Meatless Mondays, Holidays, etc.

I was reading this article today and it got me to thinking about all those wonderful side dishes we have for holidays.  In fact, last year the BF and I seriously debated not having turkey this year at Thanksgiving.  The cornbread dressing, brussels sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, and other goodies were so wonderful that honestly the turkey was just kind of that-thing-you-have-to-cook.  Then we decided that we definitely wanted the turkey for sandwiches the day after, so we nixed ditching the turkey all together.

However, I think our favorite meatless side dish has to be the roasted brussels sprouts.  I buy them fresh and halve the medium-sized ones (walnut sized) and then quarter any bigger than that.  I toss them in olive oil and sea salt and then roast them on a pan for about 20 minutes at 425.  It could take longer than 20 minutes...but I keep them in there until they start to get crispy.  Even if you hated brussels sprouts when you were younger, I encourage you to try this, or some variation perhaps with broccoli or cauliflower.

While our Thanksgiving will not be meatless, we do have meatless meals quite often.  Some of our favorites are various veggie pizzas--mushroom and artichoke, pesto and roasted tomato, and one with goat cheese, walnut pesto, and artichokes made by our favorite pizza place.  Pizza is SO easy to make great and vegetarian at the same time!  You never even miss the meat!

Risottos are also a great way to skip the meat.  They are so hearty and warm and cozy on their own!  Yes, risotto takes a little effort, but it's not particularly hard--it's just time consuming.  Still, since all you really have to do for the most part is stir and add broth, stir and add broth, repeat...it's pretty mindless.  Here is a great butternut squash risotto recipe courtesy of the Food Network.  Butternut squash is slightly sweet and while fresh is best, using the frozen butternut squash does make this much simpler.  But this recipe, a salad, and some french bread will fill you up in no time!

Of course, a last way to have a meatless meal is just to make a fabulous pot of potato soup.  What are your favorite "meatless" meals or side dishes?

Mac-N-Cheese perfection

For years I have been trying to perfect my homemade macaroni and cheese.  Often it was much easier to just stick with the old standby:  Kraft.  But since I am trying to stay away from more processed foods, I really wanted to work on homemade mac and cheese with sharp cheddar cheese sauce.   About a month ago I followed Alton Brown's recipe and that was pretty good; it seemed a little dry, but I liked the mix of ingredients.  Tonight I followed my instincts and came up with something like this:

I boiled about half a box of rigatoni pasta (it captures the sauce really well).  While that was working I melted 2 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan and added 2 tbsp of flour.  I cooked that for a few minutes and then added a full tbsp of dijon mustard (if using yellow mustard maybe use 1/2 a tbsp).  After whisking that around I poured in probably 2.5 cups of 2% milk.  (I say probably because I am honestly not sure.  I know it was at least 2 cups.  I added some crushed red pepper (just a sprinkle) and some cracked black pepper.  I let it barely barely come to a boil--as soon as I saw movement I took it off the heat--and added 1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese and about 1/4 cup of swiss cheese.  I whisked it in and then added about 1 tsp salt (to taste).  This sat until the pasta was ready.  I drained the pasta, mixed the two together and then in a separate bowl beat 1 egg.  I mixed a little of the cheese sauce in with the egg and then poured it back in with the pasta and cheese mix. 

I poured all of this into a greased 9" cast iron skillet.  I topped this with a mixture of 1 tbsp oil with 1/4 cup breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese (or enough crumbs and cheese to still be moist, but not wet when mixed with the oil). 

FINALLY I baked the mac and cheese for about 20 minutes at 425--until everything was brown and bubbly.  This was the best mac and cheese I've ever made!  So good in fact that I went back for seconds...