21st Century Mac N Cheese

Serves 4 and doubles easily.

* 1/2 pound (2 cups ) raw penne pasta, cooked and drained
* 1 large egg
* 1 cup milk
* 1 small clove garlic
* 3/4 medium onion, coarsely chopped
* 1 generous cup (5 ounces) shredded good quality, extra-sharp cheddar cheese
* 5 ounces cream cheese, crumbled
* 2/3 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyere cheese
* Generous 1/8 teaspoon each hot red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground black pepper
* Generous 1/4 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
* 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 12 saltines, coarsely crumbled

1. Preheat oven to 350. Butter a shallow 1 1/2 quart baking
dish, and add cooked macaroni.

2. In a blender or food processor combine egg, milk, and
garlic, and process 3 seconds. Add onion, cheeses, peppers,
salt, and paprika, and blend 10 seconds. Turn into dish,
folding into macaroni. Casserole could be covered with plastic
wrap and refrigerated up to 24 hours at this point.

3. To bake, bring casserole close to room temperature. Melt
butter in a small saucepan. Coat crackers with butter and
spread over top of casserole. Bake about 20 to 25 minutes, or
until thick yet creamy. If top is not golden, slip under
broiler for a minute. Remove from oven, let stand about 5
minutes, and serve.

Smoky White Chili w/Grilled Chicken

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 cups chopped yellow onion (2 large)

2 - 7 oz. Cans diced green chilies

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons dried oregano

½ teaspoon chipotle chili powder, or to taste

6 - 15 oz. Cans great northern beans or white cannellini beans, rinsed

8 cups (2 qts.) Reduced sodium chicken broth

3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup lime juice

Heat a grill to medium high.

In a dutch oven or other large pot over medium high, heat the oil. Add the onions and cook, stirring often, until softened about 5 minutes.

Stir in the chilies, cumin, oregano and chipotle chili powder. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes.

Stir in the beans and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, grill the chicken until well browned and an instant read thermometer registers 165F when inserted at the thickest part of the breast, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cutting board and cool for 10 minutes. Cut the grilled chicken into 3/4 inch dice, then set aside.

Using a ladle, transfer 2 cups of the beans and cooking liquid to a bowl and mash with a fork.

Stir the mashed beans back into the simmering pot. Add the chicken and lime juice, then cook for 10 minutes more.

Serves 12

Carrot Cake Cupcakes w/Cream Cheese Frosting

Here are the basic recipes. John uses a gluten-free baking mix instead of the flour, baking soda and baking powder. Please note that most white sugar is not vegan. If you want your recipe to be vegan, you have to buy vegan sugar. (That's what we use!) All the frosting we made was vegan. You can play with the recipes to meet your dietary needs. Enjoy!

From Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World

Carrot Cake Cupcakes - These dense, moist cupcakes pack in 29.3 percent more carrots, raisins and nuts per square centimeter than the leading vegan carrot cupcake. An engineering miracle when topped with Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting, not to mention yummy.

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

2/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup soy yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup finely grated carrots

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, mix together sugar, vegetable oil, yogurt and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, spices) and mix until smooth. Fold in carrots, walnuts and raisins.

3. Spray the cupcake liners with non-stick baking spray. Fill the liners two-thirds full. Bake for 26 to 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted through the center of one comes out clean.

4. Once fully cooled, top generously with cream cheese frosting. To decorate place some chopped walnuts on a plate, then roll the edges of the cupcake in the chopped walnuts. A raisin in the center is a cute garnish, or if serving immediately, sprinkle finely grated carrot in the center.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/4 cup vegan butter

1/4 cup vegan cream cheese

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together butter and cream cheese until just combined. Use a handheld mixer to whip while adding the confectioners' sugar in 1/2 cup batches. Mix until smooth and creamy, then mix in the vanilla. Keep tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use.

My family recipe for Carrot Cake

2 cup flour

2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 cup oil

4 eggs

2 cup grated carrots

8 oz crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup walnuts

Combine ingredients. Pour into greased and floured 13x9x2 pan. Bake at 350 for 40 min.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese

1 stick butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 box powdered sugar

German Pancakes

This is a recipe from my mom that I LOVED when I was growing up for brinner! We make one for each of us in a 9 inch round pan, and it is delicious!

*makes 1 pancake

3 eggs

½ cup flour (I’ve been using whole wheat flour lately to be a bit healthier, and they are still good. They come out much more dense—vs. the white flour, where it is lighter and creeps up the side of the pan when baking)

¼ tspn salt

½ cup milk (I use nonfat milk and it works great)

1 Tblspn butter

Mix in a food processor:

Beat eggs.

Gradually add flour, salt, milk & melted butter.

Pour batter into a greased (or Pam sprayed) 8-10” round pan.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Serve with powdered sugar, lemon wedges, maple syrup, or fresh berries—or a combination!

Enjoy!

Baked Steak in Tangy Tomato Sauce

This is a great one for the freezer!

2 lbs round or sirloin steak
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
3 T. shortening
1/3 c. onion, chopped
1/3 c. celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. brown sugar
2 t. yellow mustard
2 T. worcestershire sauce
2 t. lemon juice
dash of Tabasco sauce
1 c. undiluted tomato soup

Salt and pepper tenderized steak. Brown meat, onion, celery, and garlic in hot shortening. Add remaining ingredients and cover. Cook for 15-20 minutes. At this point you can Freeze, using the freezer bag method. ( I use gallon size ziploc freezer bags). Then on day you want to serve just thaw completely. Bake in 350 oven for 1 1/2-2 hours till tender.

Pecan Balls

Makes 40 cookies

1/2 C butter
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 C ground pecans (a food processor works fine for this, just don't grind them too fine)
1 C flour
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Beat butter until soft. Blend in sugar until creamy. Add vanilla. Stir in nuts and flour until mixed. Roll dough into small balls (an inch or so in diameter). Bake on a greased sheet for 30 minutes. While hot, roll in powdered sugar and place on wax paper to cool. I usually roll them in powdered sugar again after they have cooled.

Note: These cookies don't spread much during baking so they can be baked close together. The whole recipe can fit on a 10" x 15" sheet.

Almond Snow Balls

Almond Snow Balls

Ingredients
1 pound (4 sticks) margarine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 to 4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup blanched sliced almonds, finely chopped
3 1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup powdered sugar

Yields: About 4 dozen cookies

Preparation
Preheat oven to 250°F.


In a mixing bowl, thoroughly combine margarine, sugar, vanilla extract and chopped almonds using a rubber spatula.

Fold in the flour – you want the dough to be dense enough to handle with your hands. Sometimes it will take more flour to make this happen, so start with 3 1/2 cups and add flour as necessary.


Roll spoonfuls of the dough into balls about the size of a small walnut and arrange them on a cookie sheet. Transfer to the oven and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the cookies are no longer doughy and are cooked through.


Remove the cookies from the oven and, while still hot, roll and toss around in a bowl with the powdered sugar. Once coated, allow to cool. And then they're ready to eat!