Bock Beer Macaroni and Cheese

Bock Beer Macaroni and Cheese

I do not often make baked macaroni and cheese, preferring my quick and easy stove top recipe. Mainly I like a high sauce to pasta ratio and, at least in my experience, mac and cheese
 is less creamy once subjected to nearly an hour in the oven.  well i found this recipe and im
going to try it.
started with what flavors I wanted in my dish. That got me thinking of other cheese dishes I love and beer cheese soup came to mind. When paring beer with cheese I prefer bock beers. The malty flavor of bock beer is a nice contrast to rich, sharp cheeses. Another flavor I wanted was onion. I tried a recipe for macaroni and cheese that included grated onion and, while I disliked the texture, the grated onion had a big impact on the flavor.
To keep the finished product extra creamy I decided to add 4 ounces of cream cheese to the sauce. Cream cheese also helps the sauce from becoming grainy while baking, another mac and cheese pet peeve of mine. The last thing I did was fry up two slices of smoked bacon until they were very crisp and then blitz them into powder in my blender. I added this powder to the panko crumb topping. You could skip that part, but the essence of bacon really takes this dish from ‘super-good’ to ‘over-the-top awesome’. Thick, creamy, and oh-so cheesy, this macaroni and cheese is perfect anytime.

Bock Beer Macaroni and Cheese Serves 8
8 ounces elbow of penne pasta
1 stick butter
2 tablespoons grated yellow onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup bock, or other amber, beer
1 cup half and half
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) extra sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
4 ounces (about 1 1/2 cups) Parmesan cheese, finely shredded, divided
2 ounces (about 3/4 cup) fontina cheese, shredded
2 ounces (about 3/4 cup) smoked provolone cheese, shredded
2 slices thick cut bacon, cooked crisp
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 cup panko bread crumbs

Heat the oven to 350 F and spray a medium casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions, reducing the cooking time by one minute. Drain and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking. Set aside.
In a medium sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat until it foams. Add the grated onion, salt,
pepper, mustard powder, and cayenne pepper and cook until fragrant, about one minute
Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, for two minutes or until the mixture is just lightly golden brown.
Whisking constantly add the beer and half and half and cook until the mixture is smooth. Let the sauce come to a simmer and thicken. Add the cream cheese and whisk until completely smooth.
Turn the heat down to low and, in three batches, add the cheddar cheese, half the Parmesan, fontina, and provolone. Once smooth turn off the heat and fold in the cooked pasta. Transfer the mixture to the prepared casserole dish and top with the reserved Parmesan cheese.
Put the crisp bacon strips in a blender and process until the bacon is finely ground. Combine the bacon powder in a medium bowl along with the melted butter and panko bread crumbs. Toss until the mixture is well combined. Spread the mixture evenly over the macaroni. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the mixture is just starting to bubble at the edges. Cool for ten minutes before serving.
This sounds so yummy will be making this real soon.

This is my sister Ellen's Recipe, you can check out her blog here for more great recipes

Pancit Authentic Filipino Recipe

My wife is Filipino and this is one of the recipes I love, there are many Filipino dishes I cannot eat, but I love Pancit. The pics do not have the shrimp, but you can use either option w/ or w/out shrimp.

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package thin rice noodles
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken legs, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 pound pork tenderloin, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 2 green onions, chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

Directions

1. Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, cut into 4 inch lengths, drain, and set aside.
2. In a skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken and pork until no pink shows. Season with soy sauce and pepper. Remove from skillet and set aside. Saute the cabbage and carrots until tender. Stir in the noodles, green onions and shrimp. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stir in the chicken and pork, and cook for 5 more minutes.

Healthy Smoothie Recipe: Strawberry, Pineapple and Banana

I will begin listing my healthy smoothie/protein shake recipes. If you want to give these smoothies to your children, just leave out the protein mix. I use a Blendtec blender to make my smoothies, but there are other compatible machines out there on the market that you can use. Check out the recipe

Take your blender and plug it in and add these ingredients;

2 tablespoons of protein mix-remember to delete this if giving this smoothie to your children

12 ounces of Horizon fat-free organic milk-you can replace this with other organic milk or regular milk

add six strawberries, some fresh pineapple and three or four good size bananas. break up the bananas into smaller pieces. You can actually use frozen fruit is you do not have fresh fruit. We are lucky in Florida because we often have tons of fresh fruits

add three handfuls of ice cubes-don't forget to put the top on. push the smoothie button and let your blender do the work. Our Blendtec machine finishes the smoothie in about thirty minutes. If you are using this as a replacement meal. Take a large 32 ounce cup and fill it up with the smoothie. You will find out that this smoothie is healthy, low in fat, high in vitamins and very good for you. You can drink the whole 32 ounces if you can finish it. This is also very tasty after a tough workout. Hope you enjoy. My children enjoy these smoothies (without the protein powder of course).

Corn Souffle Recipe

Ingredients:
1 green bell pepper, chopped up
1/2 cup of chopped onion
(I skip the bell pepper and onion because i'd rather have it plain and hate cooked peppers and onions)
1/2 cup of margarine
1 16 ounce of whole kernel corned, drained
1 16 ounce can of creamed corn
3 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 6 ounce package of corned bread mix

Saute the green pepper and onion in the margarine in a skillet until the onion is tender. Again, I pass by this step because of my taste. Remove from heat. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Stir in the whole kernel corn and the cream-styled corn. Add the corn bread mix and eggs and mix well. Spoon into a greased 9x13 baking dish. I use Pam, but you can use vegetable oil or olive oil. Sprinkle the cheese on top and bake in the 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. Let stand for at least five minutes to cool and serve. Serves 8-12 people....

Another Family Recipe: Sweet Potato Recipe

Serves: 6-8 (3 yams or sweet potato) or 8-10 (4 yams or sweet potato)

3-4 large fresh yams - Boil for 25 minutes with the skin on (I usually cut them up a bit)

Peel, return to pan and mash

Add: ½ cup butter/marg melted (nuke 1 stick cut in pieces 25 secs or less)

½ cup sugar

2 eggs beaten

1 Tbspn vanilla

Mix the above together until lumps all gone and put into 2-3 qt serving casserole dish

Topping

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup flour

1/3 cup softened butter, almost melted

½ cup chopped walnuts - how finely chopped is your choice

Mix topping items above together and spinkle/distribute evenly over top of casserole.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 45 mins.

Impress your guests and enjoy! This recipe is made for small parties or a group of friends. If you have twice as many people, double the batch.

A Family Recipe: Baked Mushrooms

Ingredients

4 boneless chicken breast

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3 tablespoon butter

1 cup sliced fresh mushroom

1/2 cup chicken broth

A dash of salt and pepper

1/3 cup shredded monzarella cheese

Coat the chicken with flour. Fry the chicken in the butter for 10 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Then put the chicken in the baking pan. Don't forget to spray or put butter or oil in the baking pan. In the same pan that you use to in fry the chicken, sautee the mushroom, season it with salt and pepper. Add the chicken broth. Let it boil for 10 minutes. Then pour the chicken broth and mushroom into the baking pan where you put the fried chicken. Sprinkle the monzarella cheese on top of the chicken. Bake it for 30 minutes in 375 degree oven. This is very Good and very easy to Make. Serve it to your family and friends and make them happy.