Rosy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Ok, full disclosure: I did NOT cook this! Nope, fabulous my husband did.  I told my husband the other day that I was in the mood for comfort food, i.e. mac ‘n’ cheese.  He said what he always says, “ok.”  It was Saturday morning and I proceeded to walk out the door to go grocery shopping. 

When I arrived home from the store, I found him and my son sitting in front of the TV, pen in hand, watching America’s Test Kitchen.  It happened that they were making mac ‘n’ cheese on the episode, so dear husband was writing down the ingredients.  Can you say perfect timing?

Now here is the kicker: The version of mac ‘n’ cheese they were making had tomatoes in it.  My husband is allergic, and I mean really allergic, to tomatoes.  I took one look at him and said, “I am not making two different dishes for dinner.”

To that he responded, “Ok, I’ll do it.”

Not cook dinner?  You don’t have to say that twice! 

Not only did I get great mac ‘n’ cheese for dinner, but I didn’t even have to make it.  Talk about a good night! 

As mentioned, this recipe is adapted from America’s test kitchen. 

*If you are not gluten free, use regular pasta and the recipe will still be great.

Rosy Mac ‘n’ Cheese

1 lb gluten free pasta* (I like Trader Joe’s gluten free rotini)
2 cups half & half
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 – 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
4 tbsp oat flour or brown rice flour (or regular flour if you’re not gluten free)
3 tbsp butter
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
Dash of cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta until it is al dente. Drain and rinse in cold water.  Place in bowl and add can of tomatoes with liquid. Stir thoroughly.  Let sit for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  The pasta will soak up all the excess liquid from the tomatoes.

Melt butter in pan over medium heat.  Add flour and stir to create rue.  Once mixture is bubbly and starting to turn light brown, remove from heat.  While stirring, add chicken broth and half and half.  Return to heat, stirring constantly, until boiling. Simmer 10-15 minutes.  Remove from heat and add cheese and seasoning until well mixed. 

Combine pasta and sauce.   Cook in oven for 20-25 minutes, covered if you want all cheesey, uncovered if you like the top crunchy.

No Stir Chicken Risotto

Ok, ok, I know what the package of risotto says, “stir constantly,” right?  So what am I talking about?  No stir risotto?  Why yes, that is exactly what I’m saying!

Quite a few years ago, my boyfriend (now husband) and I attended a happy hour at the Space Needle in Seattle. It was one of those events where they bring in a chef and demo food and wine with a great view from the observation deck.  The chef they brought in made a risotto.  He said, “I know that many people are afraid of risotto, but really, there’s nothing to be afraid of!” and proceeded to teach us how to make a good risotto.  Needless to say, I am not afraid of risotto.  As a matter of fact, with a little prep work while my son is napping, it’s a really simple dish to make.  And my whole family loves it, so we eat it almost every week. 
Here’s the recipe:

No Stir Chicken Risotto

2 cups risotto

4 cups gluten free chicken broth (I like Costco Chicken Stock or Imagine Organics Chicken Broth)

1 lb chicken thighs

8-10 medium mushrooms

1 onion

Cheddar cheese to taste (I use about 1/2 lb (or 1-1/2 cups grated) of white cheddar)

Parmesan cheese to taste (I use about 1/3 cup, grated)

1/2 tsp Italian herb seasoning

Olive oil

Water as needed

In a 6 qt pot, heat chicken broth until a low boil.  Cube chicken and sauté in olive oil until cooked.  Chop onion and slice mushrooms. Once chicken is cooked, add mushrooms and onion and sauté until mushrooms are soft and onion is translucent.  Add risotto and Italian herb seasoning and mix well (I usually let it cook for about a minute. Don’t let the risotto stick to the pan).  Add heated chicken broth, stir to incorporate, and bring to a simmer.  Place a lid on the pan and let it simmer.

After 10 minutes or so, give it a quick stir to see if the risotto is sticking to the bottom. If it is, add some water (1 cup is usually plenty).  Put the lid back on it.  If it was really sticking, you may want to check it again.  If not, check it at 15 minutes or so.  Cook for 20 minutes or until rice is no longer crunchy. 

Grate the cheddar cheese and parmesan and mix it in. 

That’s it! How easy is that?

Note: To speed up the cooking process, I cube and sauté my chicken separately.  While this is cooking, I cook the mushrooms and onion, then mix it all together and add the risotto. It cuts 15-20 minutes out of the cook time.

Broccoli Casserole

I am on a quest to get my toddler to eat more veggies. 

I have been trying to make interesting, tasty dinners that have veggies in them, so he doesn’t necessarily get an option of eating them.  One of the vegetables that he doesn’t particularly care for is broccoli.  He will eat the stems in my Pan Roasted Broccoli recipe, but he won’t eat the florets, and that’s were all the good nutritious stuff is stored.

I can remember eating broccoli and cauliflower as a kid with a white cheese sauce on it, but then I think about the toddler running in circles around me at 5pm while I’m trying to make a rue at the stove and realize that white sauce is not a happening thing in my house, at least for next few years.

This recipe is an easy make-ahead casserole that is a complete meal.  I admit it’s not low cal, but I served it for the first time tonight and munchkin actually ate it. And he never eats things the first time I serve them, so I think it’s a winner!

To cut down on the prep time, I have often cooked chicken the day before or cooked, cubed and frozen the chicken.  Then when I have leftover rice, I use it up in the casserole.  This recipe also does well with the chicken omitted as a vegetarian casserole.

Note: If you’re gluten free, you’ll want to use a GF cream of mushroom soup. I like Pacific Foods, shown here.

Broccoli Casserole

2 packages of frozen chopped broccoli

2 cans cream of mushroom soup

2 or 3 cups of cooked brown or white rice (optional)

1 lb cooked chicken breast, chopped (optional)
Cheddar cheese to taste (I use 8 oz of extra sharp cheddar and 4 oz medium cheddar, use less if you don’t include the chicken and rice)

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.  Pour into a 9 x 13 casserole pan and level.  Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until edges are brown and it is hot in the center.

Gluten Free Creamy Mac ‘n Cheese

Tonight I was in the mood for some comfort food so I made mac ‘n cheese. It has been a long time since I made it! I love homemade mac ‘n cheese, so I thought I would share my recipe.











Gluten Free Creamy Mac ‘n Cheese

4 tbs butter
¼ brown rice flour
2 cups milk
½ lb Beecher’s Flagship cheese, grated
½ lb extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 lb gluten free pasta – I used Trader Joe’s brown rice penne pasta

I suggest measuring the milk and grating the cheese before you start cooking, as the rue requires constant supervision.

In a sauce pan, melt the butter over low-medium heat. Add the brown rice flour to the butter while stirring constantly. Continue to stir until the butter/flour starts to bubble slightly and darken. Remove from heat and slowly add milk while continuing to stir. Once combined, return to the stove and stir constantly until the milk is hot and thickens. Add all of the Beecher’s cheese to the sauce pan with the milk and stir until it has melted.

Cook pasta as instructed on package. Once drained, coat the pasta with the sauce evenly. Put half of the pasta in the casserole dish and distribute half of the extra sharp cheddar on top. Repeat with the remaining pasta and cheese so the top is covered with cheese. Bake at 325 degrees for 45-60 minutes until heated through.