What are you Cooking the week of February 24, 2019?

[chocomouse]

Dinner tonight was rigatoni with Italian sausage, big chunks of belle peppers and onion, and home-made tomato sauce. One of our favorite meals.

I will eat only one kind of mac and cheese, and it is the most simple process possible: boil macaroni pasta to the desired "al dente"; stir in one can of condensed tomato soup (do not dilute), then add cubed Velveeta cheese, to the desired cheesiness. My kids and grandkids love it, and call it "soup and noodles and cheese". My brother and sisters laugh at me. It is what our mother made, but not often. She also used a can of tomato soup as her spaghetti/marinara sauce! We didn't have any herbs or spices in the house, other than salt and pepper, which were rarely used. You might wonder why my siblings and I love to cook/bake and are all good cooks!!!

[Mike Nolan]

My mother had quite a few herbs and spices in her pantry, but I think her spice repertoire was fairly limited. I like to experiment with a lot of spices, though I've found a few we don't care for, like winter savory. I don't use a lot of nutmeg in savory dishes, I do use a lot of thyme, basil and parsley. I tend to limit oregano to tomato dishes, though I've found myself using its cousin, marjoram, with meat dishes more lately, especially in any recipe that called for garlic. I also use either mustard powder or Dijon mustard more than I used to, and the same with sage. Rosemary is something I use in small quantities, as it can be overpowering. I don't use a lot of paprika, though I have several types I use sparingly. (I like either smoked paprika or hot paprika on deviled eggs, my wife doesn't like any paprika on hers.)

[Joan Simpson]

We had fried cubed steak,macaroni and cheese and left over green butter beans.

For my mac-n- cheese it's just cooked macaroni,lots of cheese sharp cheddar,one beaten egg,and a big spoon of sour cream with a tablespoon or two of butter and salt and pepper.I stir it up and top with more cheese lightly and bake.

Chocomouse we ate a lot of Velvetta when I was growing up.Your mac and cheese with the tomato soup and velvetta sounds good to me.

[chocomouse]

Mike, one of the most interesting uses of spices that I have found is in Moroccan cooking. I discovered this when learning to cook in my tagine, and I thought I would not like the spice combinations. Common in those recipes (usually chicken and vegetables) are garlic, paprika, cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg. The flavor is quite different, but very good.

[Italiancook]

I don't experiment with herbs and spices, since I cook mostly from recipes.

What I remember about Velvetta is after my dad retired. The government was giving cheese to older adults, and my dad went for it. Turned out to be Velvetta, and he was happy to have it. Since he lived out-of-state, I don't know what he did with it. I just remember that after all his years of paying taxes, he thought he'd finally hit the pay-off. I don't know if the cheese was in the Velvetta box or other packaging. I just know he told me it was Velvetta.

[chocomouse]

I remember seeing government issued cheese in the school kitchen in the 80s. It was shaped like the Velveeta in the box, but much larger, and not a yellow box. I like it in Duchess soup -- I love that it melts so easily. I had a wonderful cheese last weekend - Red Dragon. It is a cheddar with mustard seed and ale. It's a touch on the warm side, but delicious. I've been trying to locate it on-line, and see that it is carried at Walmart. I think the Walmart near me doesn't have any cheese; I rarely shop there, but will stop by sometime to see if they have it.

[BakerAunt]

I roasted some sweet potatoes with olive oil and maple syrup on Tuesday, and we had it with sliced turkey breast that my husband had roasted, with steamed broccoli on the side. On Thursday, I used some of the cut-up turkey, combined with celery, carrots, onion, the drippings from the turkey breast, Parmesan cheese, and spinach noodles to make a one-dish dinner. I seasoned it with ½ cup poultry seasoning. (Thyme or sage would also have been nice.)

My family ate only Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and we were never impressed with any baked macaroni and cheese. The Kraft was also cheap and quick when I was in graduate school, and sometimes I would mix it with hamburger for a main dish. My husband would buy cheaper brands--yuk. I then started making my own, using KAF's Vermont Cheese Powder, a bit of Land o' Lakes light-butter canola spread, and 1% milk, on whole wheat macaroni. It's good, but it will never be Kraft. However, this lower-saturated fat version, works better for my current dietary needs.

I wish that I knew more about what spices go with what. My husband is not a fan of assertive spices, and so I tread carefully there. However, for the black bean chili I made earlier this week, I used 2 tsp. chili powder, 1/4 tsp. cayenne (older), and 1/4 tsp. ground cumin. I like the flavor combination and will use it again.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I'm curious. Which butter substitute do you use for spreading, say on toast, on your new lower-fat journey? I've used Olivio since the last century. I'm thinking you may have found a better option on the shelves these days.

[Joan Simpson]

No cooking for me today.It's my birthday #64 and my sister came and we played cards all day.Got lots of calls from friends and family,ate cake and then we went out for supper at a local seafood restaurant.I feel very blessed.

[RiversideLen]

I like baked mac and cheese. I don't have it often. And sometimes I will use the Kraft, but I will add more milk to it so it can stand up to baking and not come out dry.

Today I made chicken tostadas using a store bought rotisserie chicken. I had it with steamed asparagus and carrots and mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was from the freezer, Amy's.

[BakerAunt]

Happy belated birthday, Joan! It sounds like a great day!

Italian Cook: I used Land o' Lakes light butter-canola spread. It comes in a tub. It gives me the flavor with less of the saturated fat. I also wanted to avoid the palm oil that is in most other spreads.

[S_Wirth]

Happy belated birthday, Joan! Glad you had a nice time of celebration.

[chocomouse]

Happy birthday, Joan, and many more to come! Sounds like you had a great day!

[Italiancook]

Your birthday celebration sounds wonderful, Joan. Happy Birthday!

[BakerAunt]

Saturday’s dinner was my healthier take on my Mom’s hamburger stroganoff, which we had over brown and mixed rice with microwaved peas.

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