CHEESEBURGER MAC & CHEESE

Hello fellow foodies. Welcome to National "Men make DINNER DAY"..

 I am not sure who came up with this one, but I can make an educated guess.

Anyway, today the boss is out with one of her friends, so I am on my own for dinner.

Usually when she is out, I make some sort of casserole. They are quick and easy.

As many of you know, I am a HUGE fan of Cooks Country.

It's my favorite magazine, and you should be getting it as well.

SUBSCRIBE HERE !!!!!

You just subscribed ?" RIGHT ??

OK, Now we can move on.

I got my current issue a awhile back and have been waiting for a chance to try this one out. 

It's a take off on the old Hamburger Helper that many kids have grown up on. And in many cases all that some people can make.  (Insert ex-wife joke here)

So let's give Cook's Country's version a try. 

It's  CHEESEBURGER MAC & CHEESE....

Here are the ingredients

1 ½ TBL Water

1 ½ CUPS Water

1 tsp Salt (divided ½ & ½)

1 tsp Pepper

½ tsp Baking Soda

1 lb. Ground Beef (I used Chuck)

1 TBL Veg Oil (EVOO)

2 Cups of Elbow Macaroni

1 Cup MILK

1 Can MUSHROOMS (My addition)

2 Cups GRATED American Cheese (divided 1 Cup / 1 Cup)

2 Cups GRATED Sharp Cheddar Cheese (divided 1 Cup / 1 Cup)

½ Cup Finely Chopped Onion. (Plus some extra for serving)

¼ Cup Finely Chopped DILL Pickles (Plus some extra for serving)

2 TBL Catsup

2 TBL Yellow Mustard

1 TBL Worcestershire Sauce

Stir 1 ½ TBL water, ½ tsp salt, pepper and Baking Soda in a large bowl. 

Stir until dissolved. Add Beef and mix until combined. 

Let sit for15 minutes.

Heat Oil in oven safe pan until just smoking. Add beef and cook, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon. Cook until well browned. (6 to 8 min)

Add Macaroni, milk and, 1 ½ Cups of water. 

This is where I added the Mushrooms. 

Bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Cook until pasta is al-dante. (about 5 min. - Stir at the 2 ½ min mark.)

Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat.

Stir in 1 ½ Cups of the American Cheese, and 1 ½ Cups of the Cheddar.

Add the Onions, Pickles, Ketchup, Mustard, Worcestershire Sauce and ½ tsp of Salt. Cook until combined. About 2 minutes (KEEP Stirring)

Add the remaining Cheese on top. Place under the broiler and broil until the Cheese stars to brown. About 2 minutes. (Keep your EYE on it)

Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle on some chopped pickles and onions.

SERVE !!!

So, here it is. And the verdict is ????????

It was O.K. Not great, but O.K. That being said, it was still better than the "other kind." 

And it DOES taste like a Cheese Burger !! The Mustard and Pickle taste really shines.

This is one of those recipes for you folks with kids or grand kids. THEY WILL LOVE IT.

So the next time the little rug rats are hungry, give this one a try.

They can thank me when they grow up.

Time for Doggie and an Adult Beverage,

See you all next time.

Live Long & Prosper

JAMBALAYA

Hello Boys and Girls. Welcome back to "LET'S COOK" where we prove to everyone that ANYONE can cook and you do NOT have to EAT OUT all the time.

And we have FUN while we do it.

I have been away from these pages for about a month as other things in life had a higher priority.

Like TWO Covid 19 Vaccine Shots..... YEAH !!!! 😀

But I have been in the kitchen trying a few things and have a bunch of recipes I need to post.

So, sit back, relax, and make sure your tray tables are ready !!!!

Today, we are going to visit the Bayou, for a JAMBALAYA FIEST !!

I prefer the Three Dog Night version, but I always LOVED this record label.

I am getting a bit hungry, so let's grab our favorite adult beverage

kiss the dog, and get to work.

P.O.T.U.S 22 & 24  GROVER CLEVELAND

Ready ????

There are a million and a half (I counted them) recipes for JAMBALAYA, and about as many recipe books.

And if you went to U.C.F., you can buy it in a box.

But we do it the right way, in the kitchen.

For music today, we brought up our favorite Burton Cummings Playlist.

You youngsters in the audience can google Burton Cummings (I'll wait)

Now that you are back, let's get to it.

Here are the ingredients

1 Medium Onion – chopped fine

1 Medium size Celery Rib – chopped fine

1 Medium Red Bell Pepper – chopped fine

5 Medium Garlic Cloves – Chopped fine

We saw one recipe that had you place the veggies in the food processor to chop them, but I like the old fashioned way. (And I hate to clean the food processor)

2 tsp – Vegetable oil

4 Bone In Chicken Thighs

8 Ounces – Andouille sausage – cut lengthwise then cut to ¼ inch

This is where it got interesting. When I made JUMBO I used my favorite Andouille. It cut up perfectly.

Penny had some other kind of Andouille in the freezer. When we started to cut it, we realized that it was much SOFTER than what we had used before. SO we punted.

I removed it from the casing, and chopped it.

It'll brown up just like Ground Beef

1 ½ CUPS – Long Grain White Rice

1 tsp Salt

½ tsp Minced FRESH Thyme leaves

¼ tsp Cayenne Pepper (If the Andouille is not spicy enough for you)

1 – 14 oz can Diced Tomatoes (drained but reserve ¼ cup of the JUICE

1 – CUP of Bottles CLAM Juice

1 ½ Cups - HOME MADE CHICKEN BROTH

2 – Large BAY Leaves

1 pound medium-large Shrimp (31-35 shrimp) SHELLED

2 TBL Minced FRESH Parsley leaves

First of all, chop all the Veggies and set aside

Heat the oil in a heavy duty bottom Dutch Oven over medium high heat, until shimmering (about 2 min)

ADD the chicken (skin side down) and cook until golden brown (About 5 min)

Using tongs, turn the over and cook until golden brown (About 3 min more)

Place the browned chicken on a plate and set aside.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the Andouille. Cook, (stirring often) until browned (About 3 min)

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sausage to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

Now is a good time to taste the sausage for spices. If you want more spice, you can add the Cayenne in the next step.

Reduce heat to medium-low and add the veggies, and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon until veggies have softened. (About 4 min)

Add the Rice, Salt, Thyme, and Cayenne. Stir until the Rice is coated with the fat (about 1 min)

Add the Tomatoes, reserved Juice, Chicken Broth, Bay leaves, and the browned Sausage back into the pot. STIR

Remove the skin from the Chicken.

Place the chicken (skinned side down) on top of everything.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 min. Stir once keeping the chicken on top, skinned side down.

Cook until chicken is no longer pink inside. (About 10 min)

Transfer chicken to plate and set aside

Scatter the Shrimp over the Rice, cover, and continue to cook until the Rice if fully tender and the shrimp are opaque and cooked through. (About 5 minutes)

While the shrimp are cooking, shred up the chicken into bite size pieces. Discard the Bay Leaves.

When the shrimp are done, turn off the heat, stir in the Parsley and the shredded chicken.

Serve

May I have a drum roll please ?

WINNER WINNER Jambalaya Dinner.

This was SO good !!! You should try it. You'll thank me later.

IF I HAD TO DO IT ALL OVER AGAIN

I might try it without the shrimp. But that's due to the fact that I am not  big Shrimp lover. But I have to admit, this doesn't need much in the way of change.

I hope you give it a try.

That's it for this time, please join me again next time as we prove once again that EATING OUT sucks.

And remember. IF CHAIN RESTAURANTS WERE ANY GOOD, GUY FIERI WOULD GO THERE.

Seriously : If you are going to eat out, PLEASE support the small Mom & Pop locally owned restaurants. You'll not only will help your neighbors, but the food is BETTER !

Live Long and Prosper