Cooking Light: Macaroni and Four Cheeses

I've been meaning to try this recipe for some time now. One of my good friends just had a baby (her second!) so I'm going to drop this delicious morsel off sometime today :)

I'm a big fan of Cooking Light. This special issue has been remarkable with lower calorie, yet delicious meals!

Yesterday I made for the first time the macaroni and cheese recipe.

Calorie content. 

Getting ready for cooking with my awesome beer apron! 

Ingredients: 

1 pound uncooked medium elbow macaroni

1 slice of bread

2.5 cups of 1% low-fat milk

2 bay leaves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup (2 oz.) shredded swiss cheese

1/2 cup (2 oz.) grated Parmesan

1/2 cup (2 oz.) crumbled gorgonzola

3/4 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoons of pepper

Cooking spray

2 teaspoons of melted butter

A few ingredients

Step 1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Step 2: Bring water to a boil and add the noodles. Follow directions on box or until macaroni is tender. 

Once the macaroni is complete,drain water and rinse with cold water, drain again and set to the side. 

Step 3: in a food processor or blender, crumble the 1 slice of bread. 

Set to the side, this will be the last thing you use. 

Step 4: Shred the cheeses. When I was finished to this I put all the cheeses into one container. 

Ohh I love you cheddar. 

Yeah that's right mmm

I had to separate some of the parm

Good thing I'm not using all of this, it'll be great for salads :)

Ohh and I love the smell :-P

A lactose intolerant's worst nightmare...but it's sooo goood

Step 5: Bring milk and bay leaves to a simmer. 

Once it has heated, remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes. 

Place the flour into a small container with some cold water and whisk together. This way the flour won't curdle in the milk. 

Once the milk has cooled add the flour mixture and whisk constantly. 

Return to medium heat whisking constantly.

Keep doing this until the mixture is thick!

 Once the mixture is thick remove from heat and start adding the cheeses.

Jeff giving me a hand :-P

Once the cheese has been incorporated, add the salt and pepper for taste. 

Whisk this until all ingredients are blended. 

Add cheese mixture to the noodles. 

Put cooking spray on a pyrex baking dish. 

In a small bowl take the bread crumbs with the melted butter and mix together with a fork. 

Put the noodle mixture on the baking dish and sprinkle the crumbs evenly on the mixture. 

Put in the oven for 20 minutes. 

Have an entertaining distraction while food is baking. 

Take out of the oven and just admire.

I should have made more....

But then there would have been more of these to do. 

 Now put mac and cheese in the fridge and send off tomorrow. 

Time for a little snack in the meantime.

"Come on-a My House"-Rosemary Clooney

Noodle places and some worries.

As some of you know if there's ever anything in life that worries me is not managing my $$$ properly. The other week was my birthday and hell yess for birthday perks from the family! Working at the University has been an experience but trying to hold out until payday has been tricky. But today I went to Walmart (boo) to get ingredients for a recipe. Aside from the cheeses I had to get, I had to buy mother's day cards for my Mom and both Grandmothers, a card for my friend who's graduating this month, plus her graduation gift, and rechargeable batteries. I didn't think all that would cost so much but ughhh. I get mad at myself when I underestimate!

I think tomorrow I will declare it a no spend day!

But aside from money, the other day I went to Asheville to see my awesome friend and future roommate, Ashley!

(Junk Yard Party in 2008!)

We went house hunting all day long!! it was fun though and I hope we find something! 

After our house hunting escapades we needed some grub. I think Doc Chey's Noodle House will do the trick. 

Peace. Love. Noodles. 

So Hungry! Food now!

We started off with some appetizers. Ashley got the Thai basil wrap and I got the Vietnamese roll.

We went halfsies as you can see! 

Sauce, good. 

Basil leaf.

I got the eggplant in garlic sauce rice plate. i love all the colors!

And yes it was delicious!

Ashley got the sweet and sour chicken special. 

Looks really good but not half as good as mine :-P

Ash pointed this out to me, i guess next time we will put it on our rice? 

It's got seaweed stuff on it!

After lunch we headed over to Ashley's to hide from the storm that was a brewin' This is what she gets to look at when it rains. 

There was a rainbow but it faded :(

Up next, making a baked macaroni and cheese dinner for Martha and her growing family!

"Time after time"-Cyndi Lauper (haaha for you chica face!)

Let the games begin!!

SO yesterday as I attempted to crawl back in bed, I got a surprise visit from Jeff :) I was still rather hungry from the night before, so we decided to make some spaghetti with 'meatless' meatballs. So I guess that means there veggieballs?? Hahaha (immaturity alert!)

Put the noodles in the bowl. 

Jeff chops up some onions for the sauce. 

Blend a can of crushed tomatoes. 

Kept the coffee going...

and going...

Added this to the combo http://www.veggiepatch.com/

And it looks a little something like this. 

I have to admit, it tasted really good for veggie/meatless meatballs.

 

Later, I met up with a few peeps at the library for some last minute exam studies. 

After the library I went home and highly debated about ordering a pizza. Something about finals just screams, eat fatty food. With last week being my birthday I had some cash lying around. To be truthful I'm always weary about spending money on food when I have stuff in my fridge and cabinets that I could easily make a quick meal out of. But no my temptation got the better of me! 

Ohhh it tasted so good...in a regretful sort of way. Oh well! 

At least it can be my lunch for the rest of the week!

Later tonight, I will be driving a few of my friends who have worked sooo hard this semester for their master's in history! At 5 o'clock on the dot they will be celebrating! Oh yes incriminating photos will follow for future postings! 

"Hate on Me"-Jill Scott

Once you go classy, you stay classy

So this is the weekend before finals. This brings a multitude of feelings, such as, stress, panic and the urge to just not give a damn anymore!!!! So last night a few of my neighbors and I went to, which I think, had to have been one of the funnest parties Cullowhee has seen in years!! It was a lot of fun but it did make me remember why I drink microbrews and not the cheap stuff. I'm really feeling it :(

Other than that here is a little something I made yesterday which has now become my hangover breakfast.

Recipe for Homemade Granola via the Amateur Gourmet:
2 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly pour vegetable oil (in my case canola oil) onto the baking sheet.
In a large bowl, toss the oats with the cinnamon and salt.

In a medium bowl, stir together the oil, honey, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk until completely combined.

Pour the honey mixture over the oats mixture and use your hands to combine them: Gather up some of the mixture in each hand and make a fist. Repeat until all of the oats are coated with the honey mixture.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet. Spread it out evenly, but leave a few clumps here and there for texture.

Bake for 10 minutes, then remove from the oven and use a metal spatula to lift and flip the granola. Sprinkle the almonds over the granola and return the baking sheet to the oven.
Bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven and flip granola again.
Bake 10 more minutes then remove from oven and let cool.
Place the mixture in a bowl for storage.

 My breakfast this morning:

Topped off with the lovely strawberries from the Farmer's Market :) Plus a good cup of coffee...

I think I might crawl back to bed now... and finish stuff for finals later.

"Easy (Like Sunday Morning)"-The Commodores