Spicy Baked Macaroni

Before Josh and I (plus Ben) started watching election coverage, I made Spicy Baked Macaroni, from the Giada de Laurentiis cookbook "Everyday Pasta".

It is not anything like Macaroni and Cheese. I used whole wheat rotini instead of macaroni, and liked the hearty taste when it was coupled with the spinach, tomatoes and mushrooms.

The leftovers will be great for making a frittata - if they last!

Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars

Continuing to empty my pantry, I used up the rest of the dried cranberries making Cranberry-Oatmeal Bars from the current Cooking Light issue. The ingredients were those that are always around our house, and it was very easy to put together.

I didn't measure everything exactly, as I was working to get the bars in the oven before Ben would wake up (which he did, not long after the mixture was placed in the oven!). I also tried adding mini chocolate chips to the top of the bar on half of the mixture.

One thing is for sure - the bars make the house smell great! I prefer the bars with the chocolate chips. This is a good recipe, but probably not one I'd go out of my way to make again.

"Cleaning Out the Pantry" Casserole

Tonight I was looking for a dinner that would meet three objectives:
1. Use up items in our pantry
2. Be filling (an uncooked burger at a restaurant this afternoon - yuck! - meant I had not eaten a full meal all day)
3. Be fast (Ben behaved well during our trips out today, but is quite cranky tonight)

Using the following ingredients, I put together something that even Josh liked (he's never a fan of casseroles, but does usually like them once he tastes them). It's based off of a recipe that my mother-in-law made for us during Ben's first week.

"Cleaning Out the Pantry" Casserole

Ingredients

• Half of a rotisserie chicken (meat only, cut into smaller pieces)
• One can of cream of chicken
• Sour Cream (About 2-3 tablespoons)
  
• Cheddar Cheese (1 handful)
  
• Italian Seasoning
  
• 8 oz. of Dried Linguine Pasta
• Salt
• Pepper
• Garlic (Approx. 2 cloves, minced)
• Onion Powder
• 1 package of frozen mixed vegetables
  
• Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)
  
• Cooking Spray

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
   
2. Cook the pasta and prepare the frozen mixed vegetables per the package instructions.
3. Add the chicken, cream of chicken, sour cream, pasta, garlic, seasonings and vegetables into a casserole dish. Combine ingredients.
4. Spread a thin layer of Panko on top, followed by a light dash of cooking spray for a crispy top.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
   

The next time, I will add mushrooms since Josh and I like the flavor they provide.

Pumpkin-Nut Bread

Unfortunately our three bags of candy for Halloween were not sufficient. We had to turn out the front entry light early so that we wouldn't disappoint any trick-or-treaters.

That also means I couldn't use any of the leftover Halloween candy recipes. Luckily, I at least had some canned pumpkin in the pantry from early this year (or maybe late last year...). The 2007 Holiday Baking issue of Cook's Illustrated had a recipe for Pumpkin-Nut Bread, which I had planned on making.

Many months later, I finally did - and even Josh liked it! I used walnuts as the nuts in the recipe (which calls for pecans or walnuts) and didn't use any dried cranberries (only because they were optional, and there is another recipe I want to try that would use up my supply.



We are slowly, but surely, emptying our pantry shelves before the holiday season!

Got Halloween Candy Leftovers?

I know that I'm tempted to make some of these recipes if we have leftover Halloween candy: (from NPR) Grown-Up Tricks for Treats

Happy Halloween!

Early Voting - 2008 Election

Here Ben is thinking, "My parents voted early - will you?"



This is the day that we took him with us as we cast our votes for the election!