Bacon-Gruyere Cavatappi

Cheese is a food group to me.  When the rest of my fridge could be pretty empty, the cheese drawer is full.  When I was pregnant with Townes, the first thing I did was call our favorite French Restaurant, Justine's, in a panic that their triple-creme brie wasn't pasteurized (it is, thank goodness).  When I am at the grocery store with Chanel and I ask, "do we need cheese?" she just laughs at me.  You get the picture - cheese is a big deal.

My kids know it too.  We don't just eat American cheese - which has its throne in the crockpot to make queso.  But Townes has always loved brie spread on a cracker, or feta in his eggs, or blue cheese in a lobster beignet (not that he can even say, beignet).  So when I am feeling like a cheesey comfort food staple like mac and cheese we go one of two routes: 1. we make Annie's white cheddar shells with extra butter and some cream (SO GOOD) and maybe some peas and carrots thrown in or 2. I make some from scratch version with "stinky" cheese so it has a more adult flavor.

This is clearly the latter, since I'm not gonna post a recipe on how to do-up some Annie's (though I totally could if anyone is interested). In my opinion, bacon and gruyere go together so wonderfully.  There is a bitterness to the cheese that is perfectly complimented by the saltiness of the bacon. For this cheese sauce I also tried to liven up that deep flavor in the gruyere with some Worcestershire, horseradish, dry mustard and then smooth it out with cheddar.  Topped with more bacon and some butter bread crumbs, this was a total win.

Bacon-Gruyere Cavatappi

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. cavatappi pasta (or elbows)
• 1 lb. thick cut bacon, diced
• 1 small white onion, grated
• 1 tbs. butter
• 1 tbs. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. dry mustard
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper
• 1/2 tsp prepared horseradish (optional)
• 3 tbs. flour
• 2 cups milk
• 8 oz block of orange cheddar, freshly grated
• 6 oz block of gruyere, freshly grated
• 2 tbs. butter
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• Green onions or chives, chopped for garnish

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

In a large sauce pot or dutch over, boil water with salt and a dash of olive oil (to prevent sticking), cook pasta to the al dente directions.  Rinse your pasta under cold water in a colander and set aside.

Empty the pot and return it to the stove.  Cook all the bacon in the pot over medium heat, stirring frequently to prevent scorching.  When crispy, transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Pour the lose bacon fat from the pot into a heat safe container and set aside, do not wipe out or rinse your pot. 

Add the 1 tbs. of butter to the pot over medium-high heat.  Saute the grated onion until translucent.  Add the garlic powder, dry mustard, Worstcheshire, salt and pepper and horseradish.  Whisk until mixed.  Add the flour and stir until evenly coated.

Immediately add the milk, whisking to incorporate smoothly. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and add the cheddar and gruyere. Turn off the heat and stir until creamy and blended.

Add the pasta to the pot with the cheese sauce.  Reserving a small handful for topping, add the cooked bacon to the pasta and cheese.

Transfer the pasta mixture to a 9x12 casserole dish.  Melt the 2 tbs. butter in a microwave safe dish and then stir in the bread crumbs.  You may need to add more  if you want them a little drier, but its your preference. 

Chop the remaining bacon into small bits and add to the bread crumbs.  Top the pasta with the bread crumbs and bacon.

Bake until the breadcrumbs are just browned and the casserole bubbles.

Remove and top with chopped green onions or chives.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Until I moved to Texas I didn't eat a lot of casseroles, I'm gonna be honest.  Excluding baked ziti and lasagna, I don't think my mom just ever made any.  Turns out, I was missing out on some pretty awesome, easy to make, fantastic casseroles. 

Another thing I had missed out on, but have since converted to the church of, is the crock pot.  So truthfully, when I find a recipe that uses the crock pot and is a casserole, I pretty feel like I knocked it out of the park. That's exactly what this King Ranch Chicken recipe is. 

Truthfully, I also didn't know what King Ranch Chicken was before I moved to Texas.  If I had tried to guess from the name I would have though it was some kind of giant chicken breast, seasoned with a packet of Ranch dressing. But I was introduced to this amazing Texan Lasagna when I was the Curriculum Coordinator at a preschool in Round Rock and our super talented chef, Kathryn, would make the kids King Ranch Chicken.  She fed it to me once, when I was dying of morning sickness and it was my savior.

Kathryn's recipe, however, would not be easy for me to replicate since we are a family of 4, not 140, so the proportions might be off.  Also, I'm not particularly a fan of using cans of condensed soup for the base of recipes.  They can be very high in sodium and I'm not really a fan of the taste.  So when I came across a recipe for a completely from scratch version on Five Heart Home and gave it a shot and liked it a lot.  This is my tweaked, crock-pot-added, mushroom-optional version.

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS:

For the Chicken:

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• 2 tbs. adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp. chipotle powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• Salt & pepper

For the Sauce:

• 6 tbs. butter
• 4-6 oz. baby portabella mushrooms, diced small (optional)
• 6 tbs. flour
• 2 cups of chicken cooking liquid from crock pot
• 2 cups milk
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 tsp. adobo seasoning
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
• Salt & pepper

For the Casserole:

• 10 small corn tortillas
• 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese, or jack blend
• 1 cup of chicken cooking liquid from crock pot
• 1 small can Rotel
• Diced jalapenos (optional)
• Fresh cilantro or parsley, chopped (optional)

In the bowl of your crock pot, cover the chicken with the chicken broth and add the seasoning.  Stir to coat the chicken and cook on high for 4-6 hours, until the chicken comes apart easily with a fork.  Once the chicken comes apart easily, roughly break apart the chicken breasts into smaller pieces to cook for 15 more minutes on high (I feel like the smaller the pieces the moister the chicken).

Remove the chicken from the crock pot with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool.  Turn off the crock pot, allow the remaining broth to cool and set aside.

Meanwhile, make the sauce.  Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  If you are using the mushrooms, sautee the mushrooms in the melted butter for 3-5 minutes, until cooked.  If omitting the mushrooms, just skip ahead.  Add the flour to the butter and whisk until blended.  Do not allow this to burn.

Add the milk and 2 cups of broth (from the crock pot) to the sauce and whisk until smooth.  Whisk in the seasoning and bring to a boil, then remove from heat and set aside.

Using two forks, shred the chicken as fine as possible.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and mix together.  Set aside.

Butter a rectangular baking dish.  Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees. Assemble all the components of the casserole within easy reach (tortillas, chicken mix, remaining chicken broth, shredded cheese, drained Rotel and optional toppings).

Spread half of the chicken mix in the baking dish, top with shredded cheese, some Rotel and jalapenos.  Cover with a layer of tortillas.  I tear mine in half to make sure they cover every inch, overlapping is fine.  Drizzle some of the chicken broth over the tortillas, making sure to get the edges.

Top with the remaining chicken mixture and another layer of tortillas.  Top the tortillas with cheese, Rotel and other optional toppings. 

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes.  Remove the foil and bake until bubbly, about another 15 or 20 minutes.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

This is my first entirely vegetarian recipe! Its not vegan, because there are eggs, but give me some time and I can figure out what someone could use as a vegan binder instead of eggs...though I would assume someone who is actually vegan would probably be a better person to figure that out. In any case, I think that's pretty exciting! While I love vegetables, the rest of this household its more inclined towards the carnivorous. However, this meal made each and everyone full and satisfied! Vegetarians for the win!

So you might ask, if no one likes things without meat, why did I even bother making these?  Valid question.  I'm not sure, I ask myself things like that all time. But in this case, I was inspired!

Years ago, my mom bought me a subscription to Cook's Illustrated, which I had always loved because of how much explaining it does.  It really gives you a wonderful understanding of why and how a specific method works or is better than another.  Knowing that stuff is what makes learning to cook without recipes so much more enjoyable and exciting.  Well, this month's Cook's Illustrated came in the mail, just as my mom was texting me and asking if I wanted to renew the subscription. I said, "ya know, probably not, I don't think I've really read it in a long time." 

Naturally, I flipped it open, and saw a whole two page article on vegetarian burger patties.  The black bean burgers just sounded to good! So I read the article, took in all its advice and tips and this was what I came up with; Aaron ate two, Townes ate his entire one, avocado and all, and our ten month old ate nearly two without the bun!  I think Townes was particularly proud and excited to eat them because earlier that day we had made the buns from scratch and he was able to do most of it himself.

I sliced open those fresh whole wheat buns, toasted them slightly on the flat top and added a little mayo.  When the patties were cooked, I topped them immediately with feta cheese and let it warm on the hot patties.  Then sliced avocado and red onion went on, and they were ready to eat.  I only snapped one picture because they did not last long.  All six were snatched up fast!

Spicy black bean burgers

Makes about 6 medium patties

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (15 oz each) of black beans
• 1/2 cup coarse broken tortilla chips
• 2 eggs
• 2 tbs. flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 - 2 tsp. of adobe seasoning (chili powder or chipotle powder would be find substitutes, depending on your spice preference)
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• Canola or vegetable oil, for frying
• Feta cheese, for topping
• Avocado, for topping
• Red onion, for topping
• Mayo, for topping
• 6 burger buns

Line a large baking sheet with two or three layers of paper towels and set aside.  Drain and rinse your two cans of beans in a colander in the sink and then spread out your beans on the paper towel-lined cookie sheet to dry off.  You can also lay another layer of paper towels on top if you would like.  The less moisture on the beans the better your patty.

In the meantime, put your tortilla chips in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until they are a fine powder.  Transfer the ground chips to a large mixing bowl.  Stir in the 2 tbs, of flour and all the seasonings.  Whisk in the two eggs, until the mixture is a paste. 

Add the beans to the bowl, and using a potato masher, forks or even your hands, mash the beans into the paste evenly. Its important not to over mix the beans into a paste, but also not to leave the mixture too coarse.  You are looking for the mixture to be about 60-70% paste and 30-40% discernible beans. If it is too coarse, the patties won't hold together, and if its too mixed, the patties will be soggy.

When you are done, cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least two hours, but six or more would be ideal.  Once the mixture is chilled, using your hands, form six 1/2-inch-thick round patties. Set aside.

In frying pan, over medium heat, heat the oil to fry the patties.  Two at a time (or however will comfortably fit in your pan, don't over crowd them) fry each patty for 3-5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.  Serve immediately, on a toasted bun, topped with feta cheese, avocado, red onion and mayonnaise.

Everything-Bagel Chicken

I love bagels.  I love everything about bagels.  I love Everything Bagels.  I could eat a bagel every day probably.  Chanel and I have even taken our love for bagels so far that we have made bagels ourselves (because good bagels are hard to find).  When we threw Townes' his first birthday party, it was NY themed and everyone got a party favor that was a Bagel-in-a-Jar (mason jars filled with the ingredients for homemade bagels with a recipe - with everything bagel toppings included).  We love bagels.

Unfortunately, bagels are not exactly nutritious or very good for you, so even though I would love to slice a fresh bagel, toast it in butter on the flat top, and spread it with cream cheese every day, it's probably not the best everyday dietary choice.

So it was out of this love that these chicken cutlets were born.  I was really wanting to make myself a sinful bagel sandwich with fried eggs, bacon, cheese, salt and pepper and a hash brown in the middle, but that seemed like a poor choice for dinner so I set out to figure out how to up the value factor and still be as satisfied.

I decided to lose the bread, but not the flavor by seasoning a thin, chicken cutlet with and everything-bagel crust and then getting the same feeling by topping it with cheese, bacon, spinach, avocado and serving it with a sweet potato hash.  It was a hit! I'm not giving up my bagels any time soon, but man, the taste of this chicken was outstanding.

Everything-Bagel Chicken

Makes 4 Servings

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tbs. white sesame seeds
• 2 tbs. black sesame seeds
• 2 tbs. caraway seeds
• 2 tbs. poppy seeds
• 2 tbs. dried, minced onion
• 1 tbs. Kosher salt or Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 cup panko
• 3 tbs. butter
• 3 tbs. vegetable oil
• 6 eggs
• 8 slices of bacon, cooked
• Avocado, sliced
• Spinach, chopped
• 4-8 slices of American or Cheddar cheese
• Sweet Potato Hash (see recipe below)

Start by preparing your chicken: using a sharp knife, carefully cut your chicken breasts in half width-wise (so you have made four chicken breasts the same size, but thinner). One at a time, place each half in a large Ziploc bag, and pound to 1/4 inch thin using a meat mallet. Set aside and wash your prep area well.

Next make the breading: add the black and white sesame seeds, caraway seeds, poppy seeds, minced onion, salt, garlic powder, and panko to the bowl of a food processor and pulse.  You want to mix the flavors a bit and make the mixture a bit finer so you have better coverage on your chicken.

Using two shallow dishes, fill one with your chicken breading, and into the other, crack two eggs and scramble them with a fork. Set up an assembly line to batter your chicken.  From left to right, have your chicken cutlets, egg wash, breading, then a clean plate for the prepared chicken.*  I always try to only use one hand for wet, and one hand for dry to keep my fingers from becoming a globby mess.  So with your left hand dredge one chicken cutlet into the egg wash and turn it over to completely coat the whole piece. Then place it into the dish with the breading.  Using your right hand, cover the top of the chicken with breading, then turn it over to make sure all sides have been completely covered in breading. Place on clean dish, repeat with all four pieces of chicken.

*Note About Battering: My mom, and every other Italian mother/grandmother I know, would swear that the only proper way to bread chicken is to dredge it in seasoned flour (flour with salt and pepper in it), then an egg wash, then breading.  The flour adds an extra layer of binding that with a very fine topping (like Italian-style breadcrumbs) creates a thicker and more uniform coating.  However, I think in this case the flour is unnecessary, but they would disagree - use your judgement.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and add the vegetable oil.  When the oil is hot enough, fry the chicken.  Because the chicken is thin, you won't need to cook these terribly long, but watch the temperature of the oil: if it is too hot, the outside will cook to fast and burn but the inside won't be cooked through, but if it isn't hot enough the chicken will cook through, but your breading will be soggy.  The chicken should need about 3-5 minutes on each side to be golden brown and cooked through.  If you find yourself with chicken that is done on the outside but not on the inside, you can troubleshoot by placing the chicken on a cookie sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven until its done and it shouldn't burn your breading.

As each piece of cooked chicken is done, set on a plate and top with one or two slices of desire cheese and a slice or two of bacon. Once your chicken is done, remove any loose oil from your pan (I just pour it into a bowl until it's cool enough to dispose of) but don't wipe it clean.  It should have enough oil left to fry your eggs.  Fry your four eggs to your preference and slide one egg on top of each piece of chicken - I did ours sunny-side up.

Top with spinach and avocado, serve with sweet potato hash.

Sweet Potato Hash

Makes about 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sized sweet potatoes, peeled and diced small
• 1 white onion, diced small
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. butter

In a large mixing bowl, toss together the sweet potatoes, onions, garlic and salt and pepper.  In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter.  Pour the hash into the skillet and cook until potatoes are soft, with crispy edges.  This can take a while, to achieve those crispy edges with soft insides, you will need to let it just sit and cook without stirring or disturbing it for five minutes or more at a time, before just flipping it all over enough to not burn.  If you are constantly stirring or flipping it around (like sauteeing onions, or scrambling eggs) they will get mushy and the edges won't brown.

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

My first job in Austin was at a little church pre-school in Brentwood.  I loved that place, I loved those kids, I loved my Tiny Turtles, it was really the best.  One of added bonuses to my job there was The Little Deli.  It's this little neighborhood pizzeria and deli.  Not a New York Deli by any stretch, but a wonderful sandwich menu, great pizza and five soups that they rotate daily.  

Their Broccoli Cheese and Rice soup immediately topped my list.  They serve it with crisp garlic bread slices, almost like crackers, that crumble perfectly on top.  A bowl of that and half a sandwich was the perfect lunch. 

Since I stay at home with my boys now and we don't live in that neighborhood, weekly lunches there are a thing of the past.  We have taken the boys a handful of times in the last two years, but I crave that soup way more often. So when Aaron had a bunch of dental work done last week and was on strict orders to eat soft, but filling foods, this came to mind.  I also was super tired from taking care of him and the boys so I needed something quick and easy.  Check.  I needed something both boys and I could and would eat too. Check.  Dinner was planned.

I've never made it before and The Little Deli shockingly, wasn't handing out the recipe.  So this was my version and I think it was pretty darn close!

Broccoli Cheese and Rice Soup

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups, uncooked, white rice
• 1 white onion, diced
• 3 tbs. butter
• 2 tbs. garlic powder
• A dash of ground sage
• Salt and Pepper
• 3 tbs. flour
• 3-4 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 oz block of sharp orange cheddar cheese, freshly shredded
• 3 cups frozen broccoli florets (about 1 bag)

Cook your rice according to the directions in a saucepan or rice cooker.  Fluff and set aside.

In a large dutch oven or soup pot, melt 1 tb. of the butter.  Saute the onion until translucent. 

Add the garlic powder, sage, salt and pepper then melt the remaining butter and saute together for a moment.  Sprinkle the flour and stir until it is a golden paste.  You do not want it to burn so keep it moving, this should just take a minute.

A half cup at a time, whisk in 3 cups of chicken broth, whisking the mixture smooth at each addition.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in the 1 cup of heavy cream. Lower the heat to a simmer.

Add the shredded cheese and slowly stir until its melted and combined smooth. 

Note About Cheese: I recommend when making a soup like this that you purchase a block of cheese and shred it freshly for two reasons:  1) You can shred it on the finest side of a box grater and it will melt and blend more smoothly without clumping and 2) bags of shredded cheese are often coated in a powder that dries the cheese a little to prevent the shreds from clumping together in the bag, however, this moisture is important because it seems to prevent the oil in cheese from separating when it melts into the soup.

Stir in the rice and frozen broccoli and cook until the broccoli is warmed through.  While the broccoli cooks, taste your soup and re-season as needed. Serve immediately and enjoy.

Storage Note: This soup is enjoyed best fresh.  When it is refrigerated and stored the rice will absorb the broth over time and will become more of a casserole and less of a soup.  It is still very tasty, and actually serves better to kids this way - less loose broth = less spills.