Cheesy Shells & Broccoli

Wonderfully gooey & cheesy! Homemade mac & cheese with some broccoli to make you feel like its at least a little healthy.

8 oz shell pasta
1 large crown broccoli, cut into small florets
1/2 medium onion, finely diced
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1 tsp hot sauce (optional)
salt & pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add shell pasta and set a timer for 8 minutes. At that point, add the broccoli florets to the pasta and cook pasta and broccoli for 2 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cook onion in butter over medium heat until onion has softened (about 2-3 minutes). Whisk in the flour to create a roux. Continue whisking the roux for about 2 minutes. Add the milk and whisk well to ensure there are no clumps. Add some pepper and bring the sauce up to a simmer.When sauce begins to thicken, its time to add the cheese. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the cheddar cheese and parmesan cheese until smooth. Taste the cheese sauce to see if it needs some salt & pepper. You can also add some hot sauce to give it a little zip. Stir the broccoli and pasta into the cheese sauce. Voila! Dinner is served. Enjoy!

*From http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/02/broccoli-shells-n-cheese/

Homemade Pizza

What's for dinner tonight? Homemade pizza! Can't beat it, yum! I'm always up for homemade pizza; and I'm not talking about heating up a frozen pizza either. Gotta make the crust from scratch. In summer I'll grill my pizza on the BBQ, which is amazing and I highly recommend trying that, but the rest of the time I use my pizza stone. You get such a nice crisp crust. Here's a very basic pizza crust recipe that you can make within half an hour (plus baking time).

1 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp brown sugar
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tbsps olive oil
1 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 450 F (see note below if using a pizza stone). In a medium bowl, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

Stir in flour, salt and oil. You can use regular all-purpose or a mix of all-purpose and whole wheat. I have a multi-grain flour I used this time. Mix together until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a 12 inch circle. Transfer crust to greased pan or a pizza stone dusted with cornmeal. Spread crust with sauce and your desired toppings. Bake in preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: If using a pizza stone you should either put the empty stone in the cold oven and heat it up with the oven, using a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the hot stone. Or don't preheat the oven and instead put the assembled pizza on the cold pizza stone and put in the cold oven (start timing once oven has heated to desired temperature).

Chili Cornbread Bake

Here's a great variation on the usual chili dish. It's great because it combines the chili and a delicious cornbread, all in one dish!

Chili
1 lb ground beef
1 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 pkg taco seasoning mix

Cornbread
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tbsp sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 (10 oz) can cream style corn
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup shredded cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. While oven is heating, brown ground beef, onion, green pepper and garlic over medium-high heat. Stir in the kidney beans, tomato sauce and taco seasoning mix. Reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, combine the creamed corn, milk and egg; beat well. Add to dry ingredients and stir just until moistened.

Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Spoon 1/2 the cornbread mixture into the greased casserole; sprinkle with 1/2 the cheese. Spoon the chili mixture over the cheese; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Spoon the remaining cornbread mixture over the cheese and spread gently to cover.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until top is golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.