Greek Mac and Cheese

We feel in love with this mac and cheese at a friend's Christmas party. They generously passed on the recipe. I have made it twice. First time with cheddar cheese and it was a crowd pleaser. The second time I used goat cheese and mozzarella. I also sautéed an onion and mushrooms. Then added sun dried tomatoes and spinach to the mix. This meal was perfect for a cold day.

16 Oz. uncooked medium whole wheat shells

½ cup butter or margarine

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

5 oz of goat cheese

1 – 12 oz. container small curd cottage cheese

2 large eggs – slightly beaten

1 tsp. salt

½ cup dry breadcrumbs

1 tsp greek seasoning

Filling:

1 small onion

1 package of sliced baby bella mushrooms

1 package of sun dried tomatoes sliced

1 bag of fresh spinach

Cook pasta according to package directions – drain

Melt butter in dutch oven over low heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Cook 1 minute, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in milk – cook over low heat – whisk until mixture is thickened and bubbly. Stir in 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese and the next three ingredients. Stir into pasta.

Sauté onion and mushrooms in olive oil until tender. Remove from heat add to macaroni once prepared. Mix in spinach and tomatoes.

Spoon mixture into lightly greased 9 x 13 dish. Top with remaining 1 cup shredded cheese. Combine breadcrumbs and seasoning and sprinkle over top layer of cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 25-30 minutes

Makes 10-12 servings

ENJOY!!

Thanks Brooks' for sharing this recipe.

In the Kitchen

This weekend we opted to eat in rather than our usual dinners out. Since the weather was cold and dreary we were hermits this weekend. This time I was able to get Scott in the kitchen to help.

Saturday's dinner:

Chicken Marbella and greek mac and cheese.

Sunday:

Sunday night is pizza night. This time I made a delicious pizza that most defiantly gave any other pizza a run for its money.

We ended up with breadsticks because the first dough I used was a failure. They did make good breadsticks.

Ingredients:

1 Pizza crust

pizza sauce

shredded mozzarella cheese

Spinach

Neese's sausage

minced garlic

diced jalapenos

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Cook Neese's sausage throughly.

3. Drain grease from pan and lay sausage on plate lined with paper towels.

4. Saute garlic and jalapenos in olive oil.

5. Add spinach to mixture. Cook for 2 minutes. You do not want the spinach to wilt too much.

6. Spread pizza sauce on the crust. Sprinkle cheese on top. Add crumbled sausage. *You will not use all of the sausage. Then top pizza with the spinach mixture.

7. Cook for 12 minutes or until cheese melts.

Monday Night:

Scott was in charge of the omelet making. I made the pancakes.

In the omelet was sausage, tomatoes, spinach, and cheese.

The pancakes were made with pancake mix, oatmeal, flax mill, and blueberries. Topped with fresh strawberries, pecans, and powdered sugar.