Week of Feb 12, 2012

Sun - Mac 'n Cheese with Bacon
Mon - Breakfast Casserole
Tue - Three Bean Chilli (See Week of Oct 17, 2011)
Wed - Chilli-Mac
Thur - Chicken Piccata Pasta (Pampered Chef recipe)
Fri - Spagehiti (boxed and jared)

Mac'n Cheese

Ingredients

1/2 lb elbow macaroni

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

3 cups milk

12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded

salt

1/2 package bacon, crisped and drained

Fresh black pepper

Topping (optional):

3 tbsp butter

1 cup bread crumbs

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil the pasta to al dente. The water, like all pasta water, should be salted before hand until it tastes like salt water.

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, simmer, stirring constantly, until it starts to bubble. Turn down heat to medium. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni and bacon into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.

Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Breakfast Casserole

1 bag Jimmy Dean Skillet with Sausage or Bacon (potatoes, peppers, etc)

5 eggs

3 oz cream cheese, softened

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 can cream of mushroom soup

1 tsp each salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350F.  In a bowl, soften the cream cheese in microwave for 10 seconds. Mix cream cheese, eggs, salt, pepper, and soup together. Pour contents of bag into a 9 inch round pie pan, pour egg mix on top. Softly shake pan a little to let egg mix settle down and let air out. Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake until center reaches 165F temp, is brown on top, and sets up - about 40-60 minutes. Let sit for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Chilli-Mac  Place two cups mac n cheese (or a boxed mac n cheese, prepared), and 1 1/2 cups leftover chili (or 1 can of chilli) into a pot with a 1/2 cup water. Heat over medium heat until hot. Top with shredded cheese and/or fresh chopped onions.

Contact me at AngelaLgsdn@aim.com if you'd like me to email you the Chicken Piccata Pasta, Pampered Chef recipe.