Macaroni and cheese has long been a favorite of mine (as I’m sure it is for many of you). Growing up, Mom always made our mac-n-cheese “from scratch”. Hers was a simple recipe. Boil some shells, chunk up some Velveeta, and stir, stir, stir until it all melts. That’s it, no milk, no butter. In fact, when someone added those things to mac n cheese, it tasted weird to me. I just wanted Mom’s.

Somewhere along the way, I decided to add a little milk and butter to my version of Mom’s. I think it was in college and I was running a little low on Velveeta, so I had to stretch it out somehow. I decided that wasn’t half bad, and I could eat that again if I had to. A few years later, and at a luncheon I had baked macaroni and cheese. The kind that has a bechamel sauce base, and bread crumbs on top. This took me back to “something’s not quite right with this”. Additions to my macaroni are apparently an acquired taste, but out of the necessity to stretch what’s in the cupboard or fridge, my palate learns to adapt. And that’s how I ended up making this Baked Mac n Cheese with Broccoli. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dinner, Vegetarian by Courtney

It doesn’t really get much simpler than a Nutella and banana sandwich, even if you slightly doll it up as I have here. Today is a gray day, and I can’t think of anything better than some quick comfort food. Since my hubby bought me a breadmaker for Christmas, we’ve had fresh bread available at all times (a nice honey whole wheat, mmmmm!). So I sliced off a couple of pieces, slathered Nutella on both sides, sliced up a bit of banana to squish in the middle, and grilled my masterpiece in a non-stick pan with just a spritz of olive oil. To add a little sweetness and a lot of visual interest, I dusted the sandwich halves with a bit of powdered sugar before sitting down to devour my sweet, sweet lunch.

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Comfort food, Dairy free, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney

The weekend before Thanksgiving, as I was preparing my shopping lists and getting prepared for the holiday feast, I made a bit of chicken stock to use in my gravy and stuffing. The house filled with the wonderful aroma and had me craving chicken noodle soup. So after I portioned out what I needed for Thanksgiving dinner, I set aside enough to make a pot of chicken noodle soup for my husband and I to enjoy. Not content to only have soup, I used a leftover baguette and some frozen Velveeta cheese to make mini grilled cheeses for us.

Lucky for me, I froze a few bowls of the soup, because I knew they would go to waste in the refrigerator with the impending Thanksgiving feast. This past week, instead of enjoying my vacation, I’ve been in bed with the flu, and I have to say the chicken noodle soup does indeed make you feel better. (more…)

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Comfort food, Dairy free, Lunch, Soups by Courtney

It’s funny where you might stumble upon a recipe. Sure, there are sites that are dedicated to recipes, such as Epicurious and blogs like this one. There’s the back of a package – like the Nestle Toll House chocolate chips and their famous cookie. One place I hadn’t anticipated, though, was when I went to Cypress Grove’s website to read up on their newest addition to their cheese line up, Truffle Tremor.

When I was putting together a cheese course of local cheeses, and I picked up Truffle Tremor in part because I love Cypress Grove’s Humboldt Fog, so I thought I’d try the newest cheese on the block. The Tremor was so good, so creamy, that I decided to pop over to the website to find out more about it. That’s where I stumbled upon recipes. (more…)

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Comfort food, Gourmet, Lunch, Quick and Easy, Vegetarian by Courtney

Today I awoke to gray skies. While the temperature wasn’t too cold, there’s something about a gray day that makes you want to snuggle back under the covers and hibernate, watching old movies and keeping warm. So that’s basically what I did, only the covers were on the couch, so I could enjoy all of the Christmas decorations around the house.

I decided it would be the perfect day to feed the craving I’d been having for a vegetable soup in Lidia Bastianich’s book, Lidia Cooks from the Heart of Italy. I had made the recipe last year, and it was so full of flavor and so easy that it has stuck out in my mind as a “must make as soon as the weather turns cold” meal. (more…)

Filed under:
Comfort food, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Italian, Lunch, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney