Cheddar and Beer Mac and Cheese

So I just completed my first year as a clinical psych doctoral student! I'm so thrilled to be doing what I've always wanted to do with my life. As a consequence of being so busy and happy, however, I've had a less of an interest in cooking. I suspect that interest will reemerge again at some point, but in the meantime I'm trying not to completely neglect this blog. Tonight I found a recipe worth sharing and managed to a.) take pics and b.) not improvise too much. Chedder. Beer. Macaroni. Cheese. Seriously. It sounds too good, right?

Cheddar and Beer Mac and Cheese
Adapted from How Sweet It Is. Serves 4-6.

2 1/2 cups uncooked elbow noodles

2 Tbsp butter

2 Tbsp. flour (plus 2 more Tbsp if needed)

8 ounces milk

8 ounces beer (we used Sam Adams Summer Ale)

8 ounces grated chipotle cheddar cheese 

3 ounces parm cheese

1/2 cup panko or regular bread crumbs

pepper, garlic powder, red pepper flakes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Boil pasta according to directions, but cook 1-2 minutes less than directed. The pasta will finish cooking in the oven. 

In a saucepan, heat butter over medium-high heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in 2 Tbsp. of flour and cook until bubbly and golden. Then whisk in the milk and beer. Turn the heat down to medium-low and add the cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted. After a few minutes, you can add 1-2 more Tbsp. of flour if you want your sauce to be thicker. (I added 4 Tbsp total.) The sauce will still be somewhat thin, I guess because of the beer. Stir in some pepper, a pinch of garlic powder, and red pepper flakes if you want it spicier. 

Put the cooked and drained noodles in a casserole dish and pour the sauce on top. Stir the noodles around a little to let the sauce mix with the noodles. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top and a little more cheese (just sprinkle some over the top if you want). 

Bake 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. 

Enjoy! I liked mine extra-peppery, fyi. 

Mediterranean-inspired Pizza Bagel

Tonight I am working on an assignment for school. My psych friends will understand when I say my resources do not exceed my situational stressors right now. In an effort to remedy this imbalance, I made this delicious snack/dinner.

Mediterranean-inspired Pizza Bagel 

• 1 bagel
• Hummus (I used roasted red pepper)
• Cheese (I used cheddar but other mild cheeses and feta would be great)

Step 1: Slice your bagel in half and try not to eat the insides before you even make dinner. 

Step 2: Spread hummus on it as if you were making a regular pizza bagel with sauce. 

Step 3: Put some thinly sliced cheese on top and pop that baby in the toaster oven for about 10 mins, or until cheese is melted and bagel is warm. 

Yum! 

Happier

Hi everyone!

I've made it a priority to start recoding all the music I've written. I've hesitated for a long time out of perfectionism-I don't want to share it unless it's "perfect." The result of this, I realized, is that I don't share it at all! So...I'm letting go of the imperfections and sharing what I have so far.

This song was written about a year and a half ago.
I hope you enjoy.

Marshmallow Funfetti Bars

Given that I had an afternoon of homework ahead of me, I felt the need to bake. Reasonable, right? OF course. I saw these on Pinterest a while back using Nutella instead of chocolate chips and thought they looked amazing. However, I had chocolate chips on hand so that's what happened. They turned out great! Yummmm.

The original directions recommended a 9 x 13 pan. In hindsight, I think using a 12 x 12 pan might have yielded slightly thicker bars and I'd probably use that next time around. Still, no complaints. 

Also-Marshmallow fluff IS vegetarian. Hurrah! 

Marshmallow Funfetti Bars

(adapted from Inside BruCrew Life)

• 1 box Funfetti cake mix
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup salted butter, melted
• 1/2 of a 12 oz. bag chocolate chips
• 1 jar Marshmallow fluff

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Mix together the cake mix, melted butter, and milk. Spread half in a greased pan. Spread fluff on top and then sprinkle on chocolate chips. Crumble/spread the rest of the cake mix over the top. 

Bake for approx. 30 minutes or until the top starts to brown. Let it set and then cut into squares. 

(I actually didn't cook it long enough at first and it was gooey. I put it back in the oven for a few more mins, let it set, and then it was perfect. The picture below is before I put it back in the oven.)

Kitchen Sink Nutella Puppy Chow

The first thing to know about this recipe is that you really can't mess it up. You can approximate, throw in whatever you want, it'll be fine. How could you really go wrong with Nutella and sugar? Rhetorical question. You can't. 

Kitchen Sink Nutella Puppy Chow

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter
• about 1 jar of Nutella
• 6 cups Rice Chex cereal
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 bag Goldfish brand pretzels
• Approx 5 oz (1/2 bag) Reeses peanut butter chips
• Approx 1/2 bag mini marshmallows

Put rice chex and pretzels in a large mixing bowl and set aside. 

Melt the butter in a saucepan. 

Once melted, add Nutella and stir. 

haha! Doesn't that look funny? 

Keep the heat on low so that the butter doesn't burn. When the Nutella and butter are blended, pour over the chex/pretzel mixture. Stir gently.  

Once it starts to cool, add the marshmallows and peanut butter chips. Stir and add sugar. Stir again so everything is coated. 

Enjoy!! 

Yum. 

Cheesy Mushroom and Feta Pie

I invented this recipe today. Inspiration? The white pizza I made a while back (see: Stuffed Crust Mushroom and Feta Pizza). Since I decided to bring this to a Superbowl party, I just had to hope my experiment would be alright. Considering it was devoured by 6 people in under 10 minutes, I'd say it was a more than alright. In fact, I was told to "go home and make another one." I'd call that a success.

Cheesy Mushroom and Feta Pie

• 1 prepared pie crust
• 6 oz. mozzarella cheese (I used 3/4 of an 8 oz block, sliced very thin)
• 2 1/2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 standard container of white button mushrooms
• 3 oz. of feta cheese (approx 1/2 of a 6 oz. container)
• garlic powder, salt, and pepper

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Saute the mushrooms in 1 Tbsp. butter. If they get too watery in the pan, drain them and then add the second Tbsp. of butter. Saute until they cook down, adding salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Don't be stingy with the garlic. 

Set aside the mushrooms and slice the mozzarella cheese very thin. You could also shred the cheese. I just didn't b/c I didn't feel like it. It's that simple. No good reason. 

Take 1/2 Tbsp of butter and spread it around the bottom of the crust. This is pretty optional, I just did this because it seemed like a good idea. Whatever. 

Put down a layer of mozzarella cheese. Put the mushrooms on top and sprinkle feta over them. Add a second layer of mozzarella cheese and more feta. 

Bake for approximately 50-60 mins and until cheese is bubbly. I actually covered the pie with tin foil after about 45 minutes and let it cook an extra 15 so that the cheese didn't burn but the pie crust was fully cooked. 

Enjoy! 

P.S. As you can see, this is me pretty much winging it. There's probably some trick to cooking mushrooms so they don't get all watery in the pan. Still, I ended up with a delicious product so you can follow my haphazard directions or feel free to improve upon them! :)

Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread

hahah well I am clearly not helpful in the whole New Year's Resolutions for eating healthy thing. This is SO good though. Super soft buttery garlic bread covered in cheese? It's worth it.

Cheesy Garlic Pull-Apart Bread
from Food Wanderings in Asia

• 1 Italian loaf
• 1 stick (8 Tbsp) butter
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• Approx 3 tsp. minced onion
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
• Approx 3 tsp. chopped parsley (I just grabbed a handful and chopped it up)
• About 12 oz grated cheddar/monterey jack cheese blend (we used about 3/4 of the bag)

Slice the bread in an X shape so that it makes cubes you could pull apart. Do NOT cut all the way down-you want the bread to be able to be pulled apart but intact until you pull it.

Stuff at least half the cheese into the cracks in the bread. Melt the butter in a bowl. Combine butter with olive oil, onion, garlic, mustard, and parsley. Stir and pour over the bread. Push it down into the cracks with a spoon if you can. Sprinkle more cheese on top. 

Wrap the loaf in foil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Take off the top, bake for about 5 more minutes (until cheese is sufficiently melty) and EAT. YUM.