Panera Macaroni and Cheese

I tried Panera's Mac and Cheese and fell in love with it. I researched online to find a similar recipe and found this one from here. It turned out soo yummy!

Ingredients:
•11 oz medium pasta shells
•5 TB butter
•4 TB flour
•1 cup milk
•1 cup heavy cream
•4oz grated sharp Vermont white cheddar cheese (use more cheddar and less American if it’s mild cheddar)
•4oz white American cheese, crumbled ( I couldn't find crumbled so just sliced mine)
•pinch of salt
•pinch of white pepper

Directions:
1.Boil pasta shells until just cooked and tender. Drain.

2.In a microwave safe cup or bowl, microwave on high 5 TB butter with 4 TB flour for 2 minutes, stopping halfway to whisk. Whisk again when the roux is done after the second minute.

3.Mix 1 cup milk and 1 cup heavy cream together. Pour mixture into the roux very slowly, whisking all the time.

4.Microwave mixture 1 minute at a time, stirring between minutes until the sauce becomes thick and creamy. (should take between 4 and 6 minutes)

5.While sauce is hot, add grated cheddar and American cheese in small handfuls while stirring to melt all cheese into the sauce. If all of the cheese does not melt completely, you can heat the whole mixture up a little bit and keep stirring.

6.The sauce should be liquid-y (is that a word?) and creamy, and have a taste that is not too sharp. You want to taste the cheddar but not have it be overpowering.

7.Season sauce with a pinch of white pepper and a pinch of salt. Mix pasta shells and sauce together in serving dish.


Recipe by Jon Van Dalen

Meijer sale this week

Hey ladies, FYI, Meijer is having their "Meijer Brand" sale this week. If you're new here, be aware that Meijer puts many of its house brand food items on serious sale a couple of times a year, and now is one of the times. It's a great way to stock up and build food storage. Check them out at http://www.meijer.com/. (And there's probably more stuff on sale than is listed in their ads.)

Easy Lemon Cookies -Marianne Firth

Hi Everyone- Haven't been on here in a lifetime. Anyhow, I got a lot of requests for this "recipe". Embarrassingly it is a total cheat recipe that I just tweaked a bit. Enjoy!

1 Lemon Cake Mix
1/3 cup Oil
2 Eggs
1-2 Teaspoons Lemon Extract (totally optional, I just like my stuff very lemony)
White Chocolate Chips- however many you want
Powdered Sugar

Mix the first 4 ingredients together. This will make a firm cookie dough. Mix in the chips. Form into little balls and coat in powdered sugar. I like to rub the powdered sugar in a bit- it makes for a slightly crunchy exterior. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 8-9 minutes. Tell people they were really hard to make. Oh yeah, and bring me some.

Sweet & Cap'n Crunchy Chicken

We LOVE these tasty chicken strips. They are great with or without sauce. The Cap'n Crunch adds a great unique flavor to an all-time favorite chicken strip dinner.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup Fiber One bran cereal (original)

1/2 cup Cap'n Crunch cereal (original)

1/8 tsp onion powder

1/8 tsp garlic powder

Dash salt

Dash black pepper

8 ounces raw boneless skinless lean chicken breast, cut into 4 strips

3 Tbls fat-free liquid egg substitute

2 Tbls Dijonnaise

2 Tbls honey mustard

Directions:

Grind both cereals into a bread crumb-like consistency, place in a large bowl with all seasonings. Mix well and set aside.

Place chicken strips in a separate bowl. Pour egg substitute over the chicken strips, and flip to coat. then coast chicken strips in the cereal mixture.

Bring a large skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat on the stove. Place chicken strips into the skillet, spacing them out. Cook 5 minutes, and then flip pieces over. Cook for about 4 more minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked.

Combine the Dijonnaise and honey mustard in a small bowl, and mix well for a tasty dipping sauce.

Makes 2 servings

Per Serving (1/2 of recipe): 234 calories, 2g fat, 617mg sodium, 23.5g carbs, 4g fiber, 10g sugars, 29g protein

Recipe from: Hungry Girl 1-2-3 (Planet hungrywood sweet & cap'n crunchy chicken)

Fudge Frosting

This frosting has become our family favorite. I have used it for 2 birthday cakes and a Relief Society activity. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter (at room temp)

4 cup powdered sugar

1/3 cup milk (at room temp)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 ounces unsweetened chocolate,

melted and slightly cooled

Directions:

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice. Add remaining 3 cups sugar and the milk and beat on high speed until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla extract and melted chocolate and beat until combined.

2. If the chocolate is too warm, the frosting might be too soft to hold peaks. Just keep beating until it is thick enough to spread. Assess texture. If it is too soft, add a portion or all of the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Frosting is ready to use. (Bring to room temperature and rebeat after storing.)

* Frosting may be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Recipe from A Baker's Field Guide to Cupcakes

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes

Thanks Em for the picture I stole from your blog.

Some of you asked me for this recipe and since I love lemon at Easter time I thought now is a great time to share.

Perfect Lemon Cupcakes
Cake:
1 package lemon cake mix
1 C sour cream
3/4 C water
3/4 C oil
4 eggs
1 small package lemon instant pudding

Mix dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients. Mix with electric mixer on medium speed for about two minutes. Use a strong mixer, this batter is thick. For cupcakes, bake them at 350 degrees for 20 minutes (I was able to get 24 very full cupcakes from the recipe). For regular cake, pour into a greased 9×11 pan or two round pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Don’t over bake or the cake will be too dry! The toothpick test works to check to see if they’re done.
The original recipe said that the cupcakes will fall after they come out of the oven, but this is normal and to just fill up the indentation with more frosting. I didn’t have this problem at all!

Lemon Buttercream Frosting:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, very soft
6-8 C powdered sugar
1/2 C fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add 4 cups of sugar, then the juice and the zest. Beat until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, until icing is thick enough to be of good spreading consistency (I added 6 cups total). Use and store at room temperature. (Don’t refrigerate and it will last in a covered container for about three days.)

Garnish with berries, if desired right before serving.

fruit pizza - light version

I LOVE this recipe because there is no milk, eggs or sugar :) Still white flour but you could easily substitute it for whole wheat, although I'm not sure how that would taste (ick) :p

Sugar cookie recipe

1 package (8oz) light cream cheese softened
1 cup Smart Balance light butter spread softened
2/3 cup Splenda
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour

BEAT cream cheese, butter, Splenda, and vanilla with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. mix in flour. Refrigerate several hours or overnight.

Roll out dough on greased floured pizza pan. Poke with fork. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool completely.

Cream cheese frosting

1 package (8oz) light cream cheese softened
1/2 cup Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix cream cheese, Splenda and vanilla until creamy and spread on cooled cookie.

Gather your assorted sliced fruits of various colors. My favorites to use for this recipe are strawberries, kiwi, and mandarine oranges. Arrange sliced fruits on top as preferred. Refrigerate. Serve in triangular pizza slices. Enjoy!