January Re-Make Re-Cap

If you're wondering how my January has been, take into account the fact that I just now remembered that I owe you a monthly re-make re-cap post today. The entire month has flown by, and as we begin February, I'm feeling behind on pretty much everything, even though I'm really not. But it has definitely been a struggle to keep up at times!

On to this month's re-cap. During this busy month, cooking dinner tended to fall by the wayside. But we still managed to enjoy quite a few of our favorites.

I could eat these Greek beef tacos once a week and never, ever get sick of them. These are ready in just about 15 mintues, and they're full of delicious Greek flavor. This is definitely one of my favorite meals.

There are few things as comforting to me as a big bowl of broccoli soup, and this broccoli-cheddar soup is my family's favorite version. The boys both really love this soup, too, especially if I serve it with grilled cheese sandwiches for dipping.

I love this shredded buffalo chicken salad. The flavors all work so well together, and it's so simple to throw together. This time, instead of adding the avocado to the dressing, I just diced it and mixed it into the salad. I also added tomatoes to the salad this time, which worked really well.

I made this mozzarella-baked gnocchi using whole wheat gnocchi I found at Aldi. This meal is always a winner in our house; it's so simple and flavorful. The stringy mozzarella cheese is just so divine, and makes this really special.

I don't normally do this, but this time I am making an exception: I've updated the photo on the original post for this spinach and chicken tortilla bake. This recipe is so good that it really needs a presentable photo. When I made it this time around, I used a 9-inch pie plate rather than a square baking dish, and I found that worked much better. I also cut the spinach into ribbons so it absorbed into the sauce more evenly.

I made our favorite spinach dip for Will's birthday party earlier this month and it was, as always, a huge hit. This stuff is insanely good and so, so simple. I highly recommend making it for the Super Bowl this weekend! This time, I pre-portioned spoonfuls of it into tortilla cups (like I recently did for these spinach-artichoke bites), and they were so easy to eat.

Roasted potatoes are definitely one of my go-to side dishes. They always turn out perfectly crispy and delicious. I could probably eat an entire pound of them on my own. Don't tell anyone I said that.

This cheesy sausage penne is a near-monthly occurrence in my house, and whenever I make it, Joe and I have to fight with the boys for the leftovers. It's that good.

It had been way too long since I last made these individual shrimp pot pies, and I had practically forgotten how delicious they really are. I served them with mashed potatoes this time for soaking up all of the leftover broth, and that was a very, very wise decision.

Last week was the sixth anniversary of my mom's passing, so I made her creamed chicken over biscuits for dinner. The boys love this meal, and it means so much to me for them to be able to share my memories of her with them through her food. 

I forgot how much I love these ranch chicken tacos since the last time I made them. They just really hit the spot for me this time around. In addition to the toppings in the picture, we also added diced tomato. These are just so flavorful and so, so good.

Macaroni and Cheese with Crunchy Bacon Topping

I’ve been making more of an effort to cook out of my cookbooks lately. I have a tendency to get overwhelmed by my Pinterest boards and my blog reader and the various cooking newsletters I get in my e-mail box; there are so many delicious recipes all over the place, I just have no idea where to begin. So I’ve been turning to my collection of cookbooks more and more. Not only do I have a decidedly enormous number of them that I really should use, but it’s also therapeutic for me to sit and flip through a cookbook, turning down the corners of the pages that have recipes I want to try.

For my birthday one year, my mother-in-law got me one of Food & Wine’s editions of the Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes, and one recent weekend afternoon I pulled that one off the shelf. Contained within it, unbeknownst to me at the time, was my new favorite macaroni and cheese recipe.

It’s a recipe from Pat and Gina Neely, and it’s amazing. The cheese sauce is composed of sharp white cheddar and Romano, and the pasta is topped with a crunchy, salty layer of potato chips and bacon. Yes, potato chips! And bacon. Brilliant, right? The sauce gets depth and spice from Worcestershire and hot sauce, and the crunchy topping is the perfect counterpoint to the creaminess. I used a fun shape of pasta called trottore (which my boys said reminded them of their toy spiral race track), but any hollow pasta would work for this. Rest assured, this recipe will become a staple in my home.

Macaroni and Cheese with Crunchy Bacon Topping
recipe originally from Down Home with the Neelys, found in Food & Wine’s Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes, Vol. 13

For the macaroni and cheese:

6 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing
1 pound hollow pasta (cavatappi, elbows, trottore)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk, warmed
1 cup chicken stock, warmed
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
Dash hot sauce
Dash Worcestershire sauce
4 cups sharp white cheddar cheese, grated, divided
1 3/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided

For the topping:

1 1/2 cups crushed potato chips
5 slices crisp-cooked bacon, crumbled
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Whisk in the warmed milk and chicken stock, and bring to a simmer, whisking constantly.

3. Stir the dry mustard, salt, black pepper, cayenne, nutmeg, hot sauce, and Worcesterhire sauce into the thickened mixture. Stir in 3 cups of the cheddar and 1 1/4 cups of the Pecorino Romano until the cheeses melt.

4. Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and stir gently to combine. Pour the mixture into the prepared casserole dish.

5. To make the topping, combine the potato chips, remaining 1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano, crumbled bacon, parsley, and the remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese in a large bowl. Sprinkle the crumb mixture on top of the macaroni and cheese and back for 35 minutes. For an even crunchier topping, finish under the broiler for 3 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove from the oven and cool 5 minutes before serving.

Stuffing Mix Meatloaf

I grew up eating Stove Top Stuffing. I grew up eating meatloaf. So when I began seeing recipes float around for meatloaf made with stuffing mix, it seemed like a no-brainer that it would be right up my alley. I just couldn't believe I hadn't thought of it before, and once I tried it, I was mad at myself for not thinking of it before. 

It seems like stuffing mix was just made for meatloaf, since it provides moistness that's definitely needed in meatloaf. The savory flavor works so well with the beef, and the addition of the stuffing gives the meatloaf a wonderful texture. There are tons of versions of this meatloaf all over the internet and Pinterest, so I just took a very basic one and modified it to our tastes. It was a hit with my entire family, and it made the best leftover meatloaf sandwiches.

Stuffing Mix Meatloaf

heavily adapted from Food.com

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 box stuffing mix, any variety

1/2 cup water

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 shallot, grated

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, divided

1/2 cup ketchup

3 tablespoons brown sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl, combine beef, stuffing mix, water, eggs, seasoned salt, pepper, grated shallot, and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Pat into a loaf shape and place in a meatloaf pan or glass baking dish.

3. Bake for 30 minutes. Combine ketchup, brown sugar, and remaining teaspoon of Worcestershire and spread evenly over the meatloaf. Continue baking for 30 more minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Pecan Pie Bites

The Super Bowl is coming up in a little over a week, and, while I have never been one to turn up my nose at a delicious, hot, melty, savory dip (and will be making and devouring a few of those for the occasion, as a matter of fact), dessert is something that can never be ignored -- even when it comes to the Super Bowl.

Wow, that was a long sentence.

Anyway. I made these for Thanksgiving, but I think pecan pie is appropriate for pretty much every occasion, Super Bowl and random Tuesdays included. These little pecan pies using phyllo shells are perfect, because they can be assembled ahead of time, they're corn syrup-free, and they're as delicious as they are adorable. We topped ours with dollops of whipped cream, which I believe is a must when we're talking about pecan pie in any way, shape, or form. Yum.

Pecan Pie Bites

from Skinnytaste

1 tablespoon butter, melted

1 large egg

4 teaspoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

15 miniature phyllo shells (1 package, from the frozen section)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except pecans. Mix well. Stir in chopped pecans.

3. Arrange mini shells on a baking sheet. Fill mini shells with one heaping teaspoon of pecan mixture. If any of the mixture remains, distribute evenly between all the shells.

4. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool before serving.

Southwestern Chicken Salad Melts

One of my resolutions this year was to take lunch to work as often as possible. This is something that's been an ongoing struggle for me, even though it shouldn't be. I already pack two lunches every evening for the boys -- what's one more? It's just always seemed simpler to buy something somewhere, and of course it is; but it's not healthier or more cost effective. So far this year I've done really well with this goal, largely thanks to meals like this one.

Taking a plain old lunchmeat sandwich gets boring after awhile, so it's nice to have a chicken salad like this in my back pocket. It can be served warm for dinner one night in melt form, and eaten cold in a wrap for lunch the next day. It's equally delicious both ways. I love chicken salad in pretty much any form, but this recipe really takes chicken salad to the next level with its Southwestern spin. It's insanely creamy, slightly spicy, and incredibly flavorful. It's a new go-to for dinners and lunches alike!

Southwestern Chicken Salad Melts

adapted from How Sweet It Is

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves, cooked and shredded

Olive oil

Half of a red onion, chopped

Half of a green bell pepper, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

1 roasted red pepper, chopped

1/3 cup black beans

1/3 cup frozen corn, thawed

3/4 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1 cup freshly-shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Crisply-cooked bacon strips

Toasted bread

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion and bell peppers, season with salt and pepper, and cook until onion is softened. Remove from heat and cool.

2. Mix together roasted red pepper, black beans, corn, mayonnaise and sour cream. Add cooled onion and peppers and cumin, chili powder, and cilantro. Stir in the chicken. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

3. Add some of the chicken salad to a slice of toasted bread. Sprinkle with cheese and cook under the broiler until the cheese is melted. Top with bacon strips and another slice of toasted bread.