Tag: MILK

Smoky Mac and Cheese

Years ago, when I was moving into a new apartment, I had a friend helping me move. I was young, and my packing could have been more efficient. I remember the look she gave me when she reached to pick up a piece of luggage that did not budge. I had neatly tossed all the bottles from my spice cabinet into the bag. It was one of those bags I would have been paying extra for at the airport!

Thirty years later, my spice cabinet is still a very well-stocked area of my kitchen! But, unfortunately, now that we are in the camper, I am short of space for a variety. A few of my favorites are blends from Recteq (available online). The blends help me make the most of my area right now.  

My grandson loves mac and cheese! So, because his Emmy loves him so much, I will make it for him often. I recently changed up one of my favorite mac and cheese recipes and cooked it on the grill. This smoky mac and cheese is perfectly creamy, and the mixture of Monterey Jack and mild cheddar are terrific.

Instead of seasoning with salt and pepper, I used two spice blends from Recteq, which added terrific flavor! Cook this in the oven, or cook it on your pellet grill or BGE for a smoky flavor!

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Smoky Mac and Cheese

Course Side Dish
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1 pound elbow macaroni
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 3/4 cups whole milk
  • 1 1/2 cups sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon Ben's Heffer Dust (by Recteq)
  • 1 tablespoon Colden's Freakin' Gteek Rub (by Recteq)
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 pound Mild Cheddar cheese shredded, reserve about 1 cup for topping
  • 1/4 pound Monterey Jack cheese shredded

Instructions

  • Preheat oven or grill to 350 degrees.
  • Spray baking dish or skilet with nonstick cooking spray, set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions.
  • In a large, heavy skillet melt butter. Whisk in flour to combine. Slowly add milk, whisking to combine. Whisk in sour cream and seasonings. Add cheeses, reserving 1 cup cheddar cheese for topping, and whisk until melted.
  • In a small bowl, beat eggs. Whisk in a small amount of the cheese mixture. Add egg mixture to the mixture in skillet and whisk to combine.
  • Stir in the cooked and drained pasta. Mix well and pour into a buttered cast iron skillet or casserole dish. Top with reserved shredded cheese.
  • Bake in oven or grill for 30 to 40 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
  • Serve warm.

Cheesy Onion Casserole

Cheesy Onion Casserole

Christmas is all about traditions to me. I try to keep the traditions from my childhood and the ones Greg and I have started as a family, going today. I’m not sure we had a traditional Christmas Eve meal when the kids were smaller. I think that maybe it was whatever I could get on the table in the rush of the season.

When we lived in Florida, at the kid’s request, it became shrimp every Christmas Eve. Since moving back to Georgia, it seems that Christmas Eve dinner has never been the same. This year I plan to try something new and bake a prime rib. That should please everyone, and I will not have to spend all day in the kitchen.

This casserole has the taste of a French Onion Soup. It is packed with flavor and should pair wonderfully with the prime rib. My plan is to saute’ the onions a day or two ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator. Then assemble and bake the casserole on Christmas Eve.

Cheesy Onion Casserole
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Cheesy Onion Casserole

Course Side Dish
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 4 large yellow onions sliced into rings
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
  • 1 (10-ounce) can Cream of Chicken soup undiluted
  • 2/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • sliced French bread (sliced 1/2-inch thick)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350℉.
  • In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
  • Add onions and saute until translucent.
  • Add a few turns of freshly ground pepper and stir.
  • Pour onions into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish.
  • Top with 2/3 of the Swiss cheese and set aside.
  • In a medium bowl mix soup, milk, and soy sauce. Pour over the cheese and onions.
  • Top with French bread slices.
  • Bake at 350℉, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and gently push the bread down into sauce.
  • Top with remaining cheese.
  • Return to oven and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
  • Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Pie Smoothie

sweet potato pie smoothie 6

 

Greg and I went out over the weekend. I don’t grab the salt when my food comes to the table, but I am a habitual pepperer! I know that word is not in the dictionary; that’s an Amye word. I have even been known to pepper a few fruits. It’s just good stuff!

It was a little later than usual. I’m not sure if you can relate, but we have hit that time of year when we can’t leave the house to go anywhere in the evening before 7:30ish. That time of year is called deer season.

When our food arrived, I did not look very closely at the salt and pepper shakers. I grabbed the darker one that was obviously not salt. I “peppered’ my grilled veggies, shrimp, and fish. I knew my mistake at first bite! I had used the cinnamon for sweet potatoes! What a combination! I love cinnamon. But unlike black pepper, it merely does not work well on some foods. If you want to know what I did, I sat there and politely ate my food.

Here is a fall breakfast that cinnamon would be terrific in! I love sweet potatoes any way you fix them. I enjoy them baked with butter, and a little cinnamon, in a casserole, au gratin, or in a pie or cobbler, and in this fabulous smoothie! Such a delicious way to start the day and get a good dose of nutrients too!

You can bake sweet potatoes ahead of time. Keep the skin on and store in an airtight container, refrigerated. That makes it easy to make this smoothie in the mornings.

 

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5 from 1 vote

Sweet Potatoes Pie Smoothie

Course Breakfast
Servings 1
Author Amye Melton

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup cooked, peeled, & mashed sweet potato
  • 1/2 frozen banana cut into chunks
  • 1-2 ice cubes
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 3/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice or ground cinnamon
  • Splenda, honey, or sugar to taste
  • whipped cream & pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon to garnish, optional

Instructions

  • To a blender, add sweet potato, banana, ice cubes, vanilla extract, milk, pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon and sweetener. Blend until smooth. Pour into a glass, top with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon, and serve.

 

 

Preacher’s Wife Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

preacher's wife homemade vanilla ice cream

Our large ice cream freezer died a few years ago, and we finally replaced it this year.  We have a small compressor ice cream maker that is wonderful for a small group, but not for a crowd.  So, when we had the youth group meet at our house recently, we bought new churns.  Those new churns have been way too convenient, and we have made more homemade ice cream this year than we needed.  However, the list of reasons to make homemade ice cream cannot be ignored.
1.  It’s sweltering hot outside!  What better way to cool off than ice cream?
2.  It’s better homemade!  Homemade ice cream is so much better than anything you can buy!  It brings back memories from my childhood, and every child should know how homemade ice cream tastes!
3.  It’s a great way to use all of those fresh peaches, strawberries, and blueberries that you have in abundance during the summer!
4.  It’s a great way to bring people together!  Homemade ice cream makes everyone happy!  It’s an excellent tool for bringing a large group together to merely slow down, sit and talk and enjoy the company of others.
Our preacher’s wife, Jeana, recently shared this recipe with me and it has become my “go-to” recipe.  It is simple and so, so good, and it is an excellent base for adding fresh fruit!

Preacher's Wife Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 c. sugar
  • 1 c. whipping cream
  • 2 cans sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Whole milk
  • Fruit, optional
Instructions
  1. In a bowl combine sugar, whipping cream, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla, mixing well. Add fruit now if desired. Pour into churn and add milk to the fill line; stir. Follow directions for using your ice cream churn to freeze mixture.

 

Puff Pastry Quiche Lorraine

While traveling in Florida recently, Greg and I discovered the lovely little town of Venice. We enjoyed great restaurants and friendly people. One little French cafe in the downtown area was so charming that I would make the drive again just to go there.

The pastries were divine, and we ended up splitting a few things so that we could try more. While there we had a delicious puff pastry quiche that I had to recreate when we returned home. It is a simple quiche made with prosciutto and Swiss cheese, and the crust was a delicious, flaky puff pastry.

When we returned home, I had to try to recreate the amazing quiche. I would prefer homemade puff pastry crust, but the purchased frozen puff pastry that I used was a good substitute. Feel free to substitute a regular pie crust.

Puff Pastry Quiche Lorraine
 
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Ingredients
  • 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 3 oz. to 4 oz. prosciutto, cut into strips
  • ¼ c. finely diced onion
  • 6 lg. eggs
  • 1½ c. whole milk or half and half
  • 2 c. grated Swiss cheese
  • pinch cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
  1. Thaw puff pastry in refrigerator overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 425℉.
  3. Sprinkle a board with flour and roll out puff pastry to fit into a 9-inch pie plate. Fit pastry in pie plate and refrigerate until ready to fill.
  4. Melt butter in a skillet. Cook prosciutto quickly, in batches, in butter, until crisp. Remove to a paper towel lined plate.
  5. Saute onion in skillet, until tender, adding more butter if needed.
  6. In a large bowl whisk eggs and milk until well blended. Add prosciutto, onion, cayenne, salt, and pepper and stir to blend.
  7. Remove pastry from refrigerator and put egg mixture into crust.
  8. Bake at 425℉ oven for 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325℉ and continue cooking for 30 to 40 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.