Gourmet Mac 'n' Cheese

Today's recipe is courtesy of my dear friend Sweet Jules. We often swap recipes, which works out great for both of us. I made a couple changes though Jule, just so you know. ;) I've been wanting to try this dish forever, since I'm a true lover of all things mac 'n' cheese, and it did not let me down! Side note before you start, prep everything first!!! I did not do this, and it was pure chaos in my kitchen and not a pretty sight to behold. So, I'll try to lay it out how I wish I had prepped for it. =) Aside from the bacon and tomatoes, this was the original recipe I received. When I made it, I added a little more of everything to make a slightly larger dish. I wasn't exact in my measurements and it turned out great. I don't know how you go wrong with these delicious cheeses. I hope it works for you! Happy Cooking!

4 Tbsp butter

5 pieces of bacon, crumbled

2 small tomatoes, sliced

1 cup panko bread crumbs

2 3/4 cups whole milk (I used 2%)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/16 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp pepper

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

2 1/4 cups of cheese mix (I used mild cheddar and jack)

1 cup gruyere, grated

1/2 cup gouda, grated

1/2 lb elbow macaroni

Preheat oven to 375 and butter a casserole dish and set aside. Then...grate all your cheeses! Set aside in one bowl 1 1/2 cups of cheddar mix, 3/4 cup gruyere and 1/4 cup of the gouda. In another bowl keep the remaining cheeses. Prepare dry ingredients salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne and set these all aside in a small bowl. Then melt 1 Tbsp of butter, toss with the bread crumbs and set aside. Cook bacon, set aside to cool, once cooled, crumble it up! Start boiling water for your macaroni and cook it according to package directions. While that is cooking, heat milk in microwave for 3 minutes. In a large saucepan melt 3 Tbsp of butter. When that bubbles, add flour and cook for one minute. Slowly add mik to butter/flour mixture, whisking constantly until mixture bubbles and becomes thick. Remove from heat and stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne. Then add the larger cheese mixture and crumbled bacon. Stir until well mixed and set aside. (Taste it at this point, if it needs a little extra salt or pepper don't be afraid to doctor it up to suit your taste buds!) Add cheese sauce to the macaroni and transfer to casserole dish. Top with remaining cheeses, sliced tomatoes and panko bread crumb mixture. Bake until brown on top about 20-30 minutes and enjoy! It was sooooo tasty!

Mexican Lasagna

Tonight we made Mexican Lasagna. Consensus was that it was a tasty dish for sure, and we would make it again. There was so much leftover which is handy for my lunches this week! It took roughly 15 minutes to prepare and 15 minutes to bake. You will need the following:

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (beef or chicken)

1/2 chopped onion

1 can corn

1 can black beans

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes

2 Tbsp chili powder

2 tsp cumin

corn tortillas

salt to taste

2 1/2 cups shredded mexican cheese

2 green onions

Evoo

Preheat oven to 400. Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add evoo, chopped onion, turkey, cumin and chili powder; brown for 5-7 minutes. Once meat is browned, add beans, tomatoes and corn. At this point, I could tell it wasn't going to be spicy enough for us. Shocker, I know. =) I then added about 2 tsp of Jalapeno Pepper Hot Sauce from Trader Joes. It stepped it up a notch. If I had a small can of jalapenos, I would have added those. Anything to spice it up! In a large baking dish, coat with evoo. Layer tortillas, meat mixture and cheese. Top with diced green onions, bake for 15 minutes. I topped mine with sour cream, but you could really top it with whatever you wanted--guacamole, salsa, crushed tortilla chips for some crunch-- be creative and enjoy!