Kitchen Weekend

After my run yesterday, I hung around for awhile watching TV, reading blogs and making my grocery list.  I finally got motivated to go to the grocery store and when I got home, I immediately started cooking.  I decided to take the brussel sprout stalk I got at my CSA and turn it into a delicious veggie filled Mac N Cheese.  I was inspired by a Boston blog TheFoodinmyBeard. Here are the ingredients:

Brussel Sprout , Bacon, Squash Cheesy Mac N Cheese
Ingredients: 
1 Lb Pasta
6 Slices Bacon
1/2  Onion
1/2 cup Mushrooms
2 Cups Milk
1/2 cup of cream 
3 Tablespoons Flour
4 Tablespoons Butter
8 Oz of Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Stalk Brussel Sprouts
1/2 Cup Pecorino Romano Cheese
2 Tablespoons Melted Butter
1 Cup of Panko Bread Crumbs wit 1 tablespoon of melted butter

Instructions:

Turn oven on to 375 degrees. Dice onions and mushrooms, shred the brussel sprouts, chop the bacon, and put water in a large pot on the stove. Cook the bacon until fully cooked. Drain out most of the fat and add the butter. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook about 5 minutes. Add the flour and stir constantly then whisk in the milk making sure to whisk out all lumps. Bring this to a simmer then add the cheese in handfuls, doing figure-eights with your wisk. Mix the shredded sprouts with the Romano cheese, butternut squash and melted butter.  

 

Cook pasta about 3 minutes less than the package says. Mix the cooked pasta and the cheese sauce together then add the mixture to the brussel sprout mixture in a casserole pan. Add crumbled bacon and mix thoroughly together.  

 

Then mix butter and panko bread crumbs and add on top. Cook for about 30-40 minutes.

 Talk about a loaded Mac N Cheese.  It had a decent amount of butter + bacon, but I also used Fat Free Milk and it was loaded with veggies.  This dish was our dinner last night and our lunch today.  We will also eat it for lunch throughout the beginning of the week.  One big thing I changed, was I used a lot less milk then the original recipe used... I think if I was to make this again, I would follow my recipe again but with half the pasta.

With this dish, I made Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab and Remoulade Sauce.  This recipe was almost 100% taken from Closet Kitchen. 

 I got these beauties in my CSA this week.  I thought they were green tomatoes, but after looking at Jess's blog-  could they be tomatillos?  Are those the same?  Someone with more knowledge help me out.
Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab and Remoulade Sauce
Ingredients:
4 green tomatoes (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup flour
1 egg (lightly beaten)
1/4 cup corn meal
oil for frying
1 cup of crab meat (I sauteed in a pan with salt and pepper)
Remoulade Sauce: 

Ingredients:

2 T of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 teaspoon horseradish
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 green onion (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
hot sauce to taste

(Mix together until smooth)Instructions:
Season the tomato slices with salt and pepper.Dredge the tomatoes slices in the flour, then dip them in the egg and finally dredge them in the corn meal. Fry the tomato slices in oil until golden brown on both sides, about 1-2 minute per side. I use a tony bit of oil, so to get them golden, I ended up baking them for 10 more minutes.  Then I mixed the remoulade sauce ingredients together and cooked the crab meat.  I layered the tomatoes with crab then the sauce.  Served along side the Mac N Cheese.

 I loved how sweet and tasty the tomatoes were and I thought the crab and sauce balanced it very well.

I also made cupcakes.  These are for my dinner tonight- I'm cooking for my mom. This is the worlds easiest recipe and I totally cheated.  Meaning, this is half a package of the Dunkin' Hines Spice Cake mix with about a cup of Canned Pumpkin, 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil.  Then baked at 350 for 18 minutes, cooled and frosted with store bought frosting. Told ya I cheated. 

On another note, last night, we got to visit Lillian.  My friend Pete and Laura's new bundle of joy.

 

She is the cutest thing I have ever seen and only 5 pounds! I wanted to keep her and her tiny hands : )

Also, Friday night, I received a package of Pestos with Panache by Lauren.  

 

Pesto is Lauren's passion and she has created amazing flavors and I am so honored that she sent me some to review and test out.  I am SO SO excited to share with you the recipe I am making (tonight) with this delicious PESTOS! Stay tuned... and GO PATS!