Kibble Round Up

Just wanted to share two links to absolutely delicious recipes that I've made the past week or so. (Well, links to the recipes and the recipes, just in case the internet eats the original pages.) Because good recipes deserve to be shared! (And life without the mac & cheese recipe would be sad.)

First off, a Potato & Egg Torta from Glutenfreeda.com.

My parents have been supplying us with some of their neighbor's chicken eggs which are truly awesome (and have almost orange yolks!) so I'm sure that contributed to this being so delicious. But still. Yum!

Potato & Egg Torta

Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 7 eggs
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
1. Peel potatoes and cut them into 1/2" slices.
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender but still firm. Drain.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs and season with a little salt.
4. Heat olive oil in an ovenproof, non-stick skillet and add eggs and potatoes. Cook over low heat for 2 minutes. Place pan on middle rack in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, until just set.
5. Invert onto a plate and cut into wedges. Serve immediately.
Servings: 6

I added a bit of garlic (because I add garlic to almost everything) but I think next time I'll add a little more. And maybe some cilantro. But even without those additions, this is tasty. Dan enjoyed putting a bit of hot sauce on it and I thought it was a delightful vehicle for salsa and we both had seconds.

Next up, One Pot Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese from whiteonricecouple.com. Sadly, I have no picture of this one because we ate it too quickly.

Now, in the comments over on the original post for this recipe, some folks say it's too gloopy. I didn't find that at all, but then I'm more of a Kraft Mac & Cheese girl than baked mac & cheese (which I've always found too dry and not cheesy enough), so that might have contributed. Also, I think if you use pre-shredded cheese, it might end up lots thicker because of the cornstarch they coat the cheese in so it won't stick. (As you can guess, I did not use pre-shredded cheese.) So yes, this is thick, but it's thick and creamy, not like eating paste or anything. And it's even good cold!

One Pot, Stove Top Macaroni & Cheese

Ingredients:
- 2 cups elbow Macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb)
- 2 cups Milk, **if more milk is needed, add an additional 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon Butter, or oil, if using cast iron
- 1/2 teaspoon Mustard powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Salt
- dash Nutmeg
- 1 cup Cheese, grated
- black pepper, to taste

Directions:
1. Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain.
2. In medium sauce pan (about 3.5 qt), add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and nutmeg. (If using cast iron, pre-heat oil (instead of butter) first, then add other ingredients.)
3. On medium heat, slowly bring mixture to a simmer, stirring frequently. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly and leaving it unattended will leave a big mess on your stove stop.
4. Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to LOW. Macaroni will slowly cook in the milk. Having your heat too high will evaporate the milk too quickly!
5. Continue to stir the mixture frequently so that macaroni will cook evenly and absorb milk evenly. If you don't stir your mixture frequently, you will get a big clump of macaroni in the end! Stir, stir stir!
6. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed.
**If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water to mixture ( in small amounts) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes.
7. When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the cheese evenly into the macaroni.
8. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes. This rest period will allow macaroni to plump up and absorb any excess milk.
9. Take a final taste and add additional salt to taste. Before serving, stir one final time to mix everything together.
Servings: 4

I did add cayenne to the recipe (because apparently I'm addicted to it) and I probably put in a bit more cheese (maybe a cup and a half total?) which totally was't necessary but still good (and I dislike actually measuring shredded cheese because it gets sticky and mushes together and gets under my nails. So I eyeball. Generously.) I used Tillamook's Mild Cheddar, which was fantastic, but maybe a little saltier than I anticipated so next time I'll cut the salt a bit.

But anyway, this recipe was fantastically easy (I had geared up for something challenging) and I think the fact that I used my cast iron pan helped since it kept the heat even. I will totally be making this again. Actually, I kind of want to make it now. Breakfast anyone?