Buffalo Cauliflower Mac & Cheese Muffins

Happy World Vegetarian Day! I have been a vegetarian for about seven years and I think that it was one of the best lifestyle changes that I have ever made. My boyfriend is not a vegetarian, but choose this recipe to celebrate with. If you're interested in finding out more information about a vegetarian lifestyle check out this link.

The original recipe uses chicken, I almost always use cauliflower as a substitute for chicken. You could also buy a chicken meatless substitute.

From Emily Bites.

Ingredients:
-1 T butter
-1 T flour
-1 c skim milk
-¼ t garlic powder
-1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
-1/3 cup light blue cheese dressing
-3-4 T Buffalo Wing sauce
-2 large eggs
-1 large egg white
-1 cup cauliflower
-1 medium celery stalk, chopped small
-4 cups cooked whole wheat or high fiber macaroni (about 8 oz uncooked)

Preheat the oven to 400.

  In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour, mixing it into the butter. Stir in the milk and garlic powder and raise the temp to bring the mixture to just under a boil. Add the cheddar cheese and whisk until combined into a sauce. 

Add in the blue cheese, buffalo sauce, celery and cauliflower.

Mix in the macaroni. 

Spoon into a well greased muffin tin and bake for 15 minutes, then let cool 15 minutes so that the "muffin shape" is retained.

Serve with additional buffalo sauce if desired. 

We enjoyed this recipe -- but we didn't love it. Without the extra hot sauce, this wasn't really that spicy and I really enjoy spicy foods. I was surprised how well it retained the muffin shape, out of twelve, we only had difficult getting two out of the muffin tin. J. and I were really hungry so we both ate three or four muffins, but I'm not sure if I would make it again. 

Slow Cooker Macaroni and Cheese

After searching for a good crock pot macaroni and cheese recipe, I was a little disappointed. Most recipes contained horrible reviews of the final product. This was the first recipe I found that had really good reviews so I decided to give it a try.

Photos by Kayla.

Recipe from Taste of Home.

Ingredients
-2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions.
-1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
-1 cup 2% milk
-1/2 cup sour cream
-1/4 cup butter, cubed
-1/2 teaspoon onion powder
-1/4 teaspoon white pepper
-1/8 teaspoon salt
-1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
-1 cup (4 ounces) shredded provolone cheese

Mix all ingredients in a crock pot and cook on low for one to two hours or until cheese is melted.

Serve.

This recipe was just okay. Everyone ate it and we barely had any leftovers, but I really didn't love it. For all of the cheese that was in this, the flavor was just okay, it was kind of bland. It didn't do any of the awful things that other recipes contained reviews about (curdle or turn out greasy), but I don't think I would make this again.

Asparagus Mac and Cheese

This recipe was adapted from Closet Cooking.

Ingredients:

-4 cups water

-1 1/2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cleaned, reserving the stems

-1 pound pasta, your choice

-4 tablespoons butter

-4 tablespoons flour

-2 cups cheddar cheese

-salt and pepper to taste

-1 tablespoon grainy mustard

-1/2 cup basil pesto

-1 cup cheddar cheese

Put the asparagus to a boil, boil for two minutes. Drain, but reserve two cups of the water.

Boil another pot for the pasta, cook according to directions.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, stir in the flour and cook until it is golden brown and bubbly. Stir in two cups of the cheddar cheese until a thick sauce forms. Add in the pasta, pasta water to loosen the sauce as needed, the asparagus and the mustard.

Pour into a greased 8x8 or 9x13.
Top with the additional cheese and pesto.

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350.

I thought this recipe was good, but my dad loved it. He's asked for me to make it again at least twice since I first made it. My brother wasn't a big fan, he said the cheddar cheese wasn't good in this recipe, especially when reheated. Overall it had more likes than dislikes, I'll probably make it again.

Chipotle Smoked Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

I really do like everything spicy, and mac and cheese is a classic, so this was a good combination for me. It turned out to be just the right amount of heat, it had a little bit of kick but it wasn't overpowering to the mac and cheese taste.

Recipe from OMFG So Good.

Ingredients: 

-16 oz elbow pasta

-3 tbsp unsalted butter

-3 tbsp flour

-2 chipotle peppers (seeds removed, super finely chopped)

-2 tsp adobo sauce (from the can of peppers)

-1 cup whole milk

-1 cup heavy cream

-2 cups shredded smoked gouda cheese

-1 cup panko bread crumbs

-1/4 tsp salt

-1/2 tsp paprika

-1/2 tsp cumin

-1/2 tsp garlic powder

-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

-2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)

Melt butter and mix in flour.
Wisk in the peppers and the sauce.
Stir in milk and cream and heat for 10 minutes.
Melt in the shredded gouda.

Meanwhile, cook the macaroni. Combine the sauce and macaroni.

Mix the panko with the spices and some melted butter.

Pour the macaroni into ramekins or a casserole dish.
Spoon some panko on the macaroni.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

It should get crispy and a little brown on top.

The gouda didn't have too strong of a taste, and neither did the peppers, but both tasted good and went together well. This was a little spicy, but neither of us found it overwhelmingly spicy. It was a nice variation on traditional mac and cheese.

Truffle Mac and Cheese

I've seen a lot of recipes with truffle oil, but I've never made anything with it, and I don't think I've ever eaten anything with it. I bought some to try, and this was our first recipe using it. I'll probably be trying a few more things with it in the future.

This recipe comes from double truffle.

We doubled the original recipe, so this made about 6 servings.

Ingredients:
-2 2/3 cups macaroni
-1 cup dry white wine
-2 1/2 cup vegetable stock
-2 cup sharp cheddar cheese (we used extra, more than the original recipe called for)
-2 Tblsp flour
-1 cup cream cheese
-4 tsp truffle oil (but possibly use less, this was a lot for us)
-Black pepper

Boil white wine for 10 minutes. Then add the vegetable stock.
Lower the heat, coat the cheddar cheese with flour, and add to the mix.
Add the cream cheese and stir.

This stage took a long time for our cheese mixture to thicken, and it never really got as thick as I thought it should.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions.
Add the truffle oil to the cheese and pour over the macaroni.

Top with some pepper.

This recipe wasn't as good as I had hoped, but I think it was just because we used too much truffle oil. The flavor was pretty good, but just strong. I think using cream cheese was a good idea for this macaroni and cheese. I'll probably try this again sometimes, but try to cook the sauce on a higher heat to make it thicker and use less truffle oil.

Fried Rice Style Mac & Cheese

J. graduated from college yesterday!! I am so proud of him and very happy that we're both done with college now (although I'm still in graduate school).

Ready for the next chapter in our lives!

Now that J is graduated and moving back home I will not be seeing him as much since he lives an hour away, I also will no longer be occasionally cooking in a college kitchen!! That's the one part that I love, so expect the same great recipes, just in my kitchen with a well stocked pantry and cooking utensils. 

The recipe for today is really great for a weeknight dinner, especially if you've had a long day because it doesn't take too much effort, but there's a big pay off. I made this for J. and my dad -- we all had seconds.
It's Mother's Day today so you're probably not doing a whole lot of cooking, but make this recipe for your mom after she's had a long day at work instead of getting take-out. That will give her a break from dinner duty and save some money. She'll appreciate it!

This recipe comes from The Noshing Bride.

Ingredients:

-1 (8-ounce) package macaroni, cooked al dente

-2 cups milk
-1/4 cup all-purpose flour
-1/2 teaspoon salt.

-3 1/2 cups sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded (1/2 cup for topping)

-2/3 cup Panko breadcrumbs

-4 eggs, scrambled and chopped into bits

-3/4 cup peas

-3/4 cup diced carrots

-4 scallions, diced

-Cooking spray

Mix together the milk, flour and salt. Pour over the cooked pasta and add the cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted.

Mix all of the ingredients in a greased 9x13 pan and stir to distribute the ingredients.

Top with additional cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake for 45 minutes at 350 or until golden brown.

Add any additional seasoning that you'd like, I added some chili powder for a kick.

This was a big hit at my house, the flavors went really well together. I didn't feel as bad eating all of the pasta since there was vegetables in this too. My dad and I both took the leftovers home for lunch and this was equally as good the next day, I always appreciate a recipe which is lunch ready the day after.