Family Chow Hall

Black Bean Lasagna

Replacing the ground beef or sausage with black beans makes this dish much better for you, and honestly, I liked it just as much as old-fashioned Italian-style lasagna.

Continue Reading October 2nd, 2007

Grandma’s Baked Macaroni

Has anyone else noticed the unnaturally bright orange color you get when you prepare a box of macaroni and cheese? I know it’s made from real cheese, but the powdery orange stuff just doesn’t seem right.

Whether it’s on the stove or in the oven, I prefer to make my Mac & Cheese from scratch.

Truly homemade macaroni and cheese should have a golden yellow color, something crunchy on top, and gooey chunks of cheese inside. Since you only need a few basic ingredients, this is a good dinner to have on the eve of grocery-shopping day. Look for milk, some kind of cheese - preferably cheddar, velveeta, butter, macaroni, and stale bread.

Scroll down for my recipe for my mother’s Oven-Baked Mac & Cheese…

Baked Macaroni & Cheese
serves 6 / prep. time 30 minutes / bake time: 45 minutes

2 1/2 c. dry macaroni
3 T. butter
8 oz. American (Velveeta) cheese
12 oz. cheddar cheese
1 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste

Topping:
stale bread crumbs
3 T. additional butter

Cook the macaroni according to the package directions - leave it slightly undone (al dente). Next melt the Velveeta and butter in the milk, either on the stove or in a glass bowl in the microwave. Heat your oven to 350. Grease a large casserole or 9 x 13 pan. Toss the cheese sauce with the macaroni and spread it in the pan. Now for the cheddar - if it’s shredded, sprinkle on top of the macaroni and stir it up a bit. If it’s not shredded, cut into chunks and do the same. Sprinkle salt and pepper over all.

For the topping, combine the bread crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle on top of your casserole. Good alternatives are crushed cheese crackers (cheezits or goldfish) or wheat germ.

Signing off for now… happy eating!

1 comment May 9th, 2007

Spanish Chicken and Rice

Do you wish every meal could be as easy as Hamburger Helper? Do you hate measuring ingredients? Hunting for spices and herbs in your pantry?

I threw this casserole together with ease late yesterday afternoon and it turned out to be a “keeper.” With just FIVE ingredients, you can do so many things! Five seems to be a magic number, try making a good dinner with less than that — it’s pretty tricky.

This newly-formed recipe of mine was inspired by my thirteen-year-old daughter who suggested making something like a Mexican bean dip, except with chicken. With no real plan in mind, I bought a box of Spanish Rice Mix to go with it, but failed to buy the beans!

This is what we ended up with:

Spanish Chicken and Rice
serves 8

1 box Zattaran’s (or any brand) Spanish Rice Mix
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 c. water
3 cooked chicken breast halves, cut into bite-sized pieces, about 2 c.
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

In a bowl, combine the rice mix, the tomatoes, the cream soup and water. Whisk to blend it all together. Pour this into a large saucepan or skillet. Put this on the stove and bring to a simmer, then turn it down to low and cover it.

The box of rice mix I used called to simmer for 25 minutes, so that is exactly what I did. When it was done, I transferred it to a greased baking dish, added the chicken, and topped it with cheese.

Bake for 10 minutes at 350 or until the cheese melts.

This can be served in a variety of ways… Wrapped in tortillas… with corn chips… with hominy or corn… or beside a fresh lettuce salad.

Also, I think this would make a great casserole to take to a sick or just-had-a-baby friend.

Add comment March 29th, 2007