Friday, September 29, 2017

Cooking up something different

I am trying to prepare something new every couple of weeks to add to our list of favorite dishes. I like reading cookbooks and subscribe to a number of magazines that have recipes that call for 20 some ingredients and all afternoon to prepare….sometimes I can adapt a recipe to our simple tastes that doesn’t take all day to prepare.

Some new recipes are misses for one of us like Squash Delight which Chance and I loved, Far Guy not so much. I liked it so much that Chance and I will have it when Far Guy has Gumbo.

Fancy Mac and Cheese

6-8 thick slices of bacon on a lined baking dish and throw it in the oven until it is crispy. 400 F for about 12 minutes..less if your use thin bacon. Do not overcook…just crispy not burned.

1 Sweet Potato peeled and chopped into bite size pieces.  Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven turning every once in awhile until sweet potatoes are soft and a little browned about 18 minutes in the oven.

3 Cups of Rigatoni cook until done … about 15 minutes.  Cooked longer than 15 minutes and the noodles tend to flatten out…I know this from experience. Retain some of the cooking water just incase you need it later.

Drain noodles, add 2 cups of cheese, I used Monterey Jack because we like that flavor but it sticks to the pan…next time I might try a different cheese.  I think the recipe called for marscarpone cheese and cheddar…I might try cheddar but have no idea what marscarpone cheese tastes like. ( If it is like Ricotta Cheese we don’t like it.) Add noodle water to make it creamier if desired.

Anyways chop the bacon into small pieces and add them and the roasted sweet potatoes to the noodles and cheese….stir well.  Salt and pepper to taste

This was advertized as a 20 minute meal, it took me longer than that.  I found the recipe in the September 2017 issue of Good Housekeeping.

It made four servings.  We declared it a 10 out of 10 stars and will make it again someday. Chance liked it too, especially the slice of bacon that I cooked for him, and the pan that I mixed everything in…he loves stuck on cheese.

Here is a pretty flower…a Cosmos amongst the Echinacea/Purple Coneflowers.

Cosmos among the Echinacea

Blog Signature

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

A very unique recipe and I appreciate you sharing. Theo likes stuck on cheese too! lol
The cosmos photo is beautiful.
Wishing you guys a pleasant weekend.

Lynda said...

I do the same - - - looking for recipes and adding to favorites. Sometimes I am more productive on that than others.
The neat thing about giving a dog a dish with stuck on cheese or gravy is it entertains them for at least a few minutes! It almost wears them out to the point they need a nap afterwards!

Anonymous said...

Mascarpone should taste creamy (and buttery) because it is is made from: Whole cream and tartaric acid. The recipe sounds good! I will have to check out the Squash Delight too. I like to try stuff with squash in it. Thanks for sharing!

Sam I Am...... said...

Thank you for the recipe...it sounds yummy!

DJan said...

It looks good, although I don't eat the bacon I might try it some day soon. It's definitely getting to be mac and cheese weather. :-)

Terry and Linda said...

I used to like to cook...I don't know what happened to me, but I dread every meal now. Sigh!

Rita said...

Those both sound delicious to me! I can just picture Chance wrking on the baked on cheese. ;)

Red said...

You need some variety to keep your head in the game

Cynthia said...

Interesting recipe for Mac and cheese -- with sweet potatoes. If you and Chance give it a 10 it must be good!

marlu said...

I like to try new recipes too. Many years ago I found a chocolate cake that had sausage in it. What a failure that was! This week I tried a meat loaf that was on the internet:
1 lb. hamburger, 1 box stuffing mix, 1 egg and 1 cup water. Mix all together and form a loaf. Bake 45 min. at 350. It's not BAD, but not my favorite. No complaints from the hubby.

Granny Marigold said...

So funny that Chance got to have the cheesy pan. My mother would be so horrified if she'd known I let Bracken "clean" all my casserole dishes before giving them a good wash!

Jacqi Stevens said...

Wow...didn't know Chance got recipe voting privileges!

Mascarpone should not taste like Ricotta, at least not that sharp type of flavor. Mascarpone is used in some yummy Italian dessert recipes and has a light, sweet taste. Actually, try googling mascarpone to check it out. There are some online recipes that tell you how to make your own mascarpone, in case you can't find any in the local stores, or the price is too prohibitive. I've never tried making my own (there are so many Italians around here that we can easily find it in our grocery store), so I can't vouch for that, but it's worth a try.

Linda Reeder said...

Sounds like an interesting dish, but I know I won't make it. I'm just not into cooking from recipes right now. Reminds me, though, that it's time to include yams on my grocery list again.