Scrambled Egg Breakfast Pizza

Remember how I said the hubs was upset that the breakfast pizza I made didn't 'look' like pizza? Well, I decided to try again and I'm so glad I did. I think we hit the jackpot on this one! It has all of his favorite things, white based sauce, scrambled eggs and BACON! He raved about this pizza and was actually telling other people about how good this pizza was! I felt so honored but I did have quite the struggle to get a decent picture of the pizza. Sorry, it tasted MUCH better than it looks, I promise.

Scrambled Egg Breakfast Pizza

Source: Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

Favorite pizza crust (I used a loaf of frozen bread dough)

1/2 c part skim ricotta cheese

6 eggs

1/4 c milk

salt and pepper to taste

1-2 c shredded monterrey jack cheese (I used a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella)

1-4 c bacon crumbles (I used 3 strips of bacon and it was not quite enough...I'm thinking 5 slices next time)

Directions

Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. In a small bowl, add eggs, milk, salt & pepper to taste. Whisk together to break up eggs. Pour egg mixture in skillet and scramble eggs. Once scrambled, allow to cool about 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray a round baking sheet with cooking spray and spread your pizza dough out into a circle about 12 inches or so. Spray dough with cooking spray (or brush with olive oil) and spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese, leaving about an inch of dough on the outer edge.

Top with scrambled eggs, bacon crumbles, & shredded cheese.

Bake for approximately 13 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.

Mini Frittatas with Ham and Cheese

I feel that all my brain power has been used up these past two weeks between sitting in a review course all weekend, putting the finishing touches on our Scholarly Project, submitting our Program Plan, Functional Job Analysis, Case Study and my Assistive Technology topic paper....and I still have that dang weighted blanket to finish. I cannot wait for school to be done!

So that's my excuse for not giving these little one bite wonders the proper introduction they deserve. These were very tasty and a huge hit with the hubs! Plus, they took less than 5 minutes to mix up and get into the oven! You really can't beat that. A great appetizer or brunch item!

Mini Frattatas

Source Elizabeths Edible Experience

Ingredients

Cooking spray

1/2 c finely chopped onion (I used dried minced onion)

2/3 c chopped reduced-fat ham

1/3 c shredded reduced-fat extra sharp cheddar cheese

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I left it out)

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme

1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

4 large egg whites

1 large egg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Add onion and ham to saute. Remove from heat and let cool while combining other ingredients. Combine eggs, pepper, thyme, cayenne, and cheese in a large bowl. Stir with a whisk until combined. Add ham and onion mixture. Spoon mixture into 24 miniature muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Each cavity will hold about 2 teaspoons. (Don't worry, they will puff up). Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until set.

Smothered Burritos

It had been far too long since I had eaten these burritos and now that I have, I'm not sure I can stop. Honestly, with my head held in shame I will admit that I made these on a Sunday night because I knew the hubs was heading out of town and I would get the left overs...I ate them for supper on Sunday...lunch on Monday....AND supper on Monday. I only quit eating them because...well they were gone! Yep, their amazing and the cheese melts sooooo good and runny and stringy....yum!

Smothered Burritos

Source: Mrs. O's mom

1 (16oz) can refried beans

1 lb hamburger

1 pkg taco seasoning

1/2 cup water

6-8 flour tortillas

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

1/2 cup taco sauce

Brown hamburger. Add beans, taco seasoning and water. Cook until bubbly. Pre-heat oven to 250 degrees. Spread on tortillas and roll up. Put in a greased 9x13 in pan. Mix tomato sauce and taco sauce in a separate bowl. Pour over top of rolled tortillas and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake until cheese melts. Serve with lettuce, onions, black olives and sour cream.

Breakfast Pizza

This is ANOTHER recipe that my mom would make occasionally when I was younger. So when I started cooking for my then boyfriend/now husband, I was so excited to serve him this. He was all jazzed too because he had been raving about a breakfast pizza that he had tried at a gas station (ick, only boys eat that food don't they?) However, when he came to dish up his 'pizza' he was upset because it, "doesn't look like pizza." I cook my breakfast pizza in a 9x13 inch pan because that's how the recipe told me to do it and I usually screw up when I don't follow the recipe.

Besides they make rectangle pizza don't they?

Anyways, if you think that you simply cannot eat breakfast pizza without it being in a pizza pan, then make it in a pizza pan. Really, it will taste the same and that taste is amazing!

I have made this for potlucks and it goes SO fast. Best part is, it's so easy!

....still can't believe my pizza lost to gas station food....

Breakfast pizza

Source: Mrs. O's mom

Ingredients

1 tube crescent rolls

1 lb pork sausage

1 cup frozen shredded hash browns-thawed

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese

5 eggs

1/4 c milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown sausage. Pat crescent rolls into lightly greased 9x13 in pan (or pizza pan). Crumble on sausage. Add hash browns. Sprinkle on cheese. Beat together milk and eggs. Pour over top. Bake for 30 minutes

Mini Cheddar Garlic Popovers

These were good. Like pretty dang good. And pretty dang simple. I made these for brunch one weekend and think they would be amazing paired with a great soup so you could dunk them. But then again, I love to dunk things.

Mini Cheddar Garlic Popovers

Source:Dunkin Cooking the Semi-Homemade Way

Ingredients

3 tsp oil

3/4 c milk

1 egg

1 egg white

3/4 c flour

1/2 tsp- garlic salt (or any garlic seasoning)

1/3 c cheddar cheese (shredded)

Direction

Preheat over to 425 degrees. Spray 24 mini muffin cups with cooking spray. Add 1/8 of tsp oil to bottom of each cup. In a small bowl combine the milk, egg and egg white, mix well using a whisk. Add the flour and garlic seasoning then mix well, once fully combined stir in the cheese. Warm the muffin pan in oven for 5 minutes. Once heated, divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until golden brown. Immediately remove popovers from the pan and serve warm.

Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups

Since the moment I laid eyes on these, I just knew I had to make them! We love breakfast foods but hate the mess and time required to use the electric skillet to make bacon, eggs and then toast. These little devils only dirty 1 fry pan (or I used my large soup pot to decrease the splatter) and a muffin tin. It was some of the easiest clean up I have ever done. When I saw this recipe I thought, "Yeah, I can probably screw it up," because I have been having quite a time with recipes lately. But guess what? I didn't and am so excited to make them again. I really can't explain how easy these were and how great they tasted! Plus, I think they are cute as sin!

Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups

Source:Annie's Eats

Ingredients

6 slices of bacon

6 slices of bread

shredded cheese

6 eggs

salt and pepper

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 6 wells of a muffin pay with nonstick spray.

Cook bacon via your preferable method. Leave the bacon slightly undercooked as it needs to be bendable and will finish in the oven. Dab dry the grease after bacon is cooked on a plate of paper towels.

Cut out 6 circular rounds using either a 3 inch cookie cutter or the top of a glass. Place bread in muffin wells.

Wrap bacon around outside of muffin wells.

Sprinkle with shredded cheese.

One at a time, crack eggs over another bowl discarding half of the egg whites. Place yolk and other half of whites on top of shredded cheese. Be careful not to break the yolks!

Bake until eggs are cooked thoroughly or to your liking (6-10 minutes for runny and a little longer for hardened yolks) and bacon is crispy.

Run knife around edges and use another knife or fork to ease cups out of the muffin wells.

Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Taco Soup

The hubs has been working out of town during the week and with my crazy school schedule, I have found myself rarely making time for supper or having anything more substantial than cereal. I took this as a time to make something for myself, something that he wouldn't normally eat. The recipe I decided on was Crock Pot Taco Soup and I'm pretty dang glad I did. I was quite happy with the way this turned out and I couldn't have asked for an easier recipe.

Crock Pot Taco Soup

Source: Adapted from AYearOfSlowCooking

Ingredients:

2 cans of kidney beans

2 cans of pinto beans

2 cans of corn

1 large can of diced tomatoes

1 can tomatoes and chile's

1 packet taco seasoning

1 packet ranch dressing mix

1 lb browned ground hamburger

1/4 tsp garlic salt

shredded cheese, sour cream and black olives to garnish

Directions:
1) Brown meat, drain fat and pour into crock pot

2) Sprinkle seasoning packets and garlic salt on top of meat

3) Drain and rinse the beans and add

4) Add the entire contents of the corn and tomato cans

5) Stir, cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 4-5.

Cheesy Sausage Penne

I have been on this cookbook buying spree. Despite having oodles of recipes saved to my google reader, I keep finding magazines with good looking food. The latest one I picked up was Taste of Home's Casseroles, Slow cookers and soups. Initially paging through, I came across at least five different recipes I wanted to try. The first one I made was this little delight. I was a little hesitant at first because you don't mix in the cream cheese/sour cream combination. However, after you dish up and stir it around a little, yum! Now, I thought this was pretty tasty and when one of my best friend J (shown below)was over, I decided to pawn some off on her, so we had it for supper. She was shocked by how good it was and more impressed by how easy it was! I'm winning them over one at a time....

Cheese Sausage Penne

Source: Taste of Home's Casseroles, Slow Cookers and Soups

Ingredients

1 lb bulk Italian sausage

1 garlic clove, minced

1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti sauce

1 package (16 ounces) uncooked penne pasta

1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1 cup sour cream

4 green onions, sliced

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

*I used fat free cream cheese and sour cream and it tasted great!

Directions

1) In a large skillet, cook the sausage and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat' cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

2) cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, in small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and onions.

3) In a greased shallow 3-qt baking dish, layer half of the pasta and sausage mixture. Dollop with half of the cream cheese mixture; sprinkle with half of the cheddar cheese. Repeat layers.

4) Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

Miss J and I; one of the greatest friends a girl could have ;)

7 Layer Taco Dip

This dip is amazing. I love this combination of flavors layered together over a Tostito chip. I made this dip for a friends baby shower the other night and between 10-15 girls, I only came home with a sliver left. Now I call that success! This is a basic old recipe that has been sent around a trillion times but I fill it deserves to be repeated.

* Note: I used all fat free/low fat ingredients and it still tasted great! No need to waste the extra calories on this dip because it's delicious without them.

7 Layer Taco Dip

Source: A. Lee

Ingredients:

2 (8oz) packages 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened

1 packet taco seasoning

1 can refried beans-fat free

1 container sour cream-fat free

1 (2 cup) bag of Mexican blend cheese

1 cup salsa

Shredded lettuce

1 can black olives, sliced

Directions:

Mix cream cheese with taco seasoning. Spread across bottom of 9x13 in pan. Spread 3/4 can of refriend beans. Spread salsa over beans. Spread sour cream over salsa. Spread cheese and top with lettuce. Garnish with black olives or tomatoes. Serve with Tostito chips or Doritos.

Sausage and Cheese Cresent Squares

I love breakfast foods, but we don't usually eat breakfast. So often we eat breakfast for supper and pretend like it's morning. Works, doesn't it? While trolling on the Pillsbury website, I came across several recipes that looked tasty, this being one of them. This was a great, quick and easy meal which will make a return to our menu list! It was fairly rich, so I may pair it with a lighter side next time and half the recipe.

Sausage and Cheese Crescent Squares
Source: http://www.pillsbury.com/Recipes/ShowRecipe.aspx?rid=18935

Ingredients:
2 cans (8 oz each) Pillsbury refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 lb pork sausage
1 package (8oz) cream cheese
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2) Unroll can of crescent dinner rolls and flatten tightly to the edges of a 9x13 glass baking dish.
3) Brown pork sausage until no longer pink and drain excess drippings. Add cream cheese to pan. Cook over low heat until melted. Spoon evenly over crust in baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese.
4) Unroll second package of crescent rolls and place over mixture.
5)Bake 21 to 26 minutes or until golden bow. Cool for 15 minutes. Cut into small squares.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken Enchiladas

I have seen the recipe for crock pot salsa chicken everywhere! It looked so easy and with returning to school, it seemed like the perfect time to try this. We are not huge rice fans, so I didn't go with the traditional accompaniments of rice, but decided to make the chicken into enchiladas. I was a little hesitant and didn't tell the hubs what was for supper before he came home out of fear of hearing, "What the heck?!?!" So, I told him to close his eyes and eat. Result: He loved it and has actually requested it to return! That's a huge win in my eyes!

I started with the traditional crock pot salsa chicken recipe and am excited to try it on a bun or over some noodles. I can see many variations of this tasty food and the best part is...the chicken is lowfat. Check out Spark People for nutritional information.

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken Enchiladas
Source: SparkPeople
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts ( I used around 6 small chicken tenderloins)
1 cup salsa (Hint: check out the salsa by the taco shells instead of the chips for MUCH cheaper salsa, I got mine for $1.50 compared to $3.99 by the chips)
1 package reduced sodium taco seasoning
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup (condensed)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream

For the enchiladas:
Flour tortillas
1/2 reduced fat cheddar cheese

Directions:
Add chicken to slow cooker.
Sprinkle taco seasoning over chicken.
Combine salsa and soup, pour over chicken. Flip chicken to coat.
Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.
Shred chicken. (mine literally fell apart when I used tons go mix in sour cream...yum!)

For enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spray 9/13 in pan with cooking spray.
Placed 2-3 tablespoons of chicken in flat tortilla, roll and place seam down in pan.
Sprinkle cheddar cheese over rolled tortillas.
Bake in oven for 10-13 mins or until cheese is melted. Do not over cook as tortillas will dry out.
Serve with lettuce, sour cream, tomatoes, black olives or any other 'taco' accompaniments.

Lighter Taco Bake

I enjoy marinara sauce. The hubs does not. And so the fight begins. I try to honor his tastes most of the time but I have been craving Mexican lately and this recipe just looked so dang good. I thought the adjustments StephanieCooks made were perfect and followed them almost to the T. It resulted in a great meal that even won over the hubs, leaving me amazing leftover for lunch the next day.

Lighter Taco Bake
Source: StephanieCooks

Ingredients
1 lb ground beef (I used 1/2 pound to lighten it up)
1 packet taco seasoning (I used half since I halved the recipe)
15 oz. tomato sauce (I used around 8 oz. on the hub's behalf)
8 oz. seashell pasta (again, half)
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened in microwave (I used 4 ounces)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used reduced fat)
8 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese (I used about 1/2 cup of 2%)

Directions
1. Brown ground beef, drain. Add taco seasoning and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 20 minutes. ( I simmered for about 7 since I had less tomato sauce)
2. In the meantime, cook pasta according to directions. Drain.
3. Mix softened cream cheese and sour cream in separate bowl.
4. Spray bottom of pan. Put pasta in bottom of pan.
5. Spread cream cheese mixture over pasta.
6. Spoon ground meat mixture over this.
7. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top.
8. Bake @ 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before serving. (I may have over cooked a little initially, so I peeled off the cheese and remelted some cheese on top. Turned out perfectly)

Loaded Potato Soup

I remember the first time I ever had loaded bake potato soup it was days before my wedding and my mom, sister and I were out running last minute errands for the big day. We decided to stop at Chili's for lunch and on the menu was unlimited Caesar salad and loaded baked potato soup. I was so excited, in fact, never before had I been so excited for soup and salad. Okay, okay, I know I could have probably eaten a Thanksgiving day meal for the amount of calories these glorious bowls contained but it was just SO worth it. The sad part is that the closest Chili's to my house is an hour away! I guess that helps me have it only as a treat ;(

Anyways, in my continued love for Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade magazine, I came across this super simple recipe for loaded potato soup. Now, this soup was pretty dang good and easy, however, I managed to make it about as difficult as possible! I HATE cooking bacon and for all those who know me can attest to this little fact. I hate that it splatters, I hate the greasy clean up and I HATE HATE HATE the smell it leaves in the house! Wow, that's a whole lotta hate, but I LOVE to eat it, so there lies the problem.

I usually cook bacon on my electric skillet because I can cook alot, scrape off the grease (cuts down on splatter) and slightly reduces the smell when I cook it on low heat. Well this recipe called for some of the grease to be reserved and to cut down on dishes, I just cooked it in the large pot. Well, I had a friend walking through the door (with her newborn!!) and a general lack of experience with frying bacon in its grease, which resulted in very burnt bacon in about .2 seconds. Bummer! I actually said, 'screw the soup,' and went to see the baby!

Well, round two was for supper that night when I decided to attempt it again as I had really been looking forward to this soup for weeks! This time it went much better, came out with perfectly cooked bacon, but the brain child that I am, forgot that bacon grease holds it's heat very well and after letting it cool for a mear couple seconds, I inserted my PLASTIC measuring spoon to reserve the grease. Smart, right? Needless to say, I am now left with an oblong spoon instead of a circle.

I don't mean to give this soup a hard time because all the faults were my own but oofta, when your head isn't in the right place, it's time to get out of the kitchen! Next time I make this soup, I plan to cut the potatoes up into 3-4 pieces so it will be more soup like and less like potatoes with gravy.

Loaded Potato Soup

Source: Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade Oct/Nov 2009

Ingredients:

6 bacon slices

1/4 cup green onion

1 (14 ounce) can vegetable broth

1 cup sour cream

1 cup whole milk

1 (20 ounce) bag red potato wedges, Simply Potatoes brand

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Garnish: shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped fresh chives and sour cream

Directions:

1. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, cook bacon until crisp; remove bacon; and drain on paper towels, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pot. Crumble bacon.

2. Cook green onion in hot drippings over medium-high heat for 3 minutes, or until tender. Add broth. Whisk in sour cream and milk. Add potatoes, salt, and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes, or until heated through. Top with crumbled bacon, and, if desired, garnish with shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped chives and sour cream.

Taco Mac and Cheese

As previously mentioned, I love Mac and Cheese, so when I came across this recipe in Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine I knew I had to give it a try. I also loved that it involved 4 ingredients with endless additional possibilities. Feel free to jazz this meal up with fresh veggies to give it an extra kick. I could see loading it up with some green peppers, tomatoes or corn. I also halved the original recipe as it was very filling and it easily fed the two of us with some leftovers. The recipe listed below is the full recipe, serving 4 hungry people. It was a great weeknight very quick meal.

Taco Mac and Cheese

Adapted from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade magazine Oct/Nov 2009

2 boxes Mac and Cheese

1 lb ground beef

1 packet of taco seasoning

Prepare boxes of Mac and Cheese according to the box. Brown ground beef, drain and add seasoning according to the pouch. Finally, dump it all together, stir and enjoy!

See, I told you it was easy!

Garlic Cheese Pretzels with Beer and Cheddar Pretzel Dip

A local bookstore is going out of business and as a result, I was able to get 2 Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade cookbooks for a steal! I have tried to cut down on the number of cookbooks I buy because we received a TON for our wedding and have barely scratched the surface with them. Also, I have NO room left more and since we (the hubs) have picky tastes, many recipes from cookbooks don't appeal to us. Plus, I have about 50 recipes saved under my favorites online that I am excited to try, so why not save money and make those? Oh well, Sandra is one of my favorite cooks and I love her approach to cooking good food with available items and limited time, so I felt it to be a worthwhile investment. I am a avid reader of her magazine and now her cookbooks, so don't be surprised to see several items from her featured here.

Once again, onto the food! I made this as a weekend brunch meal in which totally freaked out the hubs. He asked what was for lunch. I said pretzels and beer cheese dip. He goes, "Your feeding me pretzels for lunch?!?!" (He's still a little on guard with all the new foods he is trying. He's not use to change but hasn't disliked anything I have made yet ;) Review at the end of the meal..."Are there more?" For a boy who doesn't eat much...he had around 8 (count em) pretzels! Wow! I had 4 and was stuffed! He has already requested them again. I was a little nervous making these, I had never really attempted such a thing before, but I am excited to try them again. The beer and cheddar pretzel dip was great as well. The hubs thought it was great that I was serving him beer, for lunch, on a SUNDAY! Shoulda gone to church...

Garlic Cheese Pretzels

Source: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking

Yields: 14 pretzels

Starts with basic pretzel recipe:

1 loaf frozen white bread dough, thawed

All purpose flour, for dusting surface

1 egg, lightly beaten

-Feel free to end here with ingredients to make plain pretzels. Simply sprinkle with coarse salt before baking.

To make pretzels garlic cheese continue here:

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1. Line cookie sheet pan with waxed paper. Divide dough into 14 pieces. (I used a kitchen scissor to cut)

2. On lightly floured surface, roll each piece of dough into a 16 inch rope and form into a pretzel shape. (This is where all the times I watched the employees at The Pretzel Maker came into good use.)

3. Transfer dough to prepared sheet pan; cover and refrigerate until ready to boil. (I made pretzels the night before to cut down on time the next day)

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter a sheet pan.
5. In a large pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil. Add pretzels, 3 at a time, and cook until pretzels rise to the surface, about 2 minutes. (Mine never sunk, so they never rose. I just set the kitchen timer for 2 minutes)

6. Remove and drain on paper towels.

7. Arrange pretzels 3 inches apart on prepared sheet pan. Brush with beaten egg. Sprinkle with Parmesan and garlic power.

8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until brown.

Beer and Cheddar Pretzel Dip

Source: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Weeknight Wonders

Ingredients:

1 can (10.7 ounce) condensed cheddar cheese soup

1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened

2 tablespoons horseradish mustard (I used regular mustard)

1/2 package (.4 ounce) buttermilk ranch dressing mix

1 bottle (12 ounce) pale beer, Budweiser

2 cups finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Spray a 1 quart oven safe baking dish with cooking spray.

3. In a medium sauce pan, over medium-high heat, cook and stir together the cheddar cheese soup, cream cheese, mustard, and ranch dressing mix until the cream cheese has melted. Stir in beer.
4. Remove from heat and add the cheddar cheese a handful at a time, stirring until thoroughly combined.

5. Transfer cheese mixture to the prepared baking dish and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until bubbly.

Serve with warm soft pretzels.

Gourmet Mac and Cheese

The first meal I ever made was Mac and Cheese and one of my favorite birthday gifts was when this glorious creation came in a huge bucket! I hope my mac and cheese skills have improve because I remember a time when I added so much milk that it was more of a soup...and my mom never said a thing! She just ate it and told me it was great...now that's love!

Now that I have 'grown up' it is a meal that I make frequently for the hubbs but I have been looking for something more. This is the third baked mac and cheese recipe I have tried and this is the only one I plan to make again because, it was amazing! Very quick and easy because you just toss a bunch of stuff into a pan and bake for 30 mins! What more can you ask for?

Hubbs approval rating: Initially after seeing cottage cheese: "What are you trying to feed me?!?!" After tasting: with a sheepish grin "It's actually really good, filling."

Gourmet Mac and Cheese

Taken from IceCream&Wine

Ingredients:

8 oz. package elbow macaroni ( I used Penne because that was what I had in the cupboard)

8 oz. package shredded sharp cheddar cheese

12 oz. container cottage cheese

8 oz. container sour cream

1/2 cup Italian cheese blend (parmesan, asiago, fontina)

Directions:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta - cook until done and drain. In a 2.5-quart baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Italian cheese, salt and pepper. You may sprinkle additional cheese on top before baking.Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Feeds 4 hungry people