No, no, no, no need to worry, or call out the reinforcements--we haven't lost our minds and gone vegan, or vegetarian, or whatever that nonsense is when people don't eat meat. I'm from the midwest. I HEART meat. Nothing tops a big, juicy filet Mignon. Nothing ever has, nothing ever will. I promise. With that said, I've been a bit obsessed with budgets as of late and focused on reducing our food budget by 50%. One BIG expense is meat--and even though I try and buy it when it's on sale, and use coupons, it still adds up. With that in mind, I've decided that Monday's in our house will be meatless. It's good for our wallets, but also good for the environment--since reducing the meat you eat, reduces your carbon footprint. Double win, right?!
So, the dear hubbs is none to thrilled with this change in menu, he believes (and I quote) "it's not a meal without meat." With that as our starting place, I had to ease into this transition with something he loves: macaroni and cheese! (I know, he hates cheese, but this and pizza are the exceptions, crazy!)
But, as with many of things, we are also a house divided. Mike likes a traditional mac-and-cheese, while I would rather explore the fromage and all the goodness that comes with every stinky cheese known to man. To satisfy both in our house, I decided to do "individual pots" and made his bland-and-boring and mine fit for a blog. Happy campers all around our house tonight.
Macaroni and cheese is such an easy dish to play with--because you basically can't screw it up! Veggies, meat, spices, you name it--it ALL goes together! Tonight's delight came from a bit of all sorts of goodness I had lingering in the kitchen!
One-Pot-Queso
Ingredients:
2 cups macaroni noodles, cooked al-dente
1/4 cup white onions, chopped
1/4 red pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbs butter (unsalted)
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp flour
1-2 Tbs white queso
1 1/2 cups Parmesan/reggiano cheese
1-2 tsp paprika
garlic salt, pepper to taste
Directions
In medium sauce pan, melt butter. Add onions, peppers and garlic. Saute until tender, about 2 minutes. Whisk in flour, heavy cream and milk. Bring to heat--sauce will thicken. Be careful not to let it thicken too much--you want to be able to add in the cheese--and have it still a bit liquid. If it's too thick, add a bit more milk. Remove from heat. Add queso and parmesan cheese. Stir until melted.
Gently fold mixture into a bowl with cooked, drained noodles in it and stir until well coated. Be careful not to add all the cheese sauce just yet--you might not need it all, depending on the consistency you prefer/size of noodles/etc. You want the sauce to cover the noodles, coat it, be a "little" saucy, but not too much. Fold mixture into individual baking dish. Sprinkle with panko crumbs.
Bake in oven set to 375 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until top is golden. Because the mixture might bubble over, its a good idea to set the baking dish on a baking pan to protect the oven.
Serve and enjoy!
