Mac n Cheese for ONE

Most of the time, I cook for two.  But cooking for one is doable too.  Most people are too lazy to cook for one, not I.

I am modifying my Macaroni and Cheese recipe so that you can make just one portion.  I'm not an environmentalist but if you see the way I live, you would think that I was.  Don't like to waste foil, saran wrap for leftovers.  That's why I usually cook JUST ENOUGH.

This is easy and fast.  

Mac n Cheese for ONE
Prep Time: 0 min     Cook Time: 15 min
Ingredients: 
1/2 + cup of macaroni (or other pasta)
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp flour
1/2 cup shredded cheese
a dash of garlic salt (to taste)

Directions: 
Fill a small pot with water and boil on stovetop.  When the water boils, throw in the pasta (this can take 7-12 min according to the kind of pasta you use).  Strain when done.

While pasta is cooking, whisk milk and flour until there are no lumps.  Use the same pot (after you cook pasta) to pour the milk+flour mixture.  On medium heat, stir the mixture until it thickens, about 1-2 minutes.  Mix in cheese and garlic salt.  When cheese melts, mix in the pasta.  Done!

Modifications: 
Spinach Mac n Cheese - Add frozen spinach after the sauce thickens (before adding cheese)
Bacon Mac n Cheese - Add bacon after the sauce thickens (before adding cheese)
The possibilities are endless...

Notes:
I use a little more than 1/2 cup pasta.  You could put in 2/3 cup pasta also.

If you are a big eater, you might want to just make half of the regular recipe instead.

Easy (Easiest) Turkey Spaghetti Meatballs

My husband LOVES LOVES LOVES spaghetti and meatballs.  I usually use ground beef but thought that I should switch it up this time.

Didn't have all the ingredients in my other recipe on hand.  Decided to look for another recipe that fit my ingredients. It's really only mixing turkey, egg, and breadcrumbs; then spicing it up!!

Easy Turkey Meatballs

Prep Time: 15 min     Bake Time: 25 min

Ingredients:

1 lb ground turkey

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup breadcrumbs (I used Panko crumbs)

1 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a medium sized bowl, mix all the ingredients. In a 9x13 pan (or what I do is get 8x8 pan and a loaf pan instead), line them with aluminum foil for easy clean up. Use butter, oil, or nonstick spray on the foil. Either use your hands to form meatballs about 1.5 inches in diameter or an ice cream scoop to make them more uniform.

Bake for 25 minutes.

In a pot, prepare spaghetti. In a pan, heat up spaghetti sauce.

Grab a plate, place spaghetti with meatballs on top. Add as much sauce as you wish. 

Enjoy!! 

For the meatball leftovers, I made a meatball sub.

My Favorite Mac N' Cheese (Macaroni or Other Pasta)

Happy Holidays!!!

I haven't had a post in a while. The good news is that I have cooked this Mac N' Cheese many times now. So it's now a staple that I can make without even glancing at the recipe. The original recipe is from Cooking Light found here. But I modified it.

My Fave Mac N Cheese Recipe
Prep Time: 10 min      Cook Time: 25 min
Ingredients: 
4 oz sausage (of your choice, chopped)
1 1/4 cup whole milk
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
2 cups cheese
4-5 cups of macaroni (or pasta shape of your choice)
1 tsp garlic salt

Directions:
In a small bowl using a whisk, mix milk and flour until there are no lumps. Set aside.

In a big pot, boil water for your macaroni. I usually leave about 5 inches of space between the water and the top of the pot. If you don't have macaroni on hand, use whatever pasta shape you have. Make this recipe with rotelle, penne, shells, etc. Cook as the package instructs which is usually 8-9 minutes to al dente. Strain the pasta. Set aside.

Using the same big pot (You took out the pasta already. It is in the strainer.), brown chopped sausage on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. This will also create more aroma for your sauce.

Add the milk+flour mixture to the sausage stirring constantly. The sauce will thicken about the next 4-5 minutes. Add the cheeses. I like to use the Mexican Cheese mixture since it has monterey jack, mild cheddar and queso. You can find it in the grocery aisle. Stir until melted. Sprinkle the garlic salt to the sauce. Add cooked macaroni (or pasta). Mix until the sauce it incorporated with the pasta. DONE!!

If you want an element of veggie, you may add chopped spinach like I did.

For a more macaroni-like look, top it with parmesan cheese,

Be creative. At all the gathering where I have brought it my potluck dish, everyone has gobbled it up. When I make it at home for dinner, I see my husband refilling his bowl for seconds...and maybe thirds...lol.

ENJOY!!!

Note: The original recipe calls for some cream cheese but using whole milk already makes it thicker. That's why I omitted it. Also, I don't usually have cream cheese readily available.

Homemade Healthy Lasagna 1

Mmm... lasagna!! I have wanted to make homemade lasagna for a while now. When there was a sale on Barilla lasagna noodles, I thought it was time.

I only used cottage cheese. Typically, lasagna is made with ricotta cheese but it was three times the price of cottage cheese. Besides, cottage cheese is low-fat, low calorie, low carbs, high in calcium, and high in protein.

Nutrition facts for you Cottage Cheese vs Ricotta Cheese (Click on pic to enlarge)

Homemade Healthy Lasagna
Prep Time: 25 min      Bake Time: 45 min
Ingredients:
Lasagna noodles
1 onion (diced - I used a brown onion)
1 lb ground meat (I used lean turkey)
1 lb pasta sauce
12 oz tomato paste
1 lb cottage cheese
1 egg
3 tsp parsley
2 tsp basil
1 1/2 cups of shredded cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Directions:
On medium heat, cook the diced onions to soften. Add the ground meat. Stir to cook until the meat is browned. Remove most of the liquid in the pan.

Put the pan back on medium heat. Add the pasta sauce, tomato paste, 2 tsp parsley, 2 tsp basil. Set aside. (Meaty sauce layer)

Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the cottage cheese, egg, salt, half cup parmesan cheese, and one tsp parsley. (Cottage cheese layer)

In an 8x8 pan, begin the lasagna building.

At the bottom, place lasagna noodles so that they slightly overlap. Next, evenly spoon and spread the cottage cheese layer. Sprinkle a layer of shredded cheese on top of that. The fourth layer is the meat sauce. Repeat.

(I only did the layering twice.)

The top layer will be the meat sauce. Sprinkle Kraft parmesan cheese generously to top it all off.
It is very heavy!

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes at 350F. Cut and serve!!

It was much healthier than other lasagna, but it still tasted quite sinful!! heheh.
(Next time, I will skip the tomato paste.)

Enjoy!!

Note:
If you want to cut down the bake time, you can cook the lasagna noodles al dente before you start layering your lasagna. If you do cook your lasagna noodles first, you only need to bake your lasagna for 20-25 minutes.

Spinach Mac & Cheese

I LOVE SPINACH.

It is one of my favorite vegetables (besides broccoli and tomatoes). Raw, Steamed, Stir fried, in soups, you name it. My husband, on the other hand, does not enjoy spinach as much. The way to hide spinach and other nutritious vegetables is to turn it into a casserole or put it in a pasta dish. Since I had some macaroni in the pantry, I finally decided to make Spinach Mac & Cheese.

Spinach Macaroni & Cheese

Prep Time: 20 minutes      Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients:

12 oz macaroni 

3 Tblsp butter

1/2 cup diced onions

1/3 cup flour

3 cups milk (the more fat, the better)

6 oz spinach (chopped)

2 cups cheese

Directions:

Prepare macaroni as per directions; boil a pot of water with a bit of salt. Cook macaroni for 8-10 minutes. Strain and set aside.

In a large pot, melt three tablespoons of butter. Sautee the diced onions to soften them. Whisk in 1/3 cup of flour. The mixture should be a brown color. Pour in the milk. Turn the heat up to high for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.  

Stir cheese into the mixture. Add chopped spinach to the mixture. Lastly, add cooked macaroni into the pot.

* I added fresh ground peppercorns on top.

Enjoy!! =)

TIPS:

1) I usually prepare and chop/dice veggies before anything else. 

2) If you do not have macaroni in the pantry, you can use any kind/shape of pasta. 

3) Stack the fresh spinach on top of each other so that you can chop more into strips at one time.

4) I was too excited about eating my dish. If I wasn't, I would have put it in a casserole pan. Sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top to create a crunchy top.