Pumpkin Butter + Muenster Grilled Cheese

I try to hold out on the pumpkin recipes because they are all over the place! But I discovered pumpkin butter with the help of a friend in book club. She mentioned that she makes grilled cheese sandwiches using pumkin butter and Gruyere. Book club was 3 weeks ago, and it has been on my mind ever since!

I figured I'd pick up a jar from Trader Joe's, but then a favorite blogger of mine, Minimalist Baker, posted a 20 minute pumpkin butter recipe, and I knew, I had to just make it myself.

For those of you new to pumpkin butter, it is a thick, and creamy pumpkin spread . It has the warmth found in anything pumpkin because of the pumpkin spice mix and maple syrup used in this recipe. I could imagine adding this on pancakes or waffles, or incorporating it into desserts like brownies, and cheesecake. I made a half recipe, so about one mason jar worth, which is more than enough for me to last this "fall" season. 

My husband is anti-pumpkin, so I didn't tell him what KIND of grilled cheese we were having. I stood over him while he took his first bite and after he told me how good it was, I let him know it was pumpkin. It was fine. Cheese + butter > pumpkin.

Pumpkin Butter + Muenster Grilled Cheese

Half batch of pumpkin butter 

4 slices of hearty bread

4 slices of Muenster (or any cheese)

4 tablespoons SALTED butter

Turn on oven broiler to preheat.

Heat a skillet over medium-low heat. Spread pumpkin butter inside all 4 slices of bread, arrange cheese slices over the pumpkin butter, one per slice of bread. Close the sandwiches. Spread butter on both sides of both sandwiches and place in skillet. Get a nice LIGHT brown on both sides because we will finish them off under the broiler.

Once the sandwiches have some color to them, stick them under the broiler to melt the cheese and get a golden crust on the sandwich. Flip the sandwiches to do the same on the other side. 

Remove the skillet from the broiler, don't burn yourself, and cut your sandwiches in half.

Enjoy your ooey, gooey, pumpkin-y sandwich!

Comforting Broccoli + Cauliflower + Cheddar Soup

I suck at recipe titles.  For now, this is the title you get.  At least it's descriptive?

I'm jumping on the soup bandwagon with other bloggers as they post soup recipe after soup recipe since the cooler weather already exists in most of the nation.  Houston is having this, it's not summer, but it's not fall either, kind of weather.  Basically cool in the morning, and hot the rest of the day. You eventually learn to dress in layers.

One of the most popular soups that have been popping up in my blog reading lists is of course, broccoli and cheddar soup. But then....I came across a cauliflower soup from the Pioneer Woman! I seriously love cauliflower in all its forms, sauteed, roasted, curried with potatoes and peas, it's delicious.  Once I saw her recipe, I wanted soup, and I wanted it for dinner that night. So I combined broccoli, cauliflower, and cheddar to make a hearty, creamy, and comforting soup topped off with crisp bacon. Because bacon.

For this soup you must be a liker (a word?), or lover of broccoli and/or cauliflower.  I am already assuming that you love cheese and bacon.  Just please don't tell me that you don't.

I know chopping up broccoli and cauliflower can be intimidating when you see a vegetable that looks like a mini tree.  Don't fret, let me go through an easy, not pretty way to get the job done. Pull off as many leaves as you can off of the cauliflower.  Take a sharp knife, and cut off the hard stalk as close to the cauliflower as possible. Then cut your head (the cauliflower head) in half and just go at it with the chopping, cutting the larger florets into smaller pieces. Do the same with the broccoli, it's a little easier and if you want, you can chop up part of the broccoli stalk since it does get tender with cooking. It won't be all pretty florets and sunsets, but who cares. It's going into a soup and then into your mouth.

I cannot have soup just by itself, so if you would like a bigger meal, then add a side salad or a small sandwich.  I made grilled turkey, swiss, and cranberry sauce sandwiches to go along with the soup. That is literally what was in the sandwich, so no recipe needed.

Broccoli + Cauliflower + Cheddar Soup

5 strips of thick cut bacon (I used Applegate Turkey bacon), chopped

1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups stock (I used vegetable)

1 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

sea salt

black pepper

1 head broccoli, chopped into small pieces

1/2 head cauliflower, chopped into small pieces

1 cup shredded cheddar + extra for topping (sharp, mild, Colby, Wisconsin, whatever you like)

Parsley, chopped

Hot sauce

Heat a medium to large soup or dutch oven pot over medium heat with the oil. Throw in your bacon and let it cook until crispy. Take the bacon out with a slotted spoon onto a paper napkin and leave the fat in the pot.  Add the garlic and onion and cook until softened and fragrant.  

Add butter, and melt. Add flour, and whisk/mix until it turns a light blonde and smells nutty. This is your roux! Cook for about 2 minutes.

Slowly add in your stock, milk, and heavy cream and whisk to break up the roux clumps, if any. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer.

Season with salt and pepper, tasting to make sure it is to your liking. Add cauliflower and broccoli, simmering until the veggies are tender.  Turn the heat off, taste for seasoning. Add in cheese and stir until melted and combined.

Pour soup into bowls, top with bacon, parsley, and a few dashes of hot sauce.  

Enjoy!

Lobster Mac N' Cheese

I would like to wish my Muslim readers a very joyous and blessed Eid Mubarak!  I hope that these last 30 days of Ramadan brought peace, granted prayers, community, and perspective to your lives.

Now as we go back to our eating throughout the day lives, I bring for you as an Eid gift, lobster macaroni and cheese. You're welcome.

Disclaimer: It's not healthy.  It's an indulgent, rich, little ginormous bowl of happiness with three kinds of cheese, butter, and lobster.

I was feeling kind of fancy, and I was also fasting, so naturally, I was like, lobster mac n' cheese. Ha, just kidding. I don't even really like lobster! So to say this craving was random, is an understatement.  Lobster is amazing with cheese by the way, even if mixing seafood with cheese is a foodie faux pas.

I figured since I haven't eaten even a quarter of my daily calorie intake since 5am, we could have this for dinner.  This is my logic when I am not eating all day.

To make dinner even more extravagant for a Thursday night, we had it with steak. Sometimes we just have to celebrate a regular ho-hum day with a special meal.

This dish takes some love and good (aka slightly expensive) ingredients.  Please don't use the blue box and add lobster.  It would be blasphemous. Also, if you can find it, use the mini bow tie. Just makes it even FANCIER.  To help with cost, try to grab lobster tails when they are on sale and get the cheese from the deli if they have it available.  You can just ask for a nice chunk that you can take home and shred instead of buying a whole block of cheese for $8-$10 in the refrigerated section of the store.  I even had quite a bit of cheese left from all 3 after I used what I needed. So cheesy omelettes are coming my way for breakfast!

You can have still have champagne tastes on a  beer water budget!

Lobster Mac N' Cheese

serves 2-4
3/4 pound noodle of choice (mini bow tie was mine)
2 cooked lobster tails, chopped into pieces
4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups 2% milk
1/2 cup Gruyere, shredded (I used smoked)
1/2 cup Wisconsin Medium Cheddar, shredded
1/2 cup Fontina, shredded
Cayenne
Red Pepper Flakes
Garlic Powder
Sea Salt
Black Pepper
1/4 cup Panko bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook noodles in boiling water until al-dente and drain.

Meanwhile, in a small pot, heat up milk.  DO NOT BOIL! Just get it really hot.

To make the cheese sauce, heat butter in a medium sauce pan on medium heat. Once melted, add flour and whisk until the flour smells nutty and is light brown in color.

Slowly whisk in the hot milk until it's thick and smooth. Now this is important! Remove the pot from the heat and let it sit for 30 seconds.  Add ALL the amazing cheese in small batches, stirring in between to make a smooth sauce.  Add the seasonings to your liking and taste. I would drink this with a straw if I could...

Pour the sauce over the cooked and drained noodles and combine.  Stir in lobster pieces.  Throw this beautiful sight into a baking dish, sprinkle the panko crumbs all over the top and stick in the oven until you see the cheese bubbling. Mmmmmm bubbly cheese...should take about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Creamy Dreamy Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

This post is dedicated to my husband, who will always be a lover of chicken alfredo from Olive Garden.

Before trendy, farm-to-table, let me milk this cow in our backyard farm for your cream sauce, hipster restaurants were the norm, chain restaurants reigned king.  The Olive Gardens and Outback Steakhouses of our childhood have a special place in our hearts, and sometimes you just want the comfort of hot garlic breadsticks and the brown bread, or creamy alfredo sauce that can only be found in these family friendly restaurants.

Although, I no longer frequent the chains as often as I did growing up, sometimes I just want a fresh basket of cheddar bay biscuits.  Who can't eat a whole basket of these gems?

Every year, husband picks a couple dinners for me to make during his birthday week, and every year, it is the same two things, pot roast and chicken alfredo.  So instead of taking him to Luby's or Olive Garden, I make these things for him from scratch. I am realizing that as I type this, I have a spoiled husband with no fault but my own...I love to cook, and he loves to eat. In my eyes, it's a win-win.

I suggest you make this chicken alfredo on a night where you just want to stay at home in your pajamas and make something special for yourself, instead of going out. Do not attempt to make this a healthy recipe by using the cauliflower recipe. I repeat, don't use the cauliflower alfredo recipe. Pinterest may make it look pretty, but the picture is deceiving.  Unless of course, you like a gritty texture cream sauce, then by all means...

Creamy Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

serves 4
2 large cooked and seasoned chicken breasts, butterflied and sliced
1 cup raw broccoli florets, chopped
4 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
black pepper
sea salt
chopped parsley
16 oz fettuccine noodles

Cook your fettuccine according to package instructions until al-dente.  Once drained, toss with a little olive oil.

As fettuccine is cooking, heat a saucepan over medium heat and melt butter. Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes.  Cook until the garlic is fragrant and not burning.  Slowly add heavy cream and milk.  Heat through.  Add parmesan cheese and whisk until cheese has melted and sauce is smooth. Add lots of black pepper and just a dash of salt to taste.

Add sliced chicken, broccoli and parsley to the sauce. Let all of this heat through and come in harmony, and then toss with your cooked fettuccine!

Enjoy!