Triple Cheese Beef and Pasta Casserole

This deliciously simple casserole was born of a need to clean out my cabinets before moving (can you tell?), but let me tell you, it might not be the prettiest, but it is delicious and bursting with flavor!  If you're anything like me, you love hearty, comforting, one-pot meals, and this is a super all-in-one that's packed with flavor and nutrients, mmmm, mmmm!  The fresh veggies and spicy bite are the icing on the cake for this tasty soon-to-be-favorite.  Whether you're trying to use everything in the cabinet or looking to whip up a quick meal after work, this one is sure to please.

Let me not forget, this dish is 100% boyfriend approved.  He called me after he got home and says, "Man, what was that you made?  It was SO good!  I should've taken some home!"

Ingredients:
1 box of pasta (I used zitti,  but shells, bowties, macaroni, and other tubular pastas are fine)
1 lb ground beef
2 ears' worth of fresh corn
1 medium carrot, chopped into small cubes
1 small can of sliced olives (the short can)
1 or 2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
6 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 TB tomato paste
1 TB Tony Chachere's or other creole seasoning
2 tsp paprika
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
black pepper and salt to taste (you will need the meat sauce mildly on salty side before adding pasta)
generous 1/4 c + 1 rounded TB flour
1-1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup or so of cheddar and a stretchy white cheese (I happened to have shredded cheddar and a slice of provolone around)

olive oil and butter blend for sauteeing

Procedure:

Boil pasta in salt water until al dente.  Bear in mind that it will not cook much in the oven.  Drain pasta and coat with oil to prevent sticking.  Set aside.

Sautee onions and peppers over medium heat until soft.

In a separate pan, sautee  carrots until  halfway done over medium heat in a 1TB or so of butter and enough oil to prevent butter from burning.

Once halfway done, add in corn and salt vegetable mix.

Add in tomatoes and garlic a few minutes before onion mix is ready.  Once soft and translucent, turn heat to medium high.

Heat an oven to 400 degrees

Once pan temperature is up, add ground beef, breaking up the meat and incorporating the onion and pepper mix with a wooden spoon.  Season the meat generously with all of the spices and continue stirring occasionally.

Once the meat is cooked, incorporate tomato paste and cook for a minute or so more.  At this point, gradually stir in the flour to absorb all of the liquid.  If more liquid remains, add more flour.  Stir in the flour until you have a thick meat paste.

Once fully incorporated, gradually stir in the milk until homogeneous.  Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Be sure to keep it slightly salty to compensate for pasta.

At this point, blend pasta, meat sauce, corn, carrots, and sliced olives in a pot or bowl.  Layer the mix in a pan (I used ceramic, and I'd recommend that or glass) and place spoonfuls of ricotta throughout.  Once all pasta is in pan, top with more ricotta and cover with a layer of cheese blend.

Bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Enjoy!


*Again, sorry for not having photos, I did take them but my crazy computer's memory card drive has been damaging my cards :(*

Peanut Butter Pecan Blondies

So if you haven't figured it out yet, I love peanut butter!  It gives the perfect decadent richness to so many different desserts.  I had a craving for something chewy and quick that I could dress up with just a touch of peanut butter.  I thought about cookies, but I've never been too big on peanut butter cookies, and I wasn't finding any twists on the typical recipe that were interesting enough for me.  Peanut butter oatmeal cookies?  Nope!  No quick oats around.  Then it came to me--if I don't want chocolate, but I want that yummy chewiness of a good, fudgey brownie, why not make a blondie?  And what could be better than a peanut butter blondie?  Well, not much.

Try out this recipe and see for yourself.  Enjoy the perfect chewiness, the crispness of the edges,  the richness added by a touch of peanut butter, and the perfect crunch and added nutty touch from chopped pecans, mmmmm, mmmm, mmm!

I modified this recipe based on the blondie recipe shared by "Whipped the Blog"

http://whippedtheblog.com/2009/02/16/the-best-basic-blondie-recipe/ 

Simply follow this recipe but add in 1 TB of good quality peanut butter (I recommend Planter's) after the sugar is dissolved and before the eggs are added.  Yum, oh, yum!

***These are best on the first day, but still great later.  I highly recommend storing them with a slice of bread (change it daily) to retain chewiness***

Croque Monsieur - Baked Open-Faced French Ham and Cheese

 Croque monsieur is another one of those things that I'm always hearing about on TV but have never actually tried before.  It's a traditional oven baked French sandwich that is open faced with a basic white bread and layers of bechamel, cheese, and ham.

This weekend I finally decided to try my hand at making this dish for breakfast since I had two of my closest friends over.  I also made the traditional pain de mie to make the bread with.  I used this French recipe http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_pain-de-mie_33705.aspx.

Procedure:
1. Melt butter over medium low heat.  Add in minced garlic and sautee gently for 30 seconds - 1 min, or until you start to smell a light garlic scent.

2. Add in flour and stir with a whisk until homogeneous.

3. Add in the milk and seasoning and stir with whisk.

4. Raise heat to medium and stir constantly until bechamel is thickened like a gravy. (about 7 mins or so).

Bechamel Sauce - From Michel Roux's Pastry
1 TB butter
1/4 cup of flour
1 cup of milk

Sandwich Ingredients:
6 slices of bread
12 slices of quality deli ham
2/3 cup white cheese (mozzarella, provolone, or the traditional Gruyere)
1 clove of garlic, minced
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Sandwich Procedure:
1. Spread each slice of bread with an even layer of bechamel sauce
2. sprinkle an even layer of cheese over the bechamel
3. put a slice of ham on the bread (if it hangs over the side, trim it because otherwise it will dry out during cooking)
4. Cover the ham with an even layer of bechamel and sprinkle another even layer of cheese.

5. Allow to bake until the cheese is fully melted and the bread has a chance to toast.

6. Switch the oven to broil and broil for 1-2 minutes, or until the cheese is is speckled with golden brown.

7. Remove from the oven, serve and enjoy :).

Notes:
This sandwich is traditionally made with pan de mie, a basic French sandwich bread, but regular white bread will do.

Some people also do this sandwich using two slices of bread, with the final slice covered with a layer of bechamel and cheese

Photo:
http://www.odelices.com/recette/Croque-monsieur-a-la-bechamel-au-four-r1806

References:
http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_croque-monsieur-a-la-sauce-bechamel_20410.aspx
http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_pain-de-mie_33705.aspx

Best Ever Fluffy Pancakes!

Everyone wants that perfectly fluffy pancake in the morning.  I've found tall and fluffy pancakes, but they were never quite right--one recipe was too spongy, the other wasn't thick enough, and the other was missing that nice chewiness to it.  Finally, I've happened upon a recipe that was perfect!  Better than the restaurants perfect!  Try it and see for yourself!  This recipe makes flavorful pancakes that are tall and fluffy with just the right amount of chewiness that makes them stand up nicely to syrup.  You may not be able to resist eating these delicious pancakes before you even get the chance to pour some syrup over them.  Mmmm mmm mmm!

Enjoy :)!  The only change that I made is that I added 2-3 tsp of vanilla.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/fluffy-pancakes-2/