from the blog: annie-eats.net

Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese

Posted in Main Dish, Pasta

Roasted Garlic Mac and Cheese
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Ingredients:
1 head garlic
1 tsp. olive oil
12 oz. dry pasta
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
¼ tsp. dried parsley
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
8 oz. garlic cheddar or white cheddar cheese, shredded
4 oz. crumbled boursin cheese, divided
Salt and pepper
Snipped chives, for garnish (optional)

Directions:
To roast the garlic, preheat the oven to 350˚ F.  Remove most of the outer paper skins from the head of garlic, leaving it intact.  Slice off the top portion of the head so that all of the cloves are exposed at the top, but the head is still intact.  Rub with a bit of olive oil.  Place the head of garlic on a piece of foil and loosely fold the foil up around the head of garlic to create a foil packet.  Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until the cloves are easily squeezed from the skins (be sure to let cool before handling!)  Squeeze all of the garlic out of the skins and smash with a fork to make a paste.

Increase the oven temperature to 400˚ F.  Bring a large pot of water to boil.  Cook the pasta until about 2 minutes shy of al dente according to the package directions.  Drain in a colander.  Return the pasta to the pot and set aside.  Meanwhile in a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the flour and the roasted garlic paste and cook, stirring constantly, until light golden, about 2 minutes.  Whisk in the milk, dried parsley, and cayenne.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce comes to a low boil and thickens noticeably.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cheddar and about 3 ounces of the boursin.  Whisk until the cheese is completely melted.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the drained pasta and toss to coat well.  Transfer to a lightly greased 2 quart baking dish and top with the remaining boursin.  Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the top is browned and the cheese is bubbling.  Let cool at least 5-10 minutes before serving.  Top with snipped chives for garnish, if desired.

Source: Annie original

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...


Oatmeal Cookies with Cherries and Chocolate Chips...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bon Appetit magazine

Ingredients:
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons (1-1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup dried tart cherries
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:
1) Position 1 rack in center and 1 rack in top third of oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line 2 heavy large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter and both sugars in large bowl until well blended. Mix in egg and both extracts. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in oats, then chocolate chips, cherries, and almonds.
2) Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake cookies 12 minutes. Reverse baking sheets, top to bottom and front to back, and continue to bake cookies until golden, about 6 minutes longer. Cool cookies on baking sheets (cookies will firm as they cool). Yield: 2 dozen cookies.

Merry Christmas!

 
Twas the month before Christmas

When all through our land,

Not a Christian was praying

Nor taking a stand.

See the PC Police had taken away

The reason for Christmas - no one could say.

The children were told by their schools not to sing

About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.

It might hurt people's feelings, the teachers would say

 December 25th is just a ' Holiday'.

Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit

Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!

CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-Pod

Something was changing, something quite odd! 

As Targets were hanging their trees upside down

At Lowe's the word Christmas - was no where to be found.

At K-Mart and Staples and Penny's and Sears

You won't hear the word Christmas; it won't touch your ears.

Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty

Are words that were used to intimidate me.

Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen

On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!

At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter

To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.

And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith

 Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace

The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded

The reason for the season, stopped before it started.

So as you celebrate 'Winter Break' under your 'Dream Tree'

Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.

Choose your words carefully, choose what you say

Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS,

not Happy Holiday!

Please, all Christians join together and

wish everyone you meet

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Christ is The Reason' for the Christ-mas Season!

sometimes....................

sometimes i look at all my favorite food blogs and don't see anything that strikes my fancy, other times i find scads of recipes that look really interesting and will eventually try. when i do, i will try to take pictures before devouring...tee hee

with thanksgiving coming and all......................

As you can see from this picture, I’m a huge fan of store brands, specifically Walmart where I do most of my shopping. I’ll confess more about this in a future post about chocolate chips.
Back to our recipe:
Chicken and Dressing Casserole
3 cups of cooked chicken, approximately
1 box of cornbread stuffing mix
1 can chicken broth
3 Tbs. butter
1 1/3 cups milk
1 can cream of chicken soup
Put the chicken in the bottom of a baking dish (13×9 or nearly that size). In a large bowl, melt the butter in the microwave. Add the chicken broth and stir in the stuffing mix. Set aside while you mix the milk and cream soup together in a separate bowl. Pour the milk/soup mixture over the chicken. Top with the stuffing mix. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour. I think it’s best baked uncovered, but my kids revolt if it gets too brown so I usually cover it for most of the time and then let it brown up near the end of cooking.
from eatathomecooks.com

Peanut Brittle

i couldn't resist this one

Cares

Here's the recipe:

Peanut Brittle (made in the microwave)

1 1 / 4 C salted, dry roasted peanuts

1 C sugar

3 / 4 C light corn syrup

2 T butter

1 1 / 2 t vanilla

1 / 4 t baking soda

cookie sheet, prepared with a light coating of cooking spray

In a microwave safe bowl, stir together peanuts, sugar and corn syrup. Cook on high in your microwave for * 4 1 / 2 minutes or until mixture is bubbling. Carefully take bowl out of the microwave and add in your butter and vanilla. Stir to combine thoroughly. Return bowl to the microwave and cook on high for * 2 minutes.

Again, take the bowl carefully from the microwave and add in your baking soda. Stir until mixture looks foamy. Pour brittle onto a prepared cookie sheet and allow to set for 20-30 minutes.

Cheese Bread

Cheese Bread

Super easy and delicious, especially when served warm out of the oven. A perfect accompaniment for any autumn meal and my October SRC assignment.
Source Kitchen Trial and Error blog

Taste 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients
• 2 eggs (140 cal)
• 3 tbsp canola oil (360 cal)
• 1 cup milk (120 cal)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (45 cal)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (910 cal)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp mustard powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese (660 cal)
Total: 2235 cal, 10 slices, 225 cal / slice

Directions
1. Mix the eggs, the oil, the milk, the sugar and the salt.
2. Add the dry ingredients and mix until there are no lumps.
3. Mix in the shredded cheese.
4. Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and pour in the batter.
5. Bake for 45 minutes in an oven preheated to 375F.
6. Serve warm.
this is from Cook book of trial and error

Bake at 350: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge (seriously.)

Bake at 350: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Fudge (seriously.): My dad is a pretty good cook. He's master of the grill and he was always known around our neighborhood for his smoked turkeys. His other c...

Pumpkin Crisp (from Southern Living) | Recipe Binder

Pumpkin Crisp (from Southern Living) | Recipe Binder

Recipe: Corn & Cheese Chowder

Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 20 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• 4 Tablespoons 1/2 Stick Butter
• 1 whole Onion, Chopped
• 3 slices Bacon, Cut Into Pieces
• 3 whole Bell Peppers, Finely Diced (red, Yellow, Orange)
• 5 ears Corn, Kernels Sliced Off
• 1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
• 3 cups Chicken Stock Or Broth
• 2 cups Half-and-half
• 1 cup (heaping) Grated Monterey Jack
• 1 cup (heaping) Pepper Jack
• 1/3 cup Sliced Green Onions
• Bread Bowls

Preparation Instructions

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Cook onions for a couple of minutes. Add bacon and cook for another minute or so, then add diced bell peppers and cook for a couple of minutes. Finally, add corn and cook for a minute.

Sprinkle flour evenly over the top and stir to combine. Pour in broth and stir well. Allow this to thicken for 3 or 4 minutes, then reduce heat to low. Stir in half-and-half, then cover and allow to simmer/thicken for 15 minutes or so.

Stir in cheeses and green onions. When cheese is melted and the soup is hot, check seasonings. Add salt and pepper as needed.

Ladle into hollowed out boules and serve immediately.

from: The Pioneer Woman: Ree Drummond