Don't Side-Step the Side-Dish part 2

With the complete craziness of my life right now, I slowed down a bit on my blogging.  But I'm BACK!

So let's talk some more about side dishes and veggies!  Not everything I make is a casserole or a mixed dish.  Some nights, I'll cook up some pork chops (future blog!) or a little sausage and then focus more on the sides.  Like the homemade mac-n-cheese I made for my mini-guest, I have quite a few pasta ideas (future blog!) and I love thinking up new ways to present my veggies.

One of my favorite vegetables of all time...CARROTS!  I love carrots!  I almost don't even care how you cook 'em...I could eat them all day long.  But I don't...because then my skin would turn orange. Yuck!

As much as I love carrots, I also adore potatoes!  Yes...My name is Stephanie...and I'm a carb-oholic.  I can't get around it.  I just love 'em.

One of my favorite ways to cook both the carrots and potatoes is roasting them.  I've done some roasting of my veggies for a while.  But last year, after doing a little research from different Super Chefs, I developed a little technique of my own.  And I'm going to share it with you!  Aren't you excited?

Your ingredients are very simple:  Potatoes, carrots, olive oil, and kosher salt.  That's it!  Use however many potatoes and carrots that you'll need for your family.  I typically do four or five potatoes and six or seven carrots for mine.  I'd do more carrots with more time, just because these get eaten fast!

First...pre-heat your oven to 405 degrees.  Not 400.  Not 410.  Just 405.  Don't know why this worked best, but it did.  Now prep your pans.  You'll need two baking sheets.  One for each.  Line them with foil and then spray them with non-stick spray.  They make it in olive oil flavored spray...so if you've got that use it.  This will keep your flavors consistent.  If you don't.  Don't worry about it.  Use what you've got!

Next you'll need two, gallon size freezer bags.  Go ahead and have them open on your counter.  Peel and chop your potatoes and toss them into one of the bags.  Then peel and chop your carrots.  I quarter mine and this helps them cook evenly.

Once you've got them both in their bags, add three tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of kosher salt.  Zip up those bags...and then shake, shake, shake!  But make sure the pink and blue really do make purple on the zipper!  Or your veggies are gonna go flying!  As soon as it looks like they're all coated with the oil and salt, dump them out on their separate baking pans.

Slide the pans in the oven and let them cook for 45 to 55 minutes, depending on how hot your oven runs and how many you've put on each sheet.

As soon as their done, remove them from the oven and let them cool for just a few minutes.  The foil will cool quickly so you can just lift those sheets and slide your veggies into their bowls.

I do have one word of warning...if your family enjoys carrots as much as mine...cook A LOT of carrots.  I made these for our family Christmas dinner this year.  I took them out of the oven and set them aside so that more dinner goodness could go into the oven and they were eaten like candy.  Seriously!  They were so delicious!  There were no carrots left for dinner.  But we sure did enjoy them as a snack.

Don't Side-Step the Side-Dish

A few weeks ago my cousin's little boy, Carter, came for a sleepover with my kiddos.  A wild time was had by all!  But this adorable little imp, makes me smile every time I see him!  He's our little miracle baby, and to see the way he's growing up just makes me happy!  

When we picked him up to bring him home with us, I told him "you can anything you want for dinner!  What can I make for you?"  He only wanted one thing...macaroni and cheese.  That was it.  I really tried to get him to commit to something else.  I offered him spaghetti, meatloaf, fried rice, well...anything!  But mac-n-cheese was it.  And he was sticking to his guns.  So macaroni and cheese is what I'd make!  Anything for sweet Carter!

So often, though, we focus on our main dish and forget about the sides.  Just remember...a side can be super simple and not take away from your main course, but it's an essential part of your total meal.  Sometimes, I make wild and crazy sides.  But usually they're easy and straightforward.  

I decided for Carter's special dinner I'd actually focus on the side dish, and do easy for the rest.  I had a ham steak in the fridge and some frozen broccoli...but the mac-n-cheese was all me!  

For the macaroni and cheese I used 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of butter, 1 package of elbow noodles, 8 to 12 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper (or less), and 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg.

First, while the pasta is cooking, heat your heavy cream and butter in a sauce pan, just until the butter is melted.  You don't want to boil it, so keep the fire low.  I recommend using salted butter for this also, because if you don't, you'll find that you need to add salt.  And that's just not necessary.  Don't forget to salt your noodles while they cook! Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

As soon as the butter is melted, add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  I don't always put 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper, because it can overwhelm the flavor.  But I do like at least a little, so try just a shake first.  Now, start pouring in your shredded cheddar cheese, stirring as you add it.  Most of the time, what I have in the house is actually Colby jack.  But you can use whichever works for your family and taste.  You can use as much cheese as you need, add more if for some reason your sauce looks too thin.  Basically, you can't have too much cheese.  Let this heat on low until it's smooth.  Then after straining your pasta, add the creamy goodness to the pan with the elbow noodles and stir.  You're almost done!

Pour this entire mixture into a 9 by 13 baking dish and sprinkle more cheese on top.  Pop it into the oven and cook just until it bubbles and the cheese on top is perfectly melted.  

I must admit...this particular meal didn't impress my kids.  They'd rather have Kraft (insert forehead slap here).  But Carter loved it! And all of us adults scarfed it down!  

This is so easy, and you can vary it greatly to make just about any other creamy sauce for noodles.  I use a combination of Italian white cheeses and fettuccine noodles to make fettuccine Alfredo.  It's almost fool-proof!

I'll be doing a series on side-dishes.  Let me know if there's something particular you'd like to hear about.  Even if I've not made it...I'm game to try!