Saturday, January 19, 2008

getting settled

First post of the new year!!! I wanted to start taking pictures and video for each one, but we are still getting set up in the new place, so we aren't so high tech yet. I have had lots of food on the mainland that was so good I wanted to mention it, but I am going to digress to today.
meals have been spotty since I came back because of new food and new kitchens, but we have finally found our own little place to live, and my kitchen is quite nice. I have two big windows and much cutting space. The oven is spotty, but only because the seal is broken so it doesn't seal. So far so good. Tonight I made the tvp (textured vegetable protein) sloppy joes and spicy baked macaroni, which I got from the cookbook Giadas Everyday pasta. I got this cookbook from Melissa for Christmas, she is my favorite food network person. here is the recipe: (modified by me)

(I will give her measurements, but I reduced by a lot)
1 pd. macaroni pasta (I used Radiatori, cause I had no mac. noodles)
1/2 pound mushrooms, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 10 oz package of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/4 and 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 and 1/3 cup grated romano cheese (I only had parm cheese, so It was find without this)
2 tablespoons butter, softened, and 2 table cold butter
12 oz. mozzarella cheese, cubed
(I added chopped broccli)

preheat to 350 deg.
cook mac noodles (or what you got) until somewhat firm
heat oil and cook onion, mushrooms, and garlic until tender. stir in tomatoes, spinach, and red pepper flakes about 5 minutes.
in a small bowl mix bread crumbs and 1/4 cup of both cheeses
cover the bottom of a 9 * 13 * 2 in. glass baking dish with the soft butter
spread 1/2 of the bread crumb mix on the bottom
in a large bowl mix the veggies, macaroni, and cheeses. I added lots of salt, pepper, garlic salt, and basil. put into pan. top with the rest of breadcrumb mix and finish with putting cold butter pieces around. cook for 20-30 minutes

1 comment:

Melissa said...

Hey Chrissy......love this recipe and I plan on trying it this week. Sent you an email with another one I plan on trying and sent you a copy. Let me know what you think. Glad you are settled and back on your blog

Melissa