Pot Luck: Crockpot Mac and Cheese

In my last post I discussed the potluck we had. I was going to post the recipe I used for the mac and cheese there, but I felt that post was getting a bit long- so here it is! 

For the pot luck I made a crock-pot mac and cheese (inspired by Pinterest, shockingly). Below is the image that inspired me via A Whisk and A Prayer Blog: 

 As usual, her picture of the end product looked significantly better than mine did, but alas, it still tasted good! I did modify the recipe a bit using: 

·      3 cups skim milk

·      12 oz fat free condensed milk

·      ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened  

·      3 large eggs or ¾ cup egg substitute (I used Egg substitute since I had it opened)

·      ½ teaspoon salt substitute (I used Nu Salt because I keep getting complaints that my food is “bland” since I generally do not use salt. Feel free to omit or use regular salt. If you are cooking for anyone with a Kidney problem- do not use a salt substitute!)

·      Cayenne pepper

·      Smoked paprika

·      Ground black pepper

·      1 box (1 pound) cavatappi pasta  (any shape you like works – such as elbows, or shells. You can also do whole wheat if you wish- but I didn’t want to turn people off too much.)

o   I used un-cooked pasta – the original recipe said par-cooked (about 5 minutes) but it depends on how long you are going to cook it in the crockpot.

·      4 cups shredded cheese (2 cups Cheddar Jack, and 2 cups low fat Pizza blend cheese)

·      2 pounds (1 large bag) mixed frozen vegetables (I used peas, carrots, corn and green beans).

·      ½ cup fresh shaved parmesan cheese

·      ½ cup Italian style bread crumbs

1.     Turn on crock pot (Mine only has 4 settings, so I turned it onto the quickest setting- high for 4 hours of cooking). You may wish to spray with pam/ olive oil.

2.     Add milk, condensed milk, butter, eggs, spices, pasta, mixed cheese (not parmesan cheese) and vegetables.

3.     Let cook in crock pot, stirring occasionally.

4.     Once pasta is tender (about 2 hours), you can add in the bread crumbs and parm cheese if you want. I saved the parm cheese for on the side and added it to the individual dishes.

Note: this dish can be ready in about 2 hours. I wound up cooking it on low for about 6-8 hours due to when people actually wanted to eat after arriving. 

For best results: Serve with Franks. 

Even Ghreylin had some! And he usually will not try anything.

I would also like to say- writing this post made me think of my friend Amy's blog Mac & Cheese  & Peas Since, that is in fact, what I made :)

Seasonal Soup and Salad: The Salad

Getting a CSA is a great way to force you to eat seasonally- and eat some what creatively. Normally I just go to the grocery store and buy whatever is on sale or looks good.

With a CSA- I get a box of random vegetables and fruits that are fresh, local and in season. It has also forced me to get more variety in my diet which is always good too.

This weeks box included:
leeks (which I had never had before last week- I had to google to figure out what they were)
cabbage
arugula
broccoli
Some leafy green (Red Chard?)
lots and lots of potatoes
apples

Jon, as per usual, was pestering me what we were doing for dinner, so I told him what vegetables we needed to use- and we went ahead and googled recipes.

I decided on the Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with cider vinaigrette, and he made a Potato and Leek soup (recipe to follow!).



For my salad I used:
1 butternut squash
3 tb dried cranberries
1 tb pure maple syrup
salt and pepper
1 bunch arugula
1/2 head romaine (I used a whole head and had lots left over.)
1/2 cup walnuts
3 tb apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup apple cider
1 shallot
2 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1 apple
fresh parm cheese

* first pre heat oven to 400*
* peel, cut and cube squash
* Place squash on baking sheet or pan, add maple syrup, a little bit of olive oil and some pepper and salt to squash and toss. Roast for ~15 minutes.
* add cranberries after 15 minutes, mix again and continue to roast until cooked.
* add chopped shallot, vinegar and apple cider to a small sauce pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes.
*remove dressing from heat. Add dijon mustard and olive oil. Mix well.
* wash, dry and cut arugula and lettuce.
* cut apple (add lemon, or other citrus juice to keep from browning.

* prep plates by placing greens, apple, walnuts, parm cheese.
* once squash is done, add some to salad. (I let mine cool for a little bit first.
* add small amount of well mixed dressing to salad and enjoy!