HAMBURGER MACARONI

 We had some dear friends move back into the neighborhood and as a welcome back I made hamburger macaroni for them.  It was an easy meal for them to reheat and it was a huge hit with all five kids (yes I said FIVE! kids!).  I love it because it is a wiz to put together and it tastes yummy!

I start by boiling the noodles just shy of al dente as they will bake in the oven with the sauce for a bit.  I then dice one onion, one green pepper and a couple of cloves of garlic.  I saute them over medium to medium high heat in a little olive oil.

After they have softened up I add the ground beef and kick up the heat to be able to brown the ground beef, for this big batch I used 2 pounds of beef.

I did take advantage of a large 28 oz of tomatoes with herbs already included.

You may have to add a second can if the mixture isn't moist enough, which I did.  

Next add in the macaroni and stir together.

 

Once mixed I put it all in a large disposable lasagne pan. And topped with a lot of grated cheddar cheese.

Bake it at 350 for about 30-40 minutes or until hot and bubbly.  Coming up tomorrow will be French onion soup and rabbit.  Eat Well Friends!

 

PARMESAN CRUSTED FLOUNDER WITH RICE

 

I was able to find a nice flounder filet and decided to crust it in Parmesan and potato flakes.  Now for a side dish I always have trouble because the hubs does not like a lot of veggies!  ARGH!!  I opted for rice and pieces of mushroom big enough that he could pick them out.  First up is the rice...

I got the rice started in my rice cooker and moved on to the enhancements.  First I sauteed some shallots until soft and slightly caramelized.

Next went in the mushrooms...and then it was a matter of mixing the three together, super easy.

The flounder was just as easy as the rice.  I started with my dredging station.

  

I dredged from right to left, first is flour, salt and pepper, next is eggs and some Dijon mustard and lastly is the Parmesan and potato flakes.  I must have been in a bit of a funk that night as I have no pictures of the flounder being pan seared.  Any hoo, take you flounder filet and cut it into portions, dredge in the flour, the egg and then the mixed together potato mix.  Pan sear for 4-5 minutes on each side and dinner is served.

I did add a butter and herb sauce on top after I seared the fish.  A little garlic, lemon zest, basil and parsley.  Again I was in a funk and didn't get a good picture of the sauce.

See, told ya so!  haha  Eat Well Friends!

I HAVE RETURNED

 

It is time to catch up on some of the cooking and a bit of baking since I was last here.  I have been having a blast going through my new cookbook.  We've also made an improvement to the kitchen, a new sink and faucet, who in their infinite wisdom decided that black was a good color for kitchen appliances?  Here is the new baby...

I've also signed up for a Culinary box from Quarterly and my first box was from Andrew Zimmern.  It's been fun experimenting with the different foods.

 I've gotten the garden in and will post pics of that on the garden page later.  Now for all the food I have made since I was here last...I will be putting a couple a day up so as not to bombard you with everything, plus I need to remember what the actual recipe was that I used! LOL  Enjoy the updates. Eat well friends.