Cheddar Bacon Ranch Pull Bread (Adapted from Plain Chicken)

• 1 unsliced round sourdough bread
• 8 oz block of cheddar cheese, sliced into thin slices
• 1/4 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 stick butter, melted
• 1/4 tsp dried chives
• 1/4 tsp dried parsley
• 1/4 tsp dill weed
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp onion powder
• 1/8 tsp seasoning salt
• pinch black pepper

Using a sharp knife cut a cross-hatch pattern into the bread.  To do this slice the bread into 1/2 inch slices, making sure not to cut into the bottom crust.  After you make the cuts in one direction, it is easiest to get an extra set up hands to squeeze the loaf together to cut it in the other direction.

Place the bread onto a large piece of aluminum foil and curve up the edges to form a packet.  Then place the thin slices of cheddar cheese in between the cut slices.  Then sprinkle the top with the crumbled bacon.

In a large microwave safe bowl, melt the butter.  Then add the dried herbs and spices. Mix everything together and let it sit for a minute.

Pour the butter/herb mixture all over the bread.

Wrap the foil all the way around the round of bread and place onto a baking sheet.

Slide the baking sheet into the preheated 350 degree oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Then unwrap the bread and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Remove the bread from the oven and place onto a serving plate.

Have your guests tear pieces off to eat.  It is quite honestly the tastiest bread appetizer that I have ever eaten.

Wisconsin Mac and Cheese

• 1/2 lb macaroni
• 2 tbs butter
• 2 tbs flour
• 2 cup whole milk
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 2 cups Monterey jack cheese, shredded
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar/jack or Colby/jack cheese

Boil the Noodles

Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the macaroni according to the directions on the box. Make sure to cook it to al dente.

The Cheese Sauce

Heat a sauce pan over medium heat.  Add the butter to the pan and melt.  Then add the flour. Start to whisk to make a roux.

Whisk until the butter mixture starts to boil and foam.  Then cook for another minute until it starts to lightly turn brown.

Slowly mix in the whole milk.  Continue to whisk and cook until it starts to thicken.

Then add the salt, pepper, paprika and Monterey Jack cheese. Whisk until the cheese is fully melted.

The sauce will not be too thick.  This is perfect.

To Serve

Pour 1/2 cup of the cheese sauce into the bottom of a bowl.  Then add 1 – 1 1/2 cups of cooked noodles to the bowl.

Then top with 1/2 cup of shredded Cheddar/jack or Colby/jack cheese.

Serve.

To eat mix the cheese, macaroni and cheese sauce together.

The shredded Cheddar/jack or Colby/jack cheese will melt right into the mixture and make a perfect mac and cheese.

Southwestern Cheesy Chicken Rice

• Fajita Chicken
  • 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
  • 3 tbs fajita seasoning
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Cheesy Rice
  • 2 cups uncooked rice
  • 2 cups chicken broth
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced
  • 1 green bell pepper, diced
  • 1 can black beans, drained
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tbs butter
  • 2 tbs flour
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 cups half and half, you can substitute milk
  • 1/2 cup processed cheese, Velveeta
  • 1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Fajita Chicken

Trim the chicken and then add to a zip top bag with the fajita seasoning and olive oil.  Shake to coat and let sit until ready to grill.

Preheat your grill to medium/high, make sure to set aside a portion of the grill for indirect cooking.

Remove the chicken from the bag and place directly over the heat source on the grill.  Cook for 6-7 minutes on each side.  Then move to an indirect cooking portion of the grill.  Continue to cook until the juices of the chicken run clear. Roughly 5-10 minutes.

Remove from the grill and set aside.

Cheesy Rice

Cook the rice using your favorite method, except substitute 2 cups of the water with chicken broth.  My rice cooker requires about 4 cups of liquid for every 2 cups of rice.  So I used 2 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water.

While the rice is cooking add 1 tbs of butter to a large skillet or fry pan.  Heat the pan to medium/high and then add the peppers.  Cook for 5 minutes and then add the black beans.  Continue to cook for another 2 minutes or until the peppers start to soften.  Remove them from the pan and set aside.

While the pan is still over medium/high heat, add the remaining 2 tbs of butter to the pan and then add the flour.  Using  a whisk, stir together the flour and butter and create a roux.

Once combined cook while continuing to stir for two minutes.  Cook until the flour/butter mixture turns a light brown.

Add the half and half and stir until thickened.  While stirring add the salt, paprika, chili powder and garlic powder.  Next add the cheese.  Stir until the cheese is melted and you have  a smooth sauce.

Stir the cooked rice into the sauce.

Add the peppers and black beans into the sauce.  Then add the chicken.  Make sure to fold everything together so that the chicken does not shred.

Remove from the heat and serve.

This meal was quick and delicious.  The cheese sauce worked perfectly with the rice.

One Pot Mac and Cheese – (Adapted from Alton Brown)

• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 4 tbs butter
• 2 eggs
• 6 ounces evaporated milk
• 1/2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• 6 ounces processed American cheese – (aka Velveeta)
• 6 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

Single Serve Cheesecakes – (adapted from Joy of Baking)

• Pre-requisites
  • Parchment Paper
  • sheet pan
  • butter or non-stick spray
• Crust
  • 1 cup crushed graham wafer crumbs
  • 1 tbs granulated white sugar
  • 4 tbs unsalted butter, melted
• Filling
  • 2 – 8 oz packages of cream cheese, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

For the cheesecake pans, I used four sheets of parchment paper cut 4 inches wide to make four individual cups.  This makes four perfect little cheesecakes that are easy to get out of the forms.  The reason is that the parchment just peels off the cheesecakes.

I wrapped the parchment around a can that was the diameter that I wanted.  In this case it was a large can of pineapple chunks.

Then I stapled the edges together.  At first I was going to use tape, but then I realized that the tape would melt. So then I grabbed my trusty stapler and made four perfect cups.

Place the parchment cups on a greased cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar.

Once mixed, equally divide the mixture between the four parchment cups.  Then using a smaller diameter can than the one that you used to form your parchment cups, stamp down the crust.

Make sure to hold the parchment cups down while you stamp the crust.  Having a good seal on the bottom will make it so that the filling does not ooze out.

In the bowl of your mixer, beat the cream cheese on low until it is smooth.  Add the sugar and continue beating.  Make sure to scrape the bowl down a couple of times while your are mixing.  Then add the eggs one at a time.  Once the eggs are mixed in, add the vanilla and sour cream.  Continue to mix until everything is incorporated.

At this time either spoon the filling evenly between the cups, or transfer the mixture to a plastic bag and pipe the mixture into each of the cups.

Bake the cups for 30-35 minutes or until firm around the edges and a little wobbly in the middle.  Let cool on a wire rack.  Once cool transfer to the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.

To serve – unwrap the parchment paper and serve with a garnish.  I melted some chocolate and swirled it over the cake before I unwrapped it.  Then I topped it with a strawberry.

The cheesecake was creamy and delicious.

The cakes were a little big for a single serving, but everyone did their best to eat them.  I will definitely be making these again.

They were creamy and delicious.  They had just enough goat cheese to taste the cheese without overpowering the potatoes.  Amazing!!!

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes

• 3 lbs Mashed Potatoes (peeled and quartered)
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 oz goat cheese

Peel and quarter the potatoes.  Place them in a large pan and cover them with water.  Bring to a boil and continue to boil until tender.  Roughly 20-25 minutes.

When the potatoes are done drain and add butter heavy cream and the goat cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.

Mash with a potato masher.

You can use a mixer to get them extra creamy, but I find the lumps to be really nice.  It shows that the potatoes are real potatoes.  Not re-hydrated potato flakes.  Nothing wrong with re-hydrated potato flakes.  They make a nice crust for a fish fry (but that is another post), but for mashed potatoes I prefer the real thing.

The goat cheese added a great flavor to the potatoes. You have to try this out.

Homemade Ravioli

Top with your favorite marinara sauce and some freshly grated cheese and you have a meal.

Mushroom and Spinach Ravioli - (Adapted from Giada De Laurentiis)

• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons for boiling water
• 8 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup mascarpone
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan or Romano, plus extra for garnishing
• 6 egg roll wrappers (6 1/2 by 6 1/2-inch squares)
• 1 large egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• 2 cups marinara sauce, Click here for an easy recipe
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large saute pan heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil. When almost smoking, add the mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook until all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms, about 6 minutes.

Saute the Mushrooms

Squeeze the thawed spinach to remove all of the water.  Then add the spinach to the pan and cook for 2 minutes.

Cook the spinach, Make sure to squeeze all of the water out.

Remove from heat and place mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until you get a coarse texture. Place in bowl and stir in mascarpone and Parmesan cheese. Check for seasoning and set aside.

Stir in the Cheese

Line up 3 wrappers on a cutting board. Brush with the egg and water mixture. Using a tablespoon or a cookie scoop, arrange 4 dollops of the filling on each wrapper – 2 on the first row and 2 on the second – 1-inch apart.

Portion the filling

Place another wrapper directly on top, pressing around the filling and sealing the edges.

Using a fluted ravioli cutter or a pizza cutter if you don’t have one, cut out squares of ravioli. Each filled wrapper will yield 4 raviolis, giving you a total of 12 ravioli. Place ravioli onto a floured baking sheet and keep covered with a linen towel.

Cover and cut into four ravioli

In a large pot, bring to a boil 4 quarts of salted and oiled water. Carefully add small batches of ravioli, about 3 to 4 at a time. This will prevent them from crowding in the pot and sticking together. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Using a spider strainer, carefully remove the ravioli and place on the plate. Tent with foil to keep warm and continue cooking remaining ravioli.

Lined up and ready to cook

In a saute pan, carefully pour in the marinara sauce and simmer for 5 minutes or until warm.

Ready to eat

Divide ravioli between 2 serving plates. Top with marinara sauce and sprinkle with Parmesan.

Grilled Cheese

I love grilled cheese and this is the best I have had.

Ultimate Grilled Cheese

• Rustic Wheat Bread
• Butter – (Preferably Spreadable)
• Manchego Cheese – shredded
• Gruyere Cheese – shredded
• Mozzarella Cheese – shredded or in slices
• 1 tomato – sliced

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Preheat a cast iron skillet or heavy bottom oven safe skillet over medium heat.

Slice the loaf of bread into 3/4 inch slices.  Next butter one side of each of the slices.

Butter the bread. The more even the butter the better the browning

Top the non-buttered side of one of the slices with the mozzarella cheese.  Then layer a couple of slices of tomato onto the bread.

Mozzarella and Tomato is a killer combination

Place the slice of bread, buttered side down onto the preheated skillet.  Then top the tomato with the Manchego  and Gruyere cheeses.  This will make it so that you don’t waste too much cheese bringing the sandwich to the skillet.

Top the bread with the shredded cheese after it is in the skillet

Finally top the sandwich with the other half of the bread.  Making sure that the buttered side is up.

Top with the other half of the bread

Cook for 5-6 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown.  When it is golden flip the sandwich and place the skillet in the oven.  The heavy bottom skillet will retain the heat and will brown the bottom of the sandwich.  The oven will heat the rest of the ingredients making sure that the cheese in the center is melted and warmed.  Nothing is worse than a grilled cheese with un-melted cheese.

Flip when golden brown

Cut in half and serve.  This is the perfect sandwich to eat with a nice bowl of tomato soup.

Grilled cheese with tomato soup

Enjoy….

Below I have included Eric’s ode to Cheesy Poofs.

I love cheesy poofs almost as much as Cartman, although I have never written a song about them.

Cheesy Poofs – (from Alton Brown’s, “I’m just here for MORE FOOD“)

Dry Ingredients

• 9.5oz or 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1/4oz or 2tsp baking powder
• 1/3oz or 1.5tsp dry mustard

Wet Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 3tbs vegetable oil
• 1 cup milk
• 1tbs sugar
• 1tsp kosher salt

Extras

• 8oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese – grated

Alton’s recipe was for a single loaf of cheesy goodness.  I wanted to have more hand friendly snacks so I adjusted the method a bit from the book.  Must say this is cheap eats.  The cheese cost the most but overall it was $2.15 for everything.  It made 60 poofs that were 3in. x  1.5in.  Enough for a whole week of lunches for 4 kids.

Place your oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 375 degrees.

First step is to shred your cheese. I shredded my cheese rather coarse so it did not spread out that much throughout my cheesy poofs (I laugh every time I say that, Ha-ha). I recommend that you finely shred your cheese to make sure that it evenly distributes.

Sift the dry goods into a bowl and then add the shredded cheddar cheese and mix.

Next wisk together the wet ingredients in a separate bowl

Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and stir just until the mixture comes together.

Don't over mix the batter, when you don't see flour anymore you are good.

Next scoop the whole mixture up and place it into a 1 gallon plastic bag. This is so that you can pipe little bite size pieces onto a cookie sheet.  I used a silpat on my cookie sheet, but if you don’t have one I recommend that you use parchment.  Then again, if you don’t have parchment, I would grease and flour the cookie sheet. 

I cute the tip a little big so it made really big cheesy poofs

I actually piped about 60 cheesy poofs (haha) onto two cookie sheets.  I cut a little too much of the corner of my bag and I made quite big cheesy poofs (haha).  Sorry, I can’t stop laughing when saying that name.  I would recommend that you cut about a 1/4 off the corner of the bag.  That should create good sized cheesy poofs (reluctantly I held back). 

It makes a ton of cheesy poofs

Place them in the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes, if you like them perfectly cooked through, or 18 minutes if you like them crunchy like I do.  When done remove to a cooling rack.  Don’t worry they will crisp up nicely.

Look at all of the melted cheese

In the end, they were extremely tasty.  I cooked mine until they started to turn golden brown.  When cooled they were crunchy and delicious.

I ate about 10 with my dinner. They are amazing.