Slacking!

Instead of cooking yummy food and sharing it with you, my life has been consumed with buying a home. I have many new recipes for you and can't wait to start cooking in my new kitchen in early September!

Please stay tuned - in the meanwhile, see my home blog here: themistressofoxford.blogspot.com

Baked Beer Mac & Cheese

• 3T Butter

• 3T Flour

• 1 1/2 C Milk

• 1 1/2 C Beer

• 5 C mixed cheese (cheddar, mozerella, parmesean)

• 1lb Ziti or other shaped pasta (cooked)

Melt Butter in saucepan and whisk in flour stirring for 2 minutes over medium heat.

Add Milk to mixture and cook until bubbling.

Add Beer into mixture and cook until bubbling- cover partially and cook 10 minutes stirring periodically.

Add in Cheese and stir until melted.

Add in Pasta, Salt, Pepper, Hot Sauce, or any other spices you like. (We just used s &p)

Bake in a buttered 13"x9" baking dish at 375 for 35 minutes- let cool 10-15 minutes before eating

Beer + pasta in a main meal?!!! It was awesome!!!!!

Schrodt Chili

• 2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans tomato soup
• 2 (10 3/4 oz.) cans water
• 1 (42 oz.) can kidney beans
• 1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes with puree (I get this from Meijer - sometimes hard to find)
• 3 links italian sausage (Optional)
  
• 1/2 lb. bacon
• 1 1/2 lbs. ground hamburger meat (or ground turkey)
• 1/4 tsp. salt (heaping)
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp. pepper
• 1 cup onions (We use dried onion flakes)
• 1 T chili Powder
• 1 T sugar (heaping)
• 2 T cumin (Optional -- This gives the chili a smoky flavor)

Brown ground hamburger.
Boil italian sausage & cut into thin slices.
Cook bacon and break into 1/2" pieces.
Combine ingredients into large pot. Heat to boiling then simmer for an hour to let the flavor set in.

Makes approx. 10 bowls

Breakfast Skillet

• 1 pkg. of Breakfast Sausage
• 6-7 potatoes
• 7-8 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk (for scrambled eggs)
  
• 1 pkg. McCormick Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Potato Steamers (Click to see what it looks like!)

First, cut the potatoes. almost in a cubed shape. Follow directions on seasonings package to coat potatoes and put in microwave.
While the potatoes are cooking, brown breakfast sausage. Set aside.
Next, scramble the eggs, add the milk and cook. Set the scrambled eggs in the bowl with the breakfast sausage.
When the potatoes are done, take them out of the steamer bag and add them to the sausage and eggs. Mix well, turning the mixture instead of beating. (You don't want to turn it into mush!)

This is my husband's favorite breakfast. He even requested it for his birthday dinner. It is pretty simple, and sooo good. You will love the smell of the potatoes - it's the best part.

Skillet makes 3-4 servings.

Chicken Tortellini Soup

• 2 c diced onion

• 2 c sliced celery

• 1 c sliced carrot

• 1 tbsp minced garlic

• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning

• ¼ c dry sherry

• 8 c chicken broth

• 4 c cooked chicken, chopped (1 lb)

• 3 c refrigerated cheese-filled tortellini (9 oz) (I used a little more)
  

• Salt and pepper to taste

Mix onion, celery, carrot, garlic and seasoning in oil in a large pot over medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Deglaze with sherry and simmer until nearly evaporated, then add chicken broth and bring back to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Add tortellini and chicken, and simmer, partially covered, until tortellini is cooked through, 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Bacon, Cheese & Potato Chowder

Serves 2-3

• 3 cups fat-free milk

• 1 can (10-3/4 oz.) condensed cream of potato soup

• 2 cups frozen Southern-style hash browns

• 1 cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese

• 8 slices Bacon, crisply cooked, drained and crumbled

Mix milk and soup in large saucepan. Stir in hash browns. Bring to boil on high heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in the bacon and cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 min., stirring frequently.

Serve with fresh roll.

This is a variation from my friend from the Kraft Foods site. You can add green onions to garnish if you would like, but I left it out. This was super easy and filling! Spencer loved it and we will be adding this to our favorites!

Fried Ravioli

• Olive oil, for frying (We used vegetable oil)
  
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups Italian-style bread crumbs
• 1 box store-bought cheese ravioli (We used 2 boxes)
  
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 1 jar marinara sauce heated, for dipping

Pour enough olive oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 325 degrees F. (We did not use the thermometer)

While the oil is heating, put the buttermilk and the bread crumbs in separate shallow bowls. Working in batches, dip ravioli in buttermilk to coat completely. Allow the excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl. Dredge ravioli in the bread crumbs. Place the ravioli on a baking sheet, and continue with the remaining ravioli.

When the oil is hot, fry the ravioli in batches, turning occasionally, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried ravioli to paper towels to drain.

Sprinkle the fried ravioli with Parmesan and serve with a bowl of warmed marinara sauce for dipping.

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We ate this for a whole meal. It was amazing. This recipe is courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis.
I love her Italian meals, they are so yummy. ***Hint***Do not use EVOO (Extra-virgin olive oil) to fry with. It will turn out bitter. Use regular olive oil or vegetable oil to fry with.