Super Tasty Baked Macaroni and Cheese

I love this recipe, as do all of my friends. Definitely a rich and tasty treat.

Macaroni and Cheese

1/2 Pound whole wheat pasta, cooked al dente ( macaroni elbows and fusilli seem to work best, but other smallish pastas are fine, shells, bowties, etc.)

1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups milk

3 TB Butter

3 TB Flour

1/2 Tsp. sea salt (more or less to taste)

a generous amount of fresh ground pepper

1/2 TB Coleman's mustard powder mixed with 1/2 TB water

1/2 Cup Breadcrumbs

2 TB butter, melted.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the pasta according to its package directions, drain and put aside.

In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the 3 TB butter, and mix in the 3 TB flour. Cook and mix until the flour is all bubbly and a beige-y color. Congratulations, you've just made a roux!
OK, now mix in the milk, a bit at a time, whisking and letting the sauce thicken as you add it. Now stir in the salt, pepper, and prepared mustard. Once the white sauce is lovely and thick and hot, add 2/3 of the shedded cheddar cheese to the sauce, and cook on a low flame until the cheese is completely melted and the sauce is well mixed.

Now, dump the pasta and the cheese sauce into an appropriately sized casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix the 2 TB melted butter, 1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs, and the remainder of the shredded cheddar cheese.

Spread the breadcrumb mixture over the macaroni and cheese in the casserole dish, and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 30 minutes, or until browned and bubbly.

Enjoy! :)


Variation-- Jalapeno Macaroni & Cheese-- Substitute the cheddar cheese with pepper jack cheese and leave out the mustard. Spicy!

Pasta Salad- perfect to bring to BBQs!

La's famous pasta salad

Dressing (OK I have NO measurements for this, I just sort of eyeball it)

equal parts Balsalmic vinegar & Olive oil, maybe like 3/4 cup each??

a few shakes mixed Mediterranean herbs ( I use the stuff from whole foods that's meant for fish)

lots of black pepper

a few shakes sea salt

a whole bunch of shakes of crushed red pepper

maybe about 1/2 teaspoon chopped basil (fresh, dried, from a jar, whatevs)

In a little bowl, mix the above ingredients together, let the dressing sit while you prep the salad ingredients below


Salad Ingredients

1 pound whole wheat fusilli, cooked and cooled

1 package grape tomatoes (or cherry tomatoes, halved)

1/2 pound fresh mozzarella (I like to use the marinaded braid one, if the store has it) cut into 1/2" cubes

1 little can sliced black olives, drained

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and cut into little pieces

Sliced sauteed zucchini is good to put in there, too.

In a big bowl, mix together the salad ingredients and toss with the dressing. This tends to taste better the longer the pasta and stuff have to absorb the flavors from the dressing, so you might want to make it the night before, or earlier in the day. Do taste it, though, and make sure it doesn't need more salt or vinegar. I'm always adding more of those two things...

Lazy Girl Lo Mein

This is a healthy, yet quick and easy weeknight supper for 1. It's easily doubled for 2. :)

1 serving (2 oz) whole wheat spaghetti, cooked al dente
1 1/2 cups frozen stir fry vegetables
3 oz. soy stir fry faux meat strips
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce (Thai peanut sauce is very good, too)
Spray canola oil

Prepare the spaghetti.

Lightly coat a medium fry pan with spray oil. Stir fry the frozen vegetables and faux meat strips until the vegetables are nearly cooked. Add the teriyaki sauce and heat through. Add spaghetti, mix thoroughly, and serve.

Curried Whole Wheat Couscous with Chickpeas

1 box whole wheat couscous (1 and 2/3 cups)

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained

2 1/4 cups vegetable or other broth (bullion works, too)

1 TB olive oil

2 TB Jamaican curry powder

Mix the broth, curry powder and olive oil in a medium to large saucepan. Add the chickpeas. Bring to a boil. Remove from the heat, add the couscous, stir, and cover. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork and serve.

This makes 5 servings. For an individual serving, use 1/2 cup of broth, 1 tsp. of olive oil, 1/3 cup couscous, and 1/3 cup chickpeas.

I love this recipe because it's cheap and easy to make, super healthy, has loads of protein and tastes yummy. And the yellow color is very cheerful. :)

Recipe-- Whole Wheat Penne with Sausage, Asparagus, & Tomatoes

1- 12oz box of whole grain penne ( I like the kind with milled flax-seed)

1/2 lb Fresh Asparagus, with the ends cut off and then cut into 2" pieces.

1- 14.5oz Can of organic diced tomatoes with Italian herbs

1 lb Italian-style turkey sausage, cut into 1/2" slices (if you're veggie, the "Lightlife Lean Italian Links" faux sausage also works quite nicely- just use a little more olive oil)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Shredded Parmesean, Asiago & Provolone Cheese

In a large frying pan, fry the minced garlic in a couple tablespoons of olive oil at medium low heat. Add the sausage, salt and fresh ground pepper, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked through. Drain off half the fat/juices. Add the can of diced tomatoes and heat through. After the tomatoes are heated through, add the asparagus, mix in thoroughly, cover, and turn off the burner.

In a separate big pasta pot, bring salted water to a boil. Once water is boiling, add the asparagus. Boil the asparagus for 2-3 minutes, JUST until done. Remove the asparagus with a slotted spoon, and put aside in a bowl.

Now add the pasta to the boiling water and cook according to package directions, just until al dente. Drain the pasta.

Dump the drained pasta and the sausage/vegetable mixture back into the big pasta pot and mix thoroughly.

Spoon onto plate and sprinkle shredded cheeses and more freshly ground pepper on top, if desired.

Serves a lot of people, let's say 6.

Recipe- Dark Chocolate Cinnamon Muffins

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 Cup Unbleached White Flour
1/4 Cup light brown sugar (like sugar in the raw)
1/4 Tsp Salt
1/2 TB Baking Powder
2 Tsp Cocoa Powder
1 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Milk
2 TB Oil (I use Olive oil, 'cause that's all I buy)
1 Large Egg, Beaten

Mix-Ins:
3/4 Cup Ghiradelli or other good-quality semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

Combine dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.

Combine wet ingredients in a small bowl.

Pour Wet ingredients into the dry mixture and mix just until combined.

Fold in the chocolate chips.

Spoon into muffin tin, lined with paper cups, or greased if you have no paper cups.

Sprinkle Cinnamon Sugar Topping(2 TB Light brown Sugar mixed with 1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon) on to the muffin batter.

Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees F and bake the muffins for 15 minutes.

Recipe makes 6 muffins, which is just the right amount for just a few people. :)

(recipe adapted from an awesome basic 6 muffin recipe from Lauren Daniels)

Maple Cinnamon Apple Sauce

6 medium sized apples
½ cup water
½ cup maple syrup
2 small cinnamon sticks

Core and cut the apple into wedges. (I use one of those apple corer-wedger thingies) dump the apple wedges into a stockpot or large saucepan with a heavy bottom. Dump the ½ cup water, ½ cup maple syrup and 2 cinnamon sticks into the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until apples are very tender. Remove the cinnamon sticks. Dump the mixture (in stages, if necessary) into the bender and blend the apple sauce until smooth. Some people use a sieve and throw away the apple skins, but they’re full of fiber and good for you, so I don’t recommend it. Allow to cool a bit and serve warm, or chill. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months, if so inclined.