Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese

Ummmm...bacon and ranch in mac and cheese? Catches your eye doesn't it? It did mine when I was flipping through a Cooking Light magazine at my mom's recently. I stopped subscribing to it because I don't like the new layout. I was sad to stop taking it as I've gotten it since 2003 or 2004, but I just didn't dig it. Plus my mom gets it, so I might as well read hers and then go to the website and email myself the recipes I liked from it. I'm quite the money saver, can't you tell?

Anyway, I'm pretty much a sucker for mac and cheese to begin with, then when I saw bacon in the title it was a done deal that my family would be having this for dinner at some point. When the boy asked what we were having for dinner the night I made this, and I told him "mac and cheese" he responded with, "Oh boy! My favorite!!" What can I say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

Bacon, Ranch, and Chicken Mac and Cheese

8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
1 slice applewood-smoked bacon
8 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1/3 cup condensed 45% reduced-sodium 98% fat-free cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded six-cheese Italian blend (such as Sargento)
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded colby-Jack cheese

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain.
2. Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving drippings in pan. Finely chop bacon; set aside. Increase heat to medium-high. Add chicken to drippings in pan; sauté 6 minutes or until done.
3. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat; sprinkle flour evenly into pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk. Combine milk and soup, stirring with a whisk; gradually add milk mixture to saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes or until thick. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until sauce cools to 155°. Add Italian cheese blend, onion powder, garlic powder, dill, and salt, stirring until cheese melts. Stir in pasta and chicken.
4. Preheat broiler.
5. Spoon mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle evenly with reserved bacon and colby-Jack cheese. Broil 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Nutritional Information
Calories:497
Fat:17g (sat 9.2g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:33.3g
Carbohydrate:51.7g
Fiber:2g
Cholesterol:74mg
Iron:2.4mg
Sodium:767mg
Calcium:368mg

*****

My family loves bacon. Generations of my family have loved bacon, as have generations of my husband's family (or at least his parents do, so I'm assuming it goes back longer than that), so when I read this only called for one piece I figured that just wouldn't do. Kind of like I always add more cheese than what is called for. I figured a second slice wouldn't hurt anything, so I cooked up two. As soon as my guys smelled bacon cooking all three of them were in the kitchen. I damn near had to smack their hands. Just kidding--about the hand smacking, they did all come in asking for bacon, but I told them it was for dinner. I also didn't use the canned cream of whatever soup because I've vowed to stop buying it because it's really nasty stuff. Or at least the ingredients in it are nasty. I try to stick to a rule of "if I can't pronounce it, I shouldn't eat it" when it comes to buying food. In the Make it Fast, Cook it Slow cookbook, Stephanie O'Dea has a recipe for cream of whatever soup you can make yourself and substitute for the canned stuff that's really easy to put together. You can find the recipe on her blog here.

Because I had to make my own cream of whatever soup and needed to make a separate roux for the mac and cheese, this took a little longer than I thought it would, but it all worked out in the end. I didn't have colby jack cheese to use, so I used some shredded cheddar instead.

This was yummy!!! I ended up adding in a little too much dill (I go a little crazy with fresh dill because I heart it so), but it wasn't too overpowering. Just stick with what's listed in the recipe!! If I recall correctly (and I'm pretty sure I do in looking over what else we've eaten recently), the husband had thirds and kept going back for little bites until he had finished off the pan. So, we liked it. The boy and baby liked it, too. This is definitely something I'll make again, I'll just have to plan my time out a little better.

Orzo and Feta

I was looking through a cookbook recently that my mother-in-law gave me for Christmas, and I saw this recipe. The ingredients are all things I normally have on hand, so I've been waiting for the right main dish to serve this alongside. I thought falafel tonight would work well. Nice light dinner, nice light side dish. Perfect for an insanely hot day like we're having here in Phoenix.

Orzo and Feta

1/2 pound orzo, cooked according to package directions
1/2 cup green onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta
1/3 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp dill weed (or 1 Tbsp fresh)
1/4 tsp oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and serve at room temperature.

*****

I love easy, and this dinner tonight definitely fits the bill. I just need to get the falafel out of the freezer (I bought them ready-made at Costco awhile back), slice up a tomato or two, tear up some lettuce, and call it good. Oh, I'm using naan bread instead of pitas for the sandwiches tonight. Pitas just cause me too much grief, and I found the naan worked quite well last time. Once all that is defrosted and heated, I'll spread some hummus on the naan, top with falafel, tomato, and lettuce, and call it good.

*****

This was a fantastic side dish! I kept taking bites straight out of the bowl after I mixed it all together. It was really light and flavorful--a perfect summer dinner accompaniment. This will definitely be added into regular rotation!

Salmon Burgers with Scallion Cream Cheese

Have you been wondering what happened to me? We've had a crazy week and haven't been having anything interesting for dinner, so I didn't bother to update. Tuesday night we had a tofu stir fry that was similar to the Peanutty Udon Noodles with Tofu I made awhile back, only I didn't use any noodles. So really it was just tofu, a bag of frozen stir fry veggies, and the Thai peanut sauce I bought at Costco. Wednesday night we had some pizzas I got at Costco. Yesterday I was taking dinner to a friend that just had a baby, so we had the same thing that I took them--macaroni and cheese and pigs in a blanket. We were originally going to have these salmon burgers last night, but when I told the husband what I was taking to my friend, he requested we have that too. Actually he asked if I could set aside a couple of the pigs in a blanket for him, but I thought that was tacky, so I changed our menu plan a bit. I was kind of bummed because I've been so excited for these burgers, but it all worked out.

So, this recipe is from the Meal Planning 101 blog I like so much. Jen B. made it a few weeks ago and invited me over for lunch for the leftovers. Lordy mama, were these ever tasty!! The husband isn't a big fan of salmon, but he'll just have to tough it out because I cannot live the rest of my life without consuming these again. I happened to find some salmon fillets on manager's special recently, so I felt the stars were aligning for me to make this.

The title of the recipe links to the recipe post on the original website.

Salmon Burgers with Scallion Cream Cheese
4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets, cut into large chunks
1 tbsp grill seasoning
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 tbsp sesame seeds
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Olive oil for drizzling
1/2 cup softened cream cheese
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp lemon juice

Lettuce,
Tomato, sliced
Red onion, sliced
Crusty kaiser rolls, split and toasted

Place the chunks of salmon in the food processor and pulse just until the salmon is coarsely ground. Transfer the meat to a mixing bowl and add grill seasoning, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and dill. Mix until everything is combined well. Divide the mixture into four equal portions and form into burger patties. Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over each side of the burger.

Preheat your grill or a frying pan over medium high heat. If using a grill, spray with cooking spray and if using frying pan drizzle a bit of olive oil in the pan. I like my burgers well done so I cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. If you like your salmon still a bit pink in the middle, cook only 3 minutes on each side. If using your stove top, turn your oven on to broil.

While the salmon burgers are cooking, mix together the softened cream cheese and green onions. Stir in the sour cream. Place the crusty rolls face down on the grill or under the broiler, and toast.

Assemble the burgers by spreading the scallion cream cheese over the toasted buns, top with the salmon burger, a piece of lettuce, tomato and onion.

*****

Mmmmm...I cannot wait for dinner tonight! I think I might do them on the grill and grill some potatoes along with them. I remember having a grilled potato recipe that I made last summer which we really liked, so I think I'll dig that up and make. I also need to make whole wheat hamburger buns this afternoon to go with these. It's going to be a busy afternoon in my kitchen because today is my grandma's 91st birthday, and tomorrow night is her birthday dinner. I'm making creme brulee for dessert for her dinner, so I need to whip that up today as it has to sit overnight. You have no idea how many times I've been reminding myself this week that I need to do that today.

I'm so glad it's almost the weekend. This week has been crazy busy and next week isn't looking to be any better. Then the boys and I are going to San Diego for a week with my mom. I'll be glad when things start to calm down--although hopefully a week of hanging out on the beach will be calming.

*****

Sadly, I don't think we'll be having these again. I was the only one that liked them. I gave the boy half a burger, and he ate the bottom bun and that was it. The husband ate his but said he's still burned out on salmon. Sigh. I was really hoping these would turn him around on salmon so we could have them again.

Falafel Pitas

I've had a great weekend!! Yesterday Jen B. and I went to our local Le Creuset outlet because one of their colors was being discontinued, and all items in that color were 30% off!! We're both suckers for Le Creuset--especially on sale--so we couldn't resist. We got some great deals; I got a 4-quart oval pot, an oval casserole dish, a batter bowl, and my mother-in-law's birthday present. I'm not sure if she checks my blog, so I don't want to say what it is. ;) We hit a few other shops while we were at the outlet mall, then we had lunch at Pappadeaux's. Oh man, was it ever good. We both had the crawfish combo--fried crawfish and crawfish etouffee with dirty rice. YUM! We were in food heaven. Then the husband, kids, and I went over to my aunt and uncle's for an impromptu family dinner. My uncle grilled steaks which were amazing. It was a great food day, although I woke up this morning with a total food hangover. I definitely over-induldged yesterday, but it was worth every bite!

Originally we were going to have these falafel pitas last night, but when my aunt called inviting us over for steak I figured they'd be fine waiting until tonight. I bought the falafel at Costco on Jen B's recommendation. Her family loves them, so I thought we'd give them a try. I'm excited to have an easy dinner for tonight because it's been a bit of a rough day. This is her recipe, but I'm changing it up just a little.

Jen's Falafel Pitas
pita bread of your choice
2-3 falafel patties per sandwich (I am using pre-made)
lettuce of your choice (I like romaine or baby spinach)
sliced red onion
sliced tomato
sliced cucumber
Tzatziki sauce or hummus for topping
Fresh cilantro (optional)

Cook Falafel according to package directions. Place in pita with other ingredients of your choice. Eat like a sandwich.

*****

In an interesting twist, the day I bought the falafel I was looking through last month's issue of Cooking Light and there was a similar recipe in the magazine, only it involved making your own falafel. There was a tzatziki sauce recipe included, so that's what I'm using on ours. I heart tzatziki very much!

Tzatziki Sauce
1 cup 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
2/3 cup chopped peeled cucumber
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine ingredients.

*****

Yum. I'm really excited for this and hope the husband and boy like it. I looked on RecipeZaar.com for some kind of potato recipe to go with this and found a couple that sound good. I'm going to stick with the Greek theme and am trying to decide between two recipes I found. I'll post that recipe once I pick one of them.

*****

This dinner was a bit of a mishap, but it was totally my fault. I'm pita inept. Always have been, always will be. I cannot for the life of me separate them. I don't know what my deal is. So, we couldn't stuff the pitas with all the fixings, so we put them on top and tried to fold them. It worked okay...except for the falafel (is one falafel still called falafel?) that flew out of the husband's and landed in his drink. Seriously. I kind of kicked myself because at the store I stood there debating between pitas and naan, which Jen had used the last time she made this. I opted for pitas--forgetting about my ineptness--because they were something like $0.75 cheaper. Sigh. Should have gone for the naan. Next time.

The tzatziki was good, although I think I like it with shredded cucumbers instead of chunks. And I wish I would have thought far enough ahead to make it earlier in the day so the flavors had time to marry more than they did.

I will definitely make this again (and not just because there was falafel left), but I'll skip the pitas and save myself a lot of grief, and I'll go with naan instead. It was a yummy vegetarian dinner, and we all liked it.

Cap'n Crunch Chicken and potato salad

Alright, I'm back on track!! Posting the same day as I made something...are you shocked? Did you fall out of your chair? I almost did. Not really. This was one of the things I was going to make last week but then never did. I was going to make it Friday but realized I had no oil to fry the chicken, so the boy and I ran to the store after his nap, and I got oil. Unfortunately it was almost 6:00 when we got home, and I hadn't gotten out the chicken to defrost yet. Oops. So the husband stopped and got pizza for us on his way home. I heart my husband. :) He was way bummed we weren't having this, so I made sure it was first up this week.

This recipe was in the cookbook put together by members of a parenting message board I frequent. I first came across the recipe when I was in college, and used to make it every now and then. I think it was one of the first things I made for the husband when we started dating, but I haven't made it in FOREVER. We were really excited for dinner tonight.

I went to the Phoenix farmer's market on Saturday morning (don't you love farmer's markets?!) and got some red potatoes and some fresh dill. I'm a sucker for fresh dill. I love the smell of it, the taste of it...I just love it. I went to trusty allrecipes.com and searched on "potato" and "dill" (but not pickle...at first all the recipes had dill pickles) and salad. The below recipe sounded good, and I had everything for it. I found one on the FOod Network website but was missing a couple ingredients.

First...the chicken!

Planet Hollywood Cap'n Crunch Chicken
2 cups Cap'n Crunch cereal
1 1/2 cups Corn flakes
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
chicken breast tenders
vegetable oil -- for frying

Coarsely grind or crush the Cap'n Crunch and Cornflakes. Set aside. Beat the egg with the milk. Set aside. Stir together the flour, onion and garlic powders and black pepper. Set aside. Dip the chicken pieces into the seasoned flour. Move around to coat well, then shake off excess flour. Dip into the egg wash, coating well, then dip into the Cap'n Crunch/Cornflakes mixture, coating well. Heat oil in a large heavy skillet to 325°F. Drop coated chicken tenders carefully into the hot oil and cook until golden brown and fully cooked.

*****

I put the cereals in a gallon size Ziploc bags and crush them (actually I had the boy help me...he loved it!) and then put the coated chicken tenders in there and shook them around to coat. Super easy! I also used two sets of tongs...one for moving the chicken pieces through the coating process and one for frying. This was super yummy!! We all really liked it. Now that I have the recipe somewhere (instead of a loose piece of paper floating around my kitchen), I hope to make it more often.

Now the potato salad...

Dill Potato Salad (I renamed it)
6 red potatoes, cut into chunks
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon dried dill weed
1 teaspoon celery salt
salt and pepper to taste

1. Place potatoes in a pot with enough water to cover, and bring to a boil. Cook 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain and cool.
2. In a bowl, gently toss potatoes, mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, dill, celery salt, salt, and pepper. Cover, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

*****

I mixed up the dressing while the potatoes were cooking. Some of the reviews said the dressing made too much, so I mixed it up in a separate bowl to add in to the potatoes. I tasted it after making it per the directions (except I used fresh dill and a lot more than 1 Tbsp...and I didn't have celery salt), and it tasted way too mayonnaise-y. I chopped up more dill, but it still tasted off. I added garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper but still off. I added another Tbsp or so of Dijon mustard, and it was getting a little better. I had some Pampered Chef dill seasoning, so I added that in and it FINALLY tasted right! The salad was really good...super easy (once I got the dressing right) and fast to put together. Oh, and I only used about half the dressing I made, and it was PLENTY.

Smoked Salmon Dip

My grandma turned 90 last Thursday, and we had her weekend birthday celebration this past Saturday and Sunday. My whole family was in town for it which was so fun. Saturday night we had a party for her at my mom's house, then yesterday we all went to brunch. For the past several years my grandma has had a happy hour party for her birthday...drinks and appetizers. We all bring a few things, and it's usually quite the feast. This year was no exception. My uncle made stuffed mushrooms, my mom made a seven layer dip, artichoke dip, and a crab spread, there was a cheese and cracker tray, a veggie tray, and I made baked brie, two kinds of hummus, and this smoked salmon dip. Jealous you weren't there, aren't you? Oh, and since I can't drink I made a yummy punch with ginger ale, white grape juice, and pineapple juice. When I'm not pregnant, I may make it with some vodka or Malibu.

Anyway, back to the dip recipe. I saw it in the March issue of Cooking Light and thought it sounded awesome. I had originally planned on doing baked brie and prosciutto wrapped asparagus for the party (yes, we start planning early), but when I saw this I decided to skip the asparagus (although if you've never had prosciutto wrapped asparagus, I highly recommend you try it) and make the smoked salmon dip instead. It was super easy and super yummy. The husband and I just about finished up what was left for dinner last night.

Smoked Salmon Dip
(8-ounce) tub light cream cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
4 ounces smoked salmon, chopped, divided
Dill sprigs (optional)

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a food processor. Add half of salmon; process until smooth. Fold in remaining half of salmon. Garnish with dill sprigs, if desired.

*****

I love fresh dill, and any excuse to use it is a good one with me. And Trader Joe's had organic fresh dill for super cheap, so that's even better. I didn't use tub cream cheese, I used a regular block and it worked fine. The color of the dip is really pretty after the salmon is processed with the cream cheese. I had a hard time getting my chopped salmon folded in evenly, but it didn't seem to matter too much. And normally I'm not much of a garnisher, but I did this time since it was a special occasion. Wish I would have taken a picture of it because I even used a fancy bowl for it. You know those fancy bowls...you got them as a wedding present and now they sit in the back of a cabinet and maybe get used once a year. I used Kashi's TLC 7-grain crackers with it, and they were really good.