Mac and Cheese!

Today, I made mac and cheese from scratch for the first time.  I wasn't sure how it would turn out but I shared some with my friend/neighbor.  My friend is a foodie and loves to cook so when he took his first bite and told me it was awesome, I was very flattered.  Even after I realized I forgot to add the pepper in.  I know you're thinking "mac and cheese is easy to make!"  but I am still a cooking newbie and with the plethora of mac and cheese recipes, it can be a bit intimidating.  For me, the less ingredients I need to use, the less likely I'll mess it up :)  So, I found this recipe and adapted it a little based on some of the reviews. By the way, my total cost for all the ingredients was around $5.71.  The original recipe is for 6 servings.  One thing I liked about how mine turned out was that it was not that salty and it was creamy.  

1 can of cheese soup.
1 1/4 cup of milk (I used low fat)
1 bag (8oz) of shredded Colby Jack cheese
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 package (16oz) of macaroni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  

Cook the macaroni as directed on the package to al dente.  I added a teaspoon of salt to the water to give the mac some seasoning.

While the mac is cooking, mix the can of cheese with the milk.  The cheese will be gloppy so it's okay if it doesn't mix smoothly with the milk.   


Once it's been cooked to al dente, drain and transfer the cooked mac to a casserole dish. 

Mix in the cheese/milk mixture until all or most of the mac is coated.

Add the sour cream.  Again, mix it well into the mac.

Add in half the bag of cheese and mix into the mac.

Take the remainder of the bag and sprinkle generously to cover the top of the macaroni.  

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is browning and bubbly.

Vegetarian Goulash

I made the above dish by modifying this recipe I found on Food.com. The author calls it a "Poverty Meal" but some reviewers have said the recipe was similar to a goulash they make so I'm calling mine a Vegertarian Goulash :) Although I eat meat, I don't like cooking with it so I substituted the ground beef with firm tofu instead. Because I work as a massage therapist, I needed some stuff that won't burn through as quickly since I have a high metabolism so I also added in a can of kidney beans. I like squash and corn so that was added too :)

1 tbs of olive oil
1 can can of stewed tomatoes (I used canned diced tomatoes in juice)
1 can of water
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1 yellow onion - chopped or sliced
1/2 block of firm tofu - cubed
1 cup of pasta (doesn't matter if it's elbows, shells or whatnot)
1 can of corn
1 squash - peeled and cut
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Brown the onion and garlic in a large pan in the olive oil.
Once browned, add in the tomatoes (juice and all) and the water.
Add in the pasta, corn and beans.
Let simmer for about 8-10 minutes but be sure to stir often so that the pasta doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.
Stir in the squash. Simmer for about 2 minutes.
Stir in the tofu. The tofu will sponge up the liquid so be sure you don't add it in with the pasta before it's halfway cooked.
Let simmer for another 10 minutes or until pasta is tender.
Season with salt and pepper to your liking.

Enjoy!

P.S. I don't cook very much so I hope this dish is as tasty for you as it is for me. Feel free to give me any advice :)