Healthier Mac N' Cheese with Veggies

I really dislike boxed macaroni and cheese. The fake cheese and preservatives make me feel gross. I have looked up different homemade recipes of macaroni and cheese and came up with my own recipe. My friend told me about making my own roux and I have been hooked ever since. This roux can be altered and changed for many different dishes such as Alfredo Sauce, use instead of a can of cream of chicken soup, and more. 

I always have left over veggies, chicken and cheese each week. Sometimes it could even be left over ground turkey and veggies. I will through this yummy dish together and it is always a hit for my family and friends. 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Cheddar Cheese
4 tablespoons All purpose flour
4 Tbs unsalted butter
1 cup almond milk (or regular 1% milk)
1 cup chicken broth
2-3 teaspoons of minced garlic (you can always use dried minced garlic if you don't have fresh or caned in the fridge)
2-3 turns of pepper or to taste
1 package of whole wheat noodles (I have used penne, macaroni, egg noodles and more)
2 bunches of broccoli cut up
2 zucchini's cut up
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken or 2-3 free range chicken breasts cut up

Optional for topping:

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese shredded
1/2-1 cup plain bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Cut your vegetables up into bit size pieces. I slice my zucchini down the center length wise and then cut my slices about 1/4 inch thick. Take your block of cheddar cheese and shred 1 1/2 cups and set aside. Get your left over chicken breasts or rotisserie chicken and cut it up into small cubs or strips and set aside.

In a large pot boil water, cook your pasta to the packaged directions, and add your cut veggies in for the last 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a medium sized pan make your roux. First put your burner on medium heat, melt the butter and then add your flour while whisking so it doesn't burn. Then add your minced garlic. Quickly then add your chicken broth and milk of choice and whisk it till it is mixed together and heats up. Dump your shredded cheddar cheese and stir it in until melted and combined. Then add a few turns of pepper.

Now in your 9x13 pan you can combined all your ingredients (or combined them in the large pot). If you are trying to cut back on calories you don't need to add the optional toppings). If we have it in the fridge we will add a thin layer of plain bread crumbs and parmesan cheese.

Place it in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the top is lightly golden brown. If you are in a hurry you can always put your oven on broil for about 5 minutes.

Homemade Graham Crackers!

My son loves graham crackers and so I took it upon myself to figure out how to make them homemade and decrease the preservatives once again from his snacks. I found a recipe we like from Chasing Delicious.

Ingredients

 8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) Whole Wheat Flour
 2 ounces (1/2 cup) all purpose flour
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 3 ounces (1/2 cup) brown sugar 
 3 ounces (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cold
 3 ounces (1/4 cup) honey
 1/8 cup Almond milk (regular milk)
 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

 Sprinkled Cinnamon & Sugar on top of each cracker 

Instructions

 1. Place the flours, baking powder and soda, salt and sugar in a
    food processor. Pulse until combined.
 2. Add the cold butter and pulse until the mixture resembles corn
    meal.
 3. Add the honey, milk and vanilla and pulse until the mixture begins
    to come together and form a dough.
 4. Dump the mixture out onto parchment paper and knead a few moments
    if needed. 
 5. Preheat the oven to 350F.
 6. Roll out on a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to 1/8th to 1/4 inch thick.
 7. Using a cookie cutter (i used a ridged cookie cutter) or using
    a pizza cutter cut out square cookies. Using a toothpick or skewer,
    pokes holes in the top in any pattern you wish.
    I made some large cookies at 2 inches and some small at 1 inch.
 8. Place the cookies on a baking sheet lined with baking paper. Sprinkle each cookie with cinnamon and sugar. 
 9. Bake in a preheated oven for 13-15 minutes for 2 inch cookies or until the sides begin
    to brown. Keep an eye on them so they don't get burnt. 

Marbled Red-velvet Cheesecake Brownie's

I made these Marbled Red-Velvet Cheesecake Brownie's for our friends tonight and they where a hit!

I altered a few ingredients from the The Novice Chef Blog. I took out the red food coloring and I used half all purpose flour and half oat flour. I also put the dough in a 9x13 pan making them extra thick and wonderful! I did have to cook them about 10 minutes extra than the original recipe. I then served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Ingredients: 

Red Velvet Layer:
1 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups Oat Flour
2 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
4 tablespoons milk, divided
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons white vinegar

Cheesecake Layer:
2 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13 x 9 pan with canola oil spray.

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and baking powder. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla extract, red food coloring, and white vinegar.

Combine the dry and wet ingredients, until completely combined. The batter will be a really thick, almost moldable texture...but don't worry, that's what you want. Remove 3/4 cup of the batter and place it in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of milk (into the 3/4 cup of batter you just took out). Set aside the 3/4 cup batter.

Pour the remaining batter into the prepared jelly roll pan. Using a spatula, smooth out the batter to reach all the edges.

Now, in your stand mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined and there are no lumps. Pour the cream cheese mixture on top of the red velvet layer and smooth mixture till it reaches all the edges.

Drop spoonfuls of the remaining red velvet batter (that you mixed with milk) onto the top of the cheesecake layer. Drag the tip of a knife through the red velvet and the cheesecake layers to create swirls.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating half way through, or just until the center is set and it no longer jiggles. Let cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Homemade Cheez-It's!

My son really loves Cheez-It's and I went on Pinterest and found this awesome recipe from Seeded At The Table. It helps to again take away additional preservatives that are unnecessary in our foods. I did alter two ingredient using whole wheat flour rather then white whole wheat flour and adding additional milk to get the desired texture. They don't look exactly like a Cheez-It, however they taste fantastic. Just remember to roll the dough nice and thin so they get really crispy like Cheez-It's otherwise they are a little softer.

When I make them again I will be more cautious about the dough being nice and thin before backing so they are crispier. Also I forgot to put the whole in the center, which is just esthetically pleasing, but doesn't make or break your Cheez-It. I would have, but with a 3 month old baby waking up in the middle of baking these I had to hurry to take care of her.

 Ingredients: 

• 4 oz block extra sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 4 1/2 Tablespoons milk, plus more for brushing
• Kosher salt
• 
  

Directions:

Adjust racks to the top and bottom third of the oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone liners; set aside.

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade, process the cheese, butter, flours, onion powder, salt and 2-4 1/5 Tablespoons of the milk until a dough is formed. Add up to 1/2 Tablespoon more of milk if the dough is too dry and crumbly.

Transfer the dough to a pastry mat or a clean floured surface. Roll to a large rectangle until the thickness of the dough is about 1/16th of an inch. Using a pastry wheel or a pizza cutter (I used a pizza cutter however if you have a fancy pastry wheel it really makes them look fancy).  Cut the dough into 1x1-inch squares, or 1/2x1/2-inch squares (really, it doesn't matter too much what size you choose) but the baking times may vary. Reserve any scraps to repeat and roll out and cut again.

Using a thin spatula, transfer the dough squares onto the baking sheets. Lightly brush milk onto the tops of each square with a pastry brush, then sprinkle with Kosher salt. Prick the center of each square with the blunt end of a bamboo skewer.

Bake the two baking sheets of crackers for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the size of your crackers, until they are crisp and slightly golden. Rotate the pans from top to bottom and back to front halfway through baking.

Remove from the oven and set the baking sheets on wire racks. Allow to cool completely.

Homemade S'mores Ice Cream

I have been on a big kick the past month of challenging myself to make things homemade that we normally would buy at the grocery store. I try hard to get rid of preservatives as much as I can here and there and hope to make majority of our eating preservative free if we can. It does take more work however I have fun doing it. 

I have my little buddy (my son) help me and he loves it. We have been on a S'mores kick making S'mores,  S'mores cookies and more. S'mores homemade ice cream sounded really good the other night, so we made it!

It is more fattening then buying it at the grocery store so this isn't something you want to eat all the time. However when you want to splurge I highly recommend it.

I found the recipe from Love From The Oven and we have made it twice in the past two weeks. So needless to say I have been splurging a little more than usual!

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups 1% Organic milk
• 1-1/8 cups granulated sugar
• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1-1/2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean (optional)
• 1 cup crushed graham crackers (as coarse or fine as you like)
• 1/2-1 cup of mini chocolate chips
• 1 cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and sugar until the sugar is dissolved, approximately 1-2 minutes.

Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla.

Slice open your vanilla bean, scrape out seeds and add to the mixture, if using vanilla bean.

Turn the machine on; pour the mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 20 to 25 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture.

Scoop your ice cream out and into a freezer safe container.

Mix in your graham cracker pieces, chocolate chunks and marshmallows. Stir well to combine.

If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer for 3 or more hours.

Enjoy in bowls or on top of cones. 

*I made this recipe twice now and I used whole milk one time and 1% another and they both came out perfect! We also did our graham crackers crushed completely the first time and the second time I left larger chunk's and it was even better. 

*After our ice cream was in the ice cream maker for 25 minutes we put it in a large bread pan in the freezer and every couple of hours we stirred it to ensure it was fluffy and creamy.