon 2 tbsp worth of pesto mix on one half of butterflied chicken. Close top half and wrap each chicken breast with two slices of the bacon. Wrap tightly, as the bacon will constrict when cooking and will hold chicken and pesto in place. Repeat for all chicken breasts.

3. Place on heated grill. Cook for 5 minutes, flip over and cook additional 5 minutes. Bacon should be brown and crispy and the juices from the chicken should be clear (a sign that the chicken is done).

4. Serve immediately. Enjoy.

For Pesto Sauce:

Ingredients: 

• 1 c pine nuts
•  salt and pepper
• 8 cups (4 ounces) lightly packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Bring 4 cups salted water to a boil; add basil, and submerge with a spoon. Immediately remove and drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water until cool, then pat basil completely dry in paper towels.

2. In a food processor or blender, combine nuts, basil, and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper. Process until nuts are finely chopped. With machine running, pour oil in a steady stream through the feed tube; process until smooth. Use immediately, or freeze.

Butterflying Chicken:

Lay chicken flat or stand on up on one side. Run a sharp knife along one side, making sure not to cut all the way through. two flaps should open up - making "butterfly wings". 

Anise Beef Kabobs

Served with Orzo and Tomatoes...
This was a big hit- even with toddlers!!!

For the Orzo:

Ingredients:

1/2 lb orzo

1 large tomato, diced

2 scallions, sliced, white and tender green parts only

2 tsp olive oil

salt and pepper

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Cook orzo as instructed on package. Meanwhile, dice tomatoes and scallions. Drain orzo and return to pot it was cooked in. Drizzle the olive oil and fold in the tomatoes and scallions. Season with salt, pepper, and vinegar.

For the Kabobs:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp anise seed

3 tsp olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 lb of boneless sirloin, cut into 1 inch chunks

4 metal skewers

Directions:

1. Prepare grill, heating on medium heat (325 - 350 ℉). 

2. In a mortar and pestle, or a ziploc bag with rolling pin, crush the anise seed. In a medium bowl combine the anise seed, oil, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add the beef and toss well, ensuring all beef pieces are coated well with seasoning. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature.

3. Thread the meat on the metal skewers, fairly loosely. Place skewers on the grill, turning occasionally. Cook for approximately 5-8 minutes for medium-rare. Serve Kabobs over the orzo.

For the Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp garlic, minced

3 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tbsp Steak Sauce (A-1, or similar)

pinch of pepper

2 tsp olive oil

Directions:

1. Add first four ingredients in a small bowl. Mix thoroughly, drizzle in the olive oil. Spoon sauce over kabobs and orzo.

Lemon-Garlic Pork Tenderloin

We had the tenderloin with rice pilaf and a mixed green salad. We entertained our neighbors this evening and the meal was a success!! A great evening had by all!
Post a comment for the recipe!!

Ingredients: 

1 1/2 - 2 lb pork loin

salt and pepper

3 tbsp garlic powder

lemon juice of two lemons

zest of one lemon

2 tbsp onion powder

2 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp dried oregano

Directions:

1. Liberally salt and pepper the pork loin, set aside.

2. Combine the remaining six ingredients in a small bowl. The consistency should be that of a thick paste. Rub the entire pork loin surface (top, bottom, and sides). Set aside to marinate.

3. Heat the grill for direct cooking to high (500-525 ℉). Place loin on grill, meat side first - allowing the meat to be seared, locking in juices. Fat side should be done last. Cook on high for about 15-20 minutes. Turn only once during cooking, half way through.

4. To serve, let the pork rest for about 10 minutes before slicing. Slice in 1/2" pieces against the grain.

Panko Crusted Chicken Strip

Ingredients:

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 6 oz. each), sliced into strips

1 1/2 c panko breadcrumbs

1 c all-purpose flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp paprika

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 ℉. Prepare a large baking sheet by spraying non-stick spray.

2. In three shallow bowls: Bowl 1 - add the flour and salt and pepper to season. Mix through. Bowl 2 - add the eggs and beat lightly. Bowl 3 - add the panko breadcrumbs and the paprika, mix through.

3. Dip the chicken strips in the flour, shaking any excess flour off. Dip into the egg, coating lightly. Transfer to the breadcrumb bowl and coat thoroughly. Place strip onto prepared baking sheet. Repeat for all strips. 

4. Bake for 14 minutes, turning baking sheet once halfway through.

Bacon-Cheeseburger

Made with Angus beef, bacon, cheese... What more can one ask for!?!

Ingredients:

1 lb Angus beef, made into 1/4 lb patties

4 slices cheese, (any you prefer: American, Cheddar, Swiss, Bleu)

salt and pepper

1 lb bacon

1 head of romaine lettuce, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 large tomatoes, sliced medium-thick

4 onion buns

Directions:

1. Heat grill to medium-high - about 400 ℉. Salt and pepper patties liberally on both sides. Set aside to come to room temperature (10 minutes).

2. Meanwhile, begin cooking bacon. Cook until just crisp, being careful to not over brown the bacon. Drain excess grease on paper towels. 

3. Place the beef patties on the grill and cook until desired doneness. 2 - 3 minutes on each side for medium-rare. Flip over only once and do not press the patties down with a spatula. This will ensure juice to remain in the meat. Once the patty has been flipped over, add the cheese slices. Immediately after adding cheese put both sides of the buns on the grill. Remove the patties and then remove the buns. Loosely cover the meat with foil, let rest 5 minutes. (I prepare condiments now.)

4. Assemble burgers, dressed buns, patty, bacon, lettuce and tomato and topped with bun. Enjoy! 

Tostada Tuesday

Seasoned ground bison with all the fixin's! Leave me a comment for the recipe!

Ingredients:

4 - 6 corn tortillas

canola or vegetable oil

1 lb protein (ground beef, steak, shrimp, chicken- cut into bite size pieces)*

2 tbsp chili powder

2 tbsp garlic powder

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper

1 can refried beans, low-sodium

1 heart of romaine lettuce, shredded

2 roma tomatoes, diced

4 radishes, sliced

3/4 c shredded cheese (Mexican mix preferable)

sour cream

guacamole

salsa

1. In a medium skillet, add enough oil to cover about 2 inches of pan. Warm oil over medium to medium-high heat. As the oil heats up, lay out newspapers and /or paper towels as a place to transfer corn tortillas to help drain.

2. In a medium sized bowl, add your protein along with the following six ingredients. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

3. Using tongs, add one tortilla at a time to the hot oil. Leave on one side about 30-45 seconds. Using the tongs again, flip the tortilla over and leave on remaining side for another 30 seconds. Remove tortilla letting the tortilla drip off the excess oil into the pan before transferring to the paper towels. Repeat for remaining tortillas.

4. Once the tortillas are complete, in a non-stick skillet, heat over medium-high heat. Add the seasoned protein, along with 1/2 cup water - if using shrimp, instead of using water, replace with lemon juice. Let the meat brown and cook thoroughly.

5. in a small non-stick skillet warm up the refried beans until just heated through. Alternatively, you can warm the beans up in the microwave - in 30 second intervals as the beans can scald easily.

6. To assemble, take one drained tostada shell, add about 2 tbsp of refried beans and spread entirely over the tostada shell. Add a generous helping of the protein, top with lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, cheese, then guacamole, sour cream and salsa as desired.

*My family and I use ground bison. It has much more flavor than ground beef and is also lower in fat and cholesterol!

Chicken Caesar Salad

Easy and quick, it was the first meal of the season with not cooking any element inside! Love it! Leave me a comment for the recipe!!

March Meal Madness

And no, this has nothing to do with basketball!

After having the kids sick and getting them better, I of course came down with it this past weekend - thank goodness for the magical qualities in Pho (along with an entire day spent in bed resting)!!!

So I'm back in the swing of things and decided to buckle down and get the menu planning for the week finished. This led to me realizing we have a busy month ahead of us and I may as well get the month's meals in order - as it will mean one less thing for me to do each week! 

The weather here in Las Vegas is warming up and that means less cooking indoors and more grilling outdoors! Personally I love this time of year, grilling means less mess in my kitchen! So without further ado, I present March Meals (and the first week in April too)!

Meal planning like this helps me in many ways, but the biggest one is it enables me to go bulk shopping for my meats/proteins. I prefer to bulk shop this way since it is a good forecast of what we will be consuming this season. It means more fish and leaner meats and less of what I bought for winter like roasts, etc.

Send me a comment on the ones that sound interesting and I will make sure to post the recipe!

Chicken and Soba Soup

Chicken and Soba Soup

Ingredients:

10.8 cups Chicken Broth (or 6 cans chicken broth)
2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, cut thinly
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups water
4 oz soba noodles
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced across the grain
1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, sliced thinly in about 1/2 inch pieces
6 ounces snow peas, ends and string removed, cut in 1/2 inch pieces
3 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 scallions thinly sliced
course salt

Directions:

1. In a large stock pot bring the chicken stock, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and water to a boil over high heat. Add the noodles, reduce teh heat to a simmer and cook until noodles are tender, about 6 minutes.

2. Add the chicken, bell pepper, and snow peas. Cook until the chicken is opaque throughout, about 1 minute. Add the lime juice and the scallions, season with salt. 

3. Using tongs, serve out noodles among four bowls, then ladle the soup over each.

EASY SOUP!

I am making the world's easiest chicken soup right now!!! The broth is delicious- I will be posting the recipe later tonight!!! Can't wait to eat!

How does your garden grow...

I've been a bit quiet on the blog as holidays and long weekends passed in all our households. It's crazy to think we are only days away from March which includes, St. Patrick's Day, the beginning of Spring, and plans for Easter! 

This is also the time that my family and I start planning our garden. What hte heck does this have to do with cooking? EVERYTHING! Come summer, I hardly buy a single vegetable or fruit - I just go pick them fresh!

My husband, thank goodness, enjoys the manual labor that helps our harvest come to fruition... I lucked out in finding someone who enjoys it as much as I do! He was taught how to garden by his grandfather, so we make sure our kids know how to do it too! 

Even though it's a bit early we jumped at the chance to pick up some early plants at the nursery this year we will have:

Tomatoes -

   Cherry

   Early Girl

   Hawaiian

   Roma

Corn - Sweet White

Carrots

Cucumber - Pickling 

Onions - Sweet Yellow 

Artichokes (existing)

Asparagus (existing)

Peach (existing)

Blackberry (existing)

Almond (existing)

Nectarine

Apricot

Pepper - Anaheim

Chamomile - I have no idea how to make my own tea... YET!

Stevia - have no idea what I'm doing here, either! 

English Thyme

Italian Oregano

Sweet Basil

Spearmint (existing)

Strawberries (existing)

Figs (existing)

Grapes

   Thompson (existing)

   Flame (existing)

   Concord (existing)

I am glad that my Dad was someone who loved to grow a garden! I am also very glad that I listened and let it become something close to my heart! I see his pride and happiness when he sees our garden and vines thriving - I also see him anxious to help and take part in it too! Tradition is important... even if that means you are the one that starts it! 

Cheers!

Filet Mignon with Red Wine Reduction

Filet Mignon with Balsamic Reduction

Ingredients:

2 filet mignon steaks, each with a thickness of 1 1/2"

course salt and fresh ground pepper

1 tbsp olive oil, plus additional for drizzle

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Season steaks generously with salt and pepper.

2. Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook to desired temperature, 3-5 minutes on each side. Remove the steaks form the heat, transfer to a plate to rest. Tent loosely with foil.

3. Keeping the same pan over medium-high heat, add the vinegar and deglaze the pan (scrape up brown bits from bottom of pan). Cook until slightly reduced and thickened, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Whisk in the butter. This will form a smooth, glossy sauce.

4. Plate the steaks on individual plates, top with sauce and drizzle with a very small amount of oil.

Lobster Bisque

Lobster Bisque 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb lobster meat, or one tail worth, cut into small chunks

2 tbsp shallots, minced

2 tbsp scallions, chopped

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup dry, white wine

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp tabasco sauce

1 tsp dried thyme

1/4 cup dry sherry, cooking wine

1 tsp paprika

1 cup hot water

2 bay leaves

4 oz tomato paste

2 cups heavy whipping cream

4 tbsp unsalted butter

Directions:

1. In a medium sauté pan, heat about 1 tbsp olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté for about 1 minute.

2. Deglaze the pan by adding wine, scrape any brown bits at this time. Add the Worcestershire sauce, tabasco and thyme and cook for 1 minute. Deglaze again, this time with the sherry. 

3. Add the paprika and hot water and stir well. Stir in the tomato paste and add the bay leaves. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Whisk in the heavy cream (slowly pour in) and butter and bring to a boil. Add the lobster meat and simmer until cooked through, about 4-6 minutes (keep an eye on the meat - do not over cook). Serve immediately with warm crusty bread.

Cornish Game Hens with Roasted Vegetables

Cornish Game Hens with Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

2 large onions, quartered

4 shallots, halved

3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces (alternatively you can use a bag of baby carrots)

3 sprigs of fresh thyme, plus additional for tops of hens

2 tbsp olive oil

course salt and pepper

2 Cornish Game Hens

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 340 ℉. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the vegetables with the thyme sprigs, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

2. Tie the hens legs with kitchen twine. Arrange the hens in the vegetables, breast side up. Season additionally with salt and pepper and sprinkle thyme leaves on them.

3. Roast the hens and vegetables, basting the hens occasionally with the pan juices, until a thermometer registers 160 ℉  (avoid inserting thermometer into a bone. Do insert in thickest part of meat on leg), about 30-35 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes.

Pork Loin with Fig Chutney

Pork Loin with Fig Chutney

Ingredients:

Chutney:

10 oz. dried Black Mission figs, quartered

4 tbsp unsalted butter

2 cups port wine

1/2 c water

zest of 1/2 lemon

2 dried bay leaves

1 stick cinnamon

1 tbsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

fresh ground pepper

Pork:

2 pork tenderloins 

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 medium onion, 3/4" slices

3 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into 1" chunks

2 celery ribs, cut into 1" chunks

Directions:

1. Make the Chutney: Combine the figs, butter, and remaining eight ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered until the liquid is a consistency of a loose jam, about 40 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick.

2. Roast the Pork: Preheat the oven to 450 ℉. Rub the pork with the garlic, oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Arrange the onions in a rimmed baking sheet, and place the pork on top. Scatter the carrots and celery around meat. Drizzle lightly with oil. Roast, stirring the vegetables 1/2 way through, until the meat registers at 145 ℉ , about 25-30 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes. Serve with warm chutney.

Linguine and Clams

Linguine and Clams

Ingredients:

2 lb little neck clams, scrubbed

3/4 cup dry white wine

1 lb linguine noodles 

1 bottle clam juice

1/2 c olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 can canned clams, whole

Juice of 2 lemons

Red pepper flakes, pinch

course salt and fresh ground pepper

chopped parsley, for garnish

Directions:

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Meanwhile, put the clams in a large pot or skillet pan. *Discard any clams that are open or do not close to the close. Add the white wine and clam juice, turn the heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to open, about 3 minutes. Individually remove each clam from the pan and set aside in a large bowl. Discard any remaining clams that did not open. Strain the broth through a cheese cloth into a bowl and set aside.

2. Generously salt the boiling water, add the pasta, and cook according to package instructions.

3. Meanwhile return the skillet pan over medium-high heat to warm the olive oil. Add the garlic, and sauté until just brown. Add the clam broth, the clam juice, and lemon juice and simmer over low heat, about 4 minutes. Add the red pepper flakes and black pepper to taste. Taste the sauce and then season with salt if necessary.

4. Drain the pasta and add directly to the pan. Add the clams and any juices accumulated. Toss gently but well over low heat for about 1 minute. Transfer to a large bowl and garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

Steak Au Poivre with Grilled Asparagus

Steak Au Poivre with Grilled Asparagus

Ingredients: 

1 bunch of asparagus

course salt and fresh ground pepper

olive oil

1 pound beef sirloin

Directions:

1. Heat Grill on Medium-High. Meanwhile, clean asparagus and break off woody ends. On a baking sheet, drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. 

2. Drizzle steak very lightly with olive oil and salt. Liberally add fresh ground black pepper over entire surface of steak. Rub salt, oil and pepper into steaks and set aside.

3. Begin grilling asparagus, if using a vegetable tray add directly to tray and cook until tender. If not using a vegetable tray, lay the asparagus going against the grill lines, to avoid asparagus slipping through grates. Cook, turning frequently, until tender, about 8 minutes.

4. About 2 minutes into the asparagus cooking, add the steak to the hottest part of the grill. For Medium-Rare: grill for 3-4 minutes on each side. For every cooking temp high add an extra minute to each side.

5. The asparagus and steak should finish at the same time. Serve immediately. A simple steak sauce or as shown here, herbed butter is a great finish.

Steamed Lobster Tails with Herb Butter

Steamed Lobster Tails with Herbed Butter

Ingredients:

2 Lobster tails, raw

1/8 cup Old Bay Seasoning

1 Lemon, juice of

1/4 c unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/4 tsp dried tarragon

1/4 tsp dried thyme

salt and pepper, small pinch of each

Directions:

1. Make butter: working with room temp butter, light whip butter with spoon, add 1/4 of the lemon juice, garlic, tarragon, thyme, salt and pepper. Mix together well and set aside. 

2. Bring a 5-6 qt. stock pot 3/4 full of water, Old Bay added, to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, prepare the lobsters.  To cut shell, start by laying lobster on flat working surface, top side of shell up. With kitchen shears, start with at the "top" of the tail (not flapper end) and insert the shears on top side of tail, cut down the length of the tail. 

3. Place steamer basket in pot. Add lobster to the steamer basket and cover. Cook until done through, about 8 -10 minutes.

4. Remove lobsters and plate. Top each lobster with remaining lemon juice and herbed butter. Serve immediately.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Spaghetti and Meatballs

The sauce and meatballs can be made ahead of time - and reheated at time of serving. If doing this method, reheat on the stovetop if possible to keep the meatballs moist and juicy.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 cans (28 oz, each) crushed tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried thyme

course salt and ground pepper

1 large egg

1/3 cup milk

1 large onion, chopped and separated

2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (and more for serving)

1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1 lb ground beef (or turkey, or bison), the leaner the better!

1 lb spaghetti

Directions:

1. The Sauce: In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes, dried herbs, 1/2 of onion, and season with salt and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 25 -30 minutes.

2. The Meatballs: In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, 1 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper. Stir in the breadcrumbs, remaining onion, cheese and parsley. Add the ground meat and mix until combined (I do this part with my hands, it ensures the meat is well moistened and seasoned.) Form into 1" balls. 

3. Add the meatballs to the skillet, and fold into sauce, coating the meatballs. Simmer over medium to medium-high heat until the meatballs are just cooked through, about 8 minutes.

4. While the meatballs are simmering, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. Drain the pasta and add directly to the skillet. Toss gently with the meatballs and sauce. Serve, topping each serving with more cheese

Mommy's Mac and Cheese

Mommy's Mac and Cheese

This is a bit more labor intensive than the pizzas, but so delicious! If possible bake them in individual bowls. Children love great presentation too!

Ingredients:

1 lb. elbow macaroni

4 tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

2 cups half and half

1/8 tsp grated nutmeg

2 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

salt and pepper (to taste)

1/2 c seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 ℉. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain and set aside (drizzle lightly with olive oil to prevent noodles sticking). Meanwhile, in a 4-6qt stock pot over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the flour, coating the onions. In a steady and slow stream, add the milk, whisking continually until there are no lumps. Cook, whisking often until the mixture is thick and bubbly, about 6 to 8 minutes longer. 

2. Stir in the nutmeg and 2 cups of the cheese, season with salt and pepper. 

3. Toss the pasta into the cheese mixture. Transfer to a 9x13" baking dish, or 8 individual baking dishes. Set aside.

4. Toss the bread crumbs with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Top the pasta with the breadcrumb mixture. Bake until the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes. (The crisp cheese on top is the trick to a great oven-baked Mac and Cheese!)

Up next: Spaghetti and Meatballs!