Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Mr. Snoop and I typically eat at home nearly every night. Thus I usually cook nearly every night. Good for the budget and the waistline, you see. So I tend to make pretty healthy meals. Except this one. Are you ready? Because this is ridiculous. And a total man-catcher. You can find the original version on the Food Network website, but I adjusted this for our budget and needs (ie, I always simplify and will not spend $5 on a thing of panko I'll use just for this). Here goes!

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients

3 T unsalted butter
8 oz elbow macaroni (we always do whole wheat)
One large onion, chopped
1 cup shredded chicken (more or less)
3 cloves minced garlic
1 C hot sauce (I used Franks's and we like things SPICY.. definitely halve or quarter if you do not)
1 T flour
2 t dry mustard
1 1/4 C half and half
4 oz pepper jack cheese, shredded
6 - 8 oz cheddar, shredded
1/3 C light sour cream
1/4 C blue cheese, crumbled

How To
Preheat oven to 350. Spray a baking dish. Cook pasta til al dente, about 6-7 minutes.
Melt 2 T butter and saute onion until golden. Add garlic and chicken. Stir til fragrant. Then add 1/2 C hot sauce and simmer until thickened, about a minute.
Scoot the onion, garlic, chicken, and hot sauce mixture over to one side of your pan. Melt 1 T butter on the clear side. Stir in flour and mustard to create a roux. Mix your roux in with the onion mixture and then add the half and half and last 1/2 C of hot sauce. Stir until thickened.
Once the sauce is thickened, stir in the pepper jack, cheddar until they melt. Then add the sour cream. Do a taste test here to make sure you have enough hot sauce. If you are like me, dump another half a bottle in there.
Stir the pasta and sauce together in your prepared baking dish. Top with blue cheese. Bake for 35 minutes, until bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes after baking.
Enjoy!

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup

So I made this soup last night and it was cheap, delicious, and easy.  The holy trinity, if you will.  Since Mr. Snoop liked it too, I thought I'd share.  This will definitely go into our regular rotation. 

Also, did you know that it is May and our heat is on?  True story.  Gotta love the Great White North.  Anyway, here she is.  I think this originally came from some sort of Martha Stewart publication.  Maybe Everyday Food. 

Cauliflower Cheddar Soup
- 3 tb butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 head cauliflower, cut up into florets
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1.5 cups white cheddar, grated
- Cayenne pepper, for sprinkling

Saute onion in butter.  Add cauliflower florets and saute until lightly browned, about 10 minutes.  Add broth and water. 

[Side Note: I used those broth flavor packet thingies--3 in 4 cups of water.  They recommend a 4 to 4 ratio but I thought that seemed like too much.  So you might want to water down your broth.  Or not.  Whatever.]

Bring to a boil and simmer until cauliflower is soft, 15 - 20 minutes.  Then puree the whole thing with an immersion or regular blender.  Stir in cheddar cheese and sprinkle individual servings with cayenne.  Delicious!

The Dark & Heathen Land Of No Sonic

Y'all.  This weekend I brought the Mountain to Mohammed. 

... Or the Diet Cherry Limeade to the Southerner.  Whatever.

One of the most tragic things about the Great White North is that there is no Sonic.  It is truly heartbreaking and I don't really know how civilization has survived up here without it.  Or maybe, on the other hand, the lack of Sonics might explain some things about certain deplorable yankee behaviors.  Hmmm.... I feel a thesis comin' on.

Anyway, when the temperature gets above 80, as it did here recently, I tend to have an overwhelming need for a diet cherry limeade from Sonic.  This most recent surge in temperatures over the weekend was accompanied by my very own reguarly scheduled monthly hormonal fluctuations, if you will, so I needed a diet cherry limeade or someone might just die.  You girls know how that is.  Sorry, guys. 

So I turned to my best girl, Pinterest, for the solution.  Love her.  And then I went to our brand spankin new super Stop & Shop right down the street and got these...

And made this....



And thanks to my intrepid and pioneer-like spirit (too far?), everything was all better.  It really is the wilderness up here, y'all.   



If any of you poor souls also live in The Dark & Heathen Land Of No Sonic and you want the recipe, I used this one on Pinterest.  It was the simplest one I found.  Simple syrup?  No thanks.  I upped the lime juice to a full cup because I like things lime-y.  Here ya go:

2 liters lemon-lime soda
1 cup lime juice (I used the bottled stuff above and it was awesome, but if you're fancy I guess you could squeeze your own?  Yikes.)
1/4 cup grenadine
limes for slicing (If you want.  You probably do want.)

Mix together in a pitcher and enjoy with a slice of lime.

I have not sampled this idea just yet, but I imagine this would be crazy delicious spiked with a little Tito's vodka if you happen to be feeling naughty.  Just a suggestion.

Texas BBQ.... in New York

Mr. Snoop and friends finished their 8 week surgery rotation last friday.  After a brutal exam, they were ready for some fun.  Our friends from Rhode Island had found a supposedly legitimate Texas barbecue place just north of us.  Naturally, I was skeptical.  But Mr. Snoop, being the self-appointed social chair of our group of friends (some frat boy behavior just doesn't go away), arranged a trip and we all headed up.

Y'all. 

It was good.

No kidding.  I mean it wasn't Cooper's or Salt Lick, but it was good.  Definitely the real deal.

Yes, that is a Lone Star that you see.

What??

So if you happen to be a displaced Texan in New York like myself, get thee up to Cold Spring and get some Round Up barbecue.  Worth it.  They are building a pavilion this spring, so we'll definitely go back over the summer.

Because I'm a jerk, I brought this along:

Fortunately the proprietor (whose wife is from Denton), absolutely loved it.  He carried it off to show his wife.  And then I gave him a piece and he loved it even more.  But who doesn't love kahlua brownies?

And then Mr. Snoop played approximately 8745 hours of darts.  Like I said about the frat boy behavior.

So that was our weekend.

Plus this:





Stand off.  Which tail is fluffier?

Mardi Gras!

Happy Mardi Gras, Shrove Tuesday, Fat Tuesday... whatever you want to call it.

We won't be making it to any parades or throwing or receiving any beads, but we absolutely will be eating pancakes tonight!

I like to make fancy pancakes for Mardi Gras, and since we are having Keely and J over for the boys to take their last surgery quiz, I have an excuse to go extra crazy.  Here's what I'm thinking...

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes

Recipe from Martha.

Or maybe...

Pumpkin Pancakes

also from Martha

Let's be real, I should totally do both!



Spiced Carrot Chocolate Chip Muffins

source

We've been getting tons of carrots lately in our CSA.  I guess I could do something healthy like carrot sticks, but of course I decided to bake with them instead.  This recipe went over really well in our house.  Mr. Snoop does not typically like carrot cake, but he loves these.  The fact that I added chocolate chips might have something to do with it.  Here's the original recipe, which is from Martha.  Here's what I did, below:

Spiced Carrot Chocolate Chip Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 teaspoons pumpkin-pie spice
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 2 cups shredded carrots (I used a box grater)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips

Directions

1. Line 12 cups of a standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, stir together flours, sugar, pumpkin-pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together yogurt, butter, and egg. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add yogurt mixture. Stir until just combined. Fold in carrots and chocolate chips.
3. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
4. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 degrees.

Mine were not nearly as beautiful as Martha's, of course.  So if you make these, don't be surprised if they look a bit lumpy:

Yes, this is a great treat for at work.  And yes, that is a baby doll in the background.  She was left on Sunday, poor thing.

Beautiful Veggies

I had to share this beautiful pic of our latest fruit and vegetable haul.  Mr. Snoop and I are members of a local CSA (community supported agriculture), so we get a weekly delivery of fresh fruits and vegetables from a local farm.  Admittedly, some weeks, like in June, can be a bit sparse.  But then you get weeks like this one! 

The green things with the papery husks on the right are tomatillos.  One of the great things about this CSA is that Mr. Snoop and I are the only southerners.  And ya'll... these crazy New Yorkers do not know what to do with Southern food.  There is a "dump" table where folks leave the veggies they don't want.  The New Yorkers always leave their okra and tomatillos.  So Mr. Snoop and I load up and then eat up.  Then we laugh at the New Yorkers.  Not really.  Ok a little bit. 
That's how we got so many tomatillos, and how I made all this enchilada sauce:

Four for the freezer, one for this week



I like the following enchilada sauce from Martha.  We usually enjoy it with cheese enchiladas.  Yum.

Tomatillo Enchilada Sauce

 

• Yield Makes 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients

• 1 pound tomatillos, husks removed
• 1 cup diced white onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 jalapeno, quartered (seeded if desired).  I do not desire :)
• 1 cup water
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• Pinch of sugar

Directions

1. In a medium pot of boiling salted water, cook tomatillos until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain tomatillos and transfer to a blender; add onion, clove, jalapeno, and water. Puree until smooth.  Season with salt and pepper. In pot, heat oil over high until shimmering. Add tomatillo mixture and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, vinegar, and sugar. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Extreme Couponing

From TLC

Extreme couponing kind of fascinates me.  Its like a train wreck: I can't look away.  Some of the people on the show seem a bit.. off.  I mean, really, what do people do with 400 pounds of dog food?  Or carts and carts of ketchup?  How much laundry detergent does one actually need? 

Personally, I do use coupons for items I need or will use.  We get the Sunday paper, so I clip them there.  I'm sort of afraid of the black hole that is online coupons.  I do feel like it helps our budget quite a bit.  But I don't go cray cray.

I recently read this article about couponing for a cause.  Through their church, these women do the couponing thing and donate the goods to local food banks.  I think that is awesome, and felt inspired.  With working a (more than) full time job and taking care of a medical student, my time to "give back" has been limited of late, and I have been feeling it.  I do think that food banks are wonderful resources in the community, especially in this economy.  So with my last local paper, I also clipped coupons for the food bank and put them in a seperate envelope.  When I did my usual grocery store run, I picked up these goods for the local food pantry.  Combined with the coupons and the in-store deals, this all cost about $11.50.  (Keep in mind I live in New York, where food prices are through. the. roof.)

I just noticed Shammy Boy in the window.  Lol.



I think this is something I'll continue to do--certainly not as seriously as the extreme couponers, but when I'm clipping coupons I'm going to put a couple aside for the food bank.  When I'm already in the store and see one of those items on sale, I'll grab it.  I'd encourage anyone who feels up to it to do this same.  Such an easy way to lend a hand!

What about you?  Do you coupon?

Recipe: (Healthier) Blueberry Muffins

I love to bake (and eat!) baked goods, but I do not have much of a sweet tooth.  Neither does Mr. Snoop.  So, a lot of muffin recipes are too sugary/buttery for us.  Also, while I'm not a total health nut, I prefer to make our food healthier when I can.

[Side note: I know it sounds strange to whine about not having a sweet tooth, so let it be known that I do have my vices.  Give me the salt.  I can go through a bag of Trader Joe's everything bagel chips in a single sitting.]

With tons of yummy blueberries in the store I got a craving for blueberry muffins.  Martha to the rescue!  She saved the day with this recipe from the Everyday Foods app, which will now be a standby in our house.  I thought I'd share in case anyone else likes a healthier/heartier blueberry muffin:

Banana-Blueberry Muffins

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour, spooned and leveled
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
• 1/4 cup wheat germ  (I used oatmeal)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries (I used more)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. In a bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ or oatmeal, baking soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. In another bowl, mash bananas with a fork (you should have 3/4 cup); stir in milk and vanilla.
3. With mixer on low, alternately add flour mixture and banana mixture to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix just until combined. Fold in blueberries.
4. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 28 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; transfer muffins to a rack to cool 10 minutes more.

I hope yall enjoy :)

Wild Raspberries

My grandfather, who is now retired, worked for a large oil company.  Because of this, their family moved around alot: California, New York, Louisiana, Saudi Arabia, and Texas.  Obviously, my dad (and eventually my grandparents and uncle) stuck in Texas- thank God!  But while he was in elementary school, my dad lived in the exact same little town where Mr. Snoop and I live, from which my grandfather commuted to the city.  Crazy coincidence!  My dad's family talked about picking wild raspberries on the side of the road up here, but I figured that such picturesque forays were no longer reality in this area.  Well, I was wrong!

Last week, my precious cousin Katie visited me from Oklahoma.  In the midst of our wanderings through suburbia, what did we spot?  Wild raspberries growing on the side of the road!  I quickly pulled the car over and we assessed the situation.  After sampling the goods, we decided that due to the taste and the fact that we did not fall over dead, the berries in question were, in fact, wild raspberries. 

As a child, I was completely obsessed with the Little House on the Prairie series.  We do not have wild raspberries in Texas, so picking these was a dream come true for my childhood self.  All I needed was a sunbonnet and an apron with which to gather the little beauties.  Just call me Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Katie was reminded of the Oregon Trail computer game-- what happens when you find wild berries?

Either way, they were delish!  We made raspberry ice cream and also ate them with french toast.  Yum.

Styled by Katie.  Wouldn't Martha be proud?

Have you ever picked wild fruit of any kind?  Is this normal / Am I just a deprived Texan for never having gotten to do this before?