Whip It Up - Weeks 5 and 6

As I was lounging in the sun last week, I am combining my Week 5 and Week 6 Whip It Up contributions this week. Enjoy!

Week 5 - Homemade Macaroni and Cheese.

Craig's grandmother makes wonderful homemade mac and cheese. We invited the parents and grandparents over to his house last Sunday to tell them our big news. We bought fried chicken, and I made all the sides. I decided to try to make homemade mac and cheese instead of having her bring some. She ended up bringing it over anyway, which was really nice of her. Mine turned out pretty good, and I was looking forward to all the leftovers, until I broke a glass on the counter right next to the container, and had to pitch it because of the chance of broken glass. Damn it!

Here's my recipe, adapted from one I found on Allrecipes.com. I love that site.

Homemade Mac and Cheese

8 oz macaroni noodles
2 T butter, melted
1 small onion, minced
1 T flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1 1/2 C milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded colby/jack

Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook about 5 minutes, until the onion softens and turns translucent.

Sprinkle the flour, salt, pepper, and dry mustard into the onion/butter mixture. Slowly pour in the milk, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Simmer, stirring constantly, about 10 minutes until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses, a cup at a time, until the cheese has melted.

Mix macaroni and cheese sauce and bake at 350 in a greased 13x9 pan until bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Was it easy? Yes, it was. The cheese sauce came together quickly, and didn't have the flour taste like my previous queso attempt.

Did it taste good? Yes, it was nice and cheesy. The original recipe called for topping it with buttered bread crumbs, but I opted to leave that off. I also added a cup more cheese than the original recipe, and used a mix of cheddar and colby.

Would I make again? I will make it again and experiment with the cheese mix. I might use a swiss/cheddar mix, or a colby/pepper jack mix. I like spicy!

Week 6 - Sauteed Mushrooms

I like grilled meat. Steak, burgers, pork chops, even italian sausages on the grill. I also love mushrooms. So earlier this week, when we grilled bacon sizzler burgers (hamburger and bacon chopped and made into patties, available at Kelly's 4-o in Troy), I decided to make them into mushroom swiss bacon burgers by sauteeing some fresh mushrooms.

My goal is to duplicate the Hardee's mushroom swiss burger sauce, but I'm still working on it. This is my latest attempt - I added worchestershire sauce and pepper. It's not there yet, but getting closer.

Sauteed Mushrooms

1/2 c sliced or chopped fresh white mushrooms
2 T Olive oil
1 T Jarred chopped garlic
Splash of Worchestershire sauce
Fresh cracked pepper

Heat oil and garlic over low heat; add mushrooms. Sautee gently 5-7 minutes or until mushrooms are soft. Add splash of worchestershire sauce and season with pepper to taste.

Use to top steaks or burgers, or add to pasta.

Was it easy? Very easy. I usually turn the pan on low while I cook the meat, checking the mushrooms every few minutes.

Did it taste good? I love mushrooms so it was very tasty. I ate some right out of the pan, but just to test the flavor. This wasn't close to the Hardee's sauce but the worchestershire gave it a kick.

Would I make again? I'm still trying to duplicate that Hardee's sauce, so I will make this again and keep experimenting with the taste.

**Pics here