Baked Macaroni and Cheese with Vegetables

My husband ordered some new cookbooks and proceeded to identify recipes he liked with a sticky note on the page. One of those recipes was for macaroni and cheese. After reading the recipe, I thought it seemed a little plain. I had seen a couple of different recipes on The Pioneer Woman and had recently watched the Food Network's Super Chef Battle where they made cauliflower cheese. I was motivated to make a combination of mac and cheese with vegetables. Here are the recipes that inspired my dish:

Traditional cauliflower cheese
Pioneer Woman Macaroni & Cheese
PW's Spicy Mac & Cheese

Ingredients
4 cups cooked whole wheat macaroni (1 box)
6 slices of cheese, enough to cover the top while baking
1 sliced leek (about 1 cup)
1 cup diced bell pepper *
1 finely diced jalapeno
1 cup frozen corn
2 to 3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 cups chopped cauliflower
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
1 cup half and half
2 cups fat free milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
1 egg, beaten **
1 pound mozzarella cheese
Black pepper
Optional spices: cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

* I used a mixture of bell and hot peppers from the garden that I had diced and frozen
** Egg compliments of Brown Chicken.

Prepare Pasta and Vegetables1. Bring water to a boil
2. Add the cauliflower and boil for 5 minutes
3. Add the pasta to the boiling water with cauliflower and cook for 5 more minutes. The pasta should be undercooked and a little hard when you bite into it.
4. In a large pot, add olive oil and sauté garlic and remaining vegetables over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then turn off heat. Scoop cooked vegetables back into another dish to free up the pot. I used my dutch oven to saute the vegetables and put them back into the measuring cup when cooked.
5. Drain the pasta/cauliflower and set aside.

Making the Sauce6. Beat the egg separately in a small bowl
7. In the same large pot, melt the butter then sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat and stir constantly for 5 minutes. The Pioneer Woman Macaroni & Cheese recipe has an excellent step by step process on making the roux needed for the sauce.
8. Pour in half and half, milk, and mustard. Then whisk until smooth.
9. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.
10. Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together until smooth.
10. Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly until smooth.
12. Add the mozzarella cheese and stir to melt.
13. Season with black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and thyme to taste. I used about 1 teaspoon of each.
14. Add the pasta/cauliflower and stir to combine.

Bake
15. Pour into a buttered baking dish
16. Place the cheese slices over the top. I used Swiss.
17. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
This was the first time I had made macaroni and cheese from scratch. It was so good that I want to make it again. The spice from the jalapeno and cayenne with just enough to give it flavor without being too hot. I really liked the combination of vegetables, cheese and pasta. Using unsalted butter, mozzarella, and Swiss cheese made the recipe low sodium (which is important at our house).

Whole Wheat Orange Waffles

Last night we bough a waffle maker. This morning I made waffles.

Adapted from the Basic Belgian and Standard Waffles recipe in The No-Salt, Lowest-Sodium Baking Book:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup non-fat milk
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 large egg, separated
1 tablespoon natural sugar

I used Pyrex liquid measuring pitchers to make this recipe. The 1 cup and 4 cup sizes.

1. In the 1 cup pitcher, pour the milk and vinegar. Let sit for ~5 minutes while assembling the other ingredients.
2. Measure out 1 cup of flour in the 4 cup pitcher.
3. Add the olive oil, baking powder, vanilla, and sugar. Mix until smooth.
4. Pour the milk mixture (buttermilk at this point) into the pitcher.
5. Measure out the Orange juice, and pour in as well.
6. Separate the egg, putting the white into the 1 cup pitcher and the yolk into the 4 cup.
7. Beat the egg white then fold into the batter until smooth. The batter is now ready. Feel free to add a little water if it seems too thick.
8. Cook in your waffle maker per the manufacturer's instructions.

I ate my waffles as they came off the iron. The first was a little soft, the 2nd was a little hard. The 3rd and 4th (my husband's) look like they are just about right. I ate mine with some Smart Balance and Pure Maple syrup. They had a very light orange flavor from the juice and they weren't too sweet. I am looking forward to experimenting more with the next batch of waffles.

Deskside Garden

For Christmas I was given this lovely bulb garden. It is a perfect match for the wooden pedestal that I bought but wasn't quite sure how to use. They are sitting next to my desk where I can look over and admire them everyday. I can't wait to see the beautiful Amaryllis flowers.

Garden Journal

Today, I planted our Christmas tree. It is a Lemon Cypress that was purchased in a 1 gallon container from Lowes for $12.99. I planted it near the blueberries so it gets some partial shade. It currently stands about 2.5 feet tall.

I also planted 25 bulbs of the Spectrum Sweet Aroma Daffodil mixture from Brecks. I was sent a coupon for $25 off any purchase, so they were only about $3 out of pocket. The bulbs are in four groups in the middle of the heuchera garden. Some have already started sprouting, probably since I was a little late in planting them.

New Year's Black Eyed Pea Soup

Happy New Year! Even though we don't live in the South, I thought some black eyed pea soup for New Year's Day sounded good.

1 bag dry black eyed peas
3 ribs celery
3 carrots
1 large leek
6 cloves garlic
3-4 tablespoons Italian Seasoning
1 tablespoon roasted garlic bits
2 packets sodium free Chicken broth flavoring
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 inch piece fresh ginger
2 bay leaves
1 whole Jalapeño
28 ounces of no salt added tomatoes
1 bunch Swiss chard (about 6 large leaves)
olive oil

1. Rinse and soak peas overnight
2. Slice the celery, carrots, and the leek then place into the soup pot. I used a 6 quart dutch oven.
3. Saute the vegetables in some olive oil for about 10 minutes until softened
4. Peel and slice the garlic (you can see the size of the pieces in the photo) then add to the pot
5. Cook for a few more minutes then add enough water to fill half the pot
6. Add the Italian seasoning, roasted garlic, chicken broth packets, and ground ginger
7. Grate the fresh ginger as much as possible before you grate your fingers. Add the piece to the pot. I used my new Microplane zester. It was easy to get the ground ginger off by pouring a little water over the zester into the pot.
8. Toss in the whole Jalapeño and the bay leaves
9. Cook the soup over low heat for 2-3 hours until the peas are soft.
10. Slice the chard into 1 inch wide pieces and add to the cooked soup. This chard is one of the few vegetables that we harvested from our Winter garden (most of the seeds didn't germinate).
11. Add the canned tomatoes last.

We enjoyed this hearty soup for lunch and dinner with some crackers on the side. Adding some freshly ground black pepper also enhanced the flavor.