Home Cooking Gourmet

I know Mac and cheese is popular: Kraft sells over 1 million boxes a day. Though buying it is easy, the taste is ok unless I’m *very* hungry. It was time to make it from scratch. I usually don’t make things with butter but I made an exception.

Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

Ingredients

4 oz uncooked elbow pasta (macaroni)
1 cup milk
paprika
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 TBS butter (I used bakeable margarine)

Directions

Make macaroni according to directions. Drain.
While heat is on med-low, stir in 1/2 cup milk, butter, and cheese until melted. Add more milk until sauce is thick. Sprinkle with paprika.

Epilogue

Originally I put in the 1 cup milk and the sauce was too thin. Definitely tastes better than the old standby and just about as easy to make.
This goes well with baked beans.

dtc

I consolidated several Thanksgiving recipes on a new web page. Hope you enjoy!

dtc

I made Salmon with Tomatoes and Capers last night using tomatoes (Big Boy) out of our garden. The tomato skin was removed along with the core. Tasted much better than using canned tomatoes. The simmering took almost 30 minutes to complete.

We had two fillets of salmon: one farm-raised and one wild. The farm-raised salmon lacked in taste…dramatically. I highly recommend wild salmon over farm-raised. Wild salmon has much more omega 3 fatty acids which are very good for you.

doug the cook

I must say I love pot roast - especially the carrots. Normally I cook it two ways: the oven at 450 or on the stove top in a big pot. Since it is summertime (tomorrow, officially) the thought of all that heat in the kitchen is reprehensible. So out comes the crockpot.

Even though there is 1 1/2 of us (my wife eats half as much as me) I make a lot of it because it still tastes delicious after a few days and it relieves me from cooking. It doesn’t get any easier than this:

CrockPot Roast Recipe

Into the crockpot set on high (4 hrs) or low (8 hrs)

6 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 pound chuck roast, 1 inch cubes, trimmed of fat
1/3 cup water

Cooking on high tends to get a few veggies stuck to the side of the crockpot - at least on mine which is 20 years old.

Pizza Sauce Recipe #4

16 ounce (2 cups) petite diced tomatoes
1 T sugar
1 1/2 T dried oregano (or 2 T fresh, chopped)
2 tsp parsley flakes (or 4 teaspoons fresh, chopped)
1 1/2 tsp basil (or 1 T fresh, chopped)
1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Combine pizza sauce ingredients and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

This recipe has no tomato paste which is why it taste better thank recipe #3. The canned tomato paste added a slightly offensive taste. This recipe is very fresh tasting. I cannot wait to try it with garden fresh Romas in July.

Doug

I made this last night: whoa. Delicious. I used pizza dough from part IX and cooked it in an iron skillet in the oven at 400 degrees F. The sauce is pretty thick.

Pizza Sauce Recipe #3

16 ounce (2 cups) petite diced tomatoes
3 ounce tomato paste (1/2 of normal 6oz tomato paste can)
1 T sugar
1 1/2 T dried oregano (or 2 T fresh, chopped)
2 tsp parsley flakes (or 4 teaspoons fresh, chopped)
1 1/2 tsp basil (or 1 T fresh, chopped)
1/2 tsp crushed dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Combine pizza sauce ingredients and simmer 15 minutes. I reduced it until the sauce was as thick as molasses. The sauce was pretty chunky, which I like. If a thinner sauce is wanted, puree the entire finished product in a blender. Better taste is attained if left to sit overnight in the refrigerator.

Doug

Here is a pizza sauce I have used several times.

1 medium onion, chopped
2 TBL olive oil
1 28-oz can Italian tomatoes
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. rosemary
1 bay leaf
Ground pepper, to taste
1/4 Red pepper, chopped

Sauté onion in oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes to sautéed onions.
Add garlic and seasonings and bring to simmer. Cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Doug

As an adjunct to finding the best pizza dough, we will search out for the best pizza sauce. Of course every one’s taste is different: some like it spicy, some like it tame, some do not like sauce at all.

This sauce is a variation of one I got off the Red Star yeast web site.

Red Pizza Sauce #1

16 ounce (2 cups) petite diced tomatoes
6-ounce can tomato paste
1 T sugar
1 T dried oregano (or 2 T fresh, chopped)
2 tsp parsley flakes (or 4 teaspoons fresh, chopped)
1 1/2 tsp basil (or 1 T fresh, chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Combine pizza sauce ingredients and simmer 10 to 15 minutes. I reduced it until the sauce was as thick as molasses. The sauce was pretty good and chunky though next time I’ll add more oregano. If sauce is wanted, run the entire finished product through a blender. This is a definite keeper and a good base to start with.

Doug