Random assortment
I made the YUMMIEST macaroni and cheese ever the other night, and I want to write down what I did because this is SO something I would make again. Feel free to try it!
Keep in mind I was just throwing things in a pot as I went along, so these measurement are VERY approximate. There's lots of wiggle room here.
Put medium saucepan over low heat.
Add approx. 2 tbsp of cream cheese directly to pot, allow to start melting over low heat (I used the Philadelphia Whipped kind)
Add approx. 2 tbsp of sour cream (I used low fat), allow to start melting with cream cheese
Pour in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine (I have no clue how much. I just poured some in until it looked right.)
Add approx. 1 tbsp of butter/margarine
(At this point, there was about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pot, using a medium saucepan)
Season with:
1 heaped tsp of powdered soup mix (I used onion. Chicken, beef, or mushroom would also be good)
Salt (go easy on the salt - the soup mix plus the pasta water later will be salty, too!)
Pepper (I used lots - I love pepper)
Tabasco or other hot sauce (I only used a couple drops and couldn't really taste it - I'll use more next time)
Garlic powder
Cover.
Let simmer, covered, over very low heat while everything gets melted and mixed together. Stir a little if you feel like it.
Once you've built the sauce to this point and covered the pot, put your pasta water on to boil. The sauce will simmer the whole time you're waiting for the water to boil, plus most of the time the pasta is cooking. Make sure the sauce is over LOW heat. The wine will reduce slowly and everything will mix together nicely.
Salt pasta water liberally and add pasta of choice. I recommend a short pasta. I used rotini. I think penne, farfalle, and of course elbows would also work well. You want something that the sauce can really get into the nooks and crannies of. I wouldn't do spaghetti or something like that, unless that's all you have in the house and you absolutely MUST make it right now. :)
About 3 minutes before al dente, put three to four ladles-ful of the pasta water into your sauce.
Add three to four handfuls of shredded cheese (I used colby jack. Cheddar or an Italian four-cheese mix would also be yummy. Any mix of cheese you like will work, but make sure it's melty enough)
Add a liberal amount of grated parmesan.
Add a splash of milk (or cream!) for creaminess, if desired.
Bring back to a simmer, leave uncovered over low or medium-low heat. You want the cheese to melt into the liquids and for the whole thing to reduce.
Drain pasta when al dente (DON'T overcook - you'll be cooking it a bit more in the sauce). Return pasta to hot pot and put over medium heat.
Add sauce.
Bring to boil and cook pasta in sauce for a couple of minutes to help sauce thicken more.
Reduce heat to very low.
Flatten pasta into an even layer in the pot and sprinkle bread crumbs to cover
Add shredded cheese on top.
Cover pot, turn off heat.
Leave for a few minutes while cheese on top melts.
EAT and ENJOY!!
The longer it sits, the thicker the sauce gets, and the yummier the whole thing becomes. :)
Also, been thinking more about my birth "plans".
My main realization is, if I have a c-section this time, I'll pretty much HAVE to have c-sections for any future kids. And since I'm not sure that we wouldn't want more than 2, that's important to me. Right now, I'm leaning heavily toward having a trial of labor with a "time limit" - in that, if the labor isn't progressing at a reasonable clip, we pick a sort of "deadline" and do a c-section after that. Or something.
Niv said "Starbucks" and "stir fry" the other day, and he likes it when Rachael Ray says "mm mm mm" and copies her. It's hilarious.
We finally got an exterminator out last Thursday to take care of the ants. They were super stubborn this season and just wouldn't go away. Now they are gone, and that is one less thing on my mind. Too bad it cost money we don't technically have. Heh.
Keep in mind I was just throwing things in a pot as I went along, so these measurement are VERY approximate. There's lots of wiggle room here.
Put medium saucepan over low heat.
Add approx. 2 tbsp of cream cheese directly to pot, allow to start melting over low heat (I used the Philadelphia Whipped kind)
Add approx. 2 tbsp of sour cream (I used low fat), allow to start melting with cream cheese
Pour in 1/4 to 1/2 cup of white wine (I have no clue how much. I just poured some in until it looked right.)
Add approx. 1 tbsp of butter/margarine
(At this point, there was about 1/2 inch of liquid in the pot, using a medium saucepan)
Season with:
1 heaped tsp of powdered soup mix (I used onion. Chicken, beef, or mushroom would also be good)
Salt (go easy on the salt - the soup mix plus the pasta water later will be salty, too!)
Pepper (I used lots - I love pepper)
Tabasco or other hot sauce (I only used a couple drops and couldn't really taste it - I'll use more next time)
Garlic powder
Cover.
Let simmer, covered, over very low heat while everything gets melted and mixed together. Stir a little if you feel like it.
Once you've built the sauce to this point and covered the pot, put your pasta water on to boil. The sauce will simmer the whole time you're waiting for the water to boil, plus most of the time the pasta is cooking. Make sure the sauce is over LOW heat. The wine will reduce slowly and everything will mix together nicely.
Salt pasta water liberally and add pasta of choice. I recommend a short pasta. I used rotini. I think penne, farfalle, and of course elbows would also work well. You want something that the sauce can really get into the nooks and crannies of. I wouldn't do spaghetti or something like that, unless that's all you have in the house and you absolutely MUST make it right now. :)
About 3 minutes before al dente, put three to four ladles-ful of the pasta water into your sauce.
Add three to four handfuls of shredded cheese (I used colby jack. Cheddar or an Italian four-cheese mix would also be yummy. Any mix of cheese you like will work, but make sure it's melty enough)
Add a liberal amount of grated parmesan.
Add a splash of milk (or cream!) for creaminess, if desired.
Bring back to a simmer, leave uncovered over low or medium-low heat. You want the cheese to melt into the liquids and for the whole thing to reduce.
Drain pasta when al dente (DON'T overcook - you'll be cooking it a bit more in the sauce). Return pasta to hot pot and put over medium heat.
Add sauce.
Bring to boil and cook pasta in sauce for a couple of minutes to help sauce thicken more.
Reduce heat to very low.
Flatten pasta into an even layer in the pot and sprinkle bread crumbs to cover
Add shredded cheese on top.
Cover pot, turn off heat.
Leave for a few minutes while cheese on top melts.
EAT and ENJOY!!
The longer it sits, the thicker the sauce gets, and the yummier the whole thing becomes. :)
Also, been thinking more about my birth "plans".
My main realization is, if I have a c-section this time, I'll pretty much HAVE to have c-sections for any future kids. And since I'm not sure that we wouldn't want more than 2, that's important to me. Right now, I'm leaning heavily toward having a trial of labor with a "time limit" - in that, if the labor isn't progressing at a reasonable clip, we pick a sort of "deadline" and do a c-section after that. Or something.
Niv said "Starbucks" and "stir fry" the other day, and he likes it when Rachael Ray says "mm mm mm" and copies her. It's hilarious.
We finally got an exterminator out last Thursday to take care of the ants. They were super stubborn this season and just wouldn't go away. Now they are gone, and that is one less thing on my mind. Too bad it cost money we don't technically have. Heh.