Fiery Mac & Cheese

Yummy, delicious and a little bit of heat makes this the perfect side dish to a big juicy steak!  This delicious recipie is easy to make and tastes like you spent hours working on it.

What You Need:

1 2/3 cups elbow noodles (cooked and drained)

4-5 seeded and diced jalapenos (I've also used 1-3 habaneros depending on the heat)

2 Tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp dry mustard

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 can Nestle Carnation Evaporated Milk

1 cup water

2 Tbsp butter

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

In a small saute pan, add canola oil and diced jalapenos.  Saute until soft and set aside.  

In a large pot, mix the cornstarch, salt, dry mustard, and pepper.  Whisk in the evaporated milk, water and butter.  

Cook, stiring consantly until the mixture comes to a boil for one minute.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese and the sauted jalapenos.  

Stir in the cooked noodles and pour into the greased casserole dish.  

Top with remaining shredded cheese and a few jalapenos for decorations.

Bake for 20-30 minutes and enjoy!  The leftovers heat up really well the next day too!

Ninja Roast Beef

This was the most tasty roast beef I have ever made. Ask my husband, there was a really bad one when we were first dating that will never happen again. This is easy and delicious. 

Ingredients:

1 3-5 pound rump roast

Salt, pepper and rosemary to taste

1 carton of low sodium beef broth

3 cups water

Using the ninja and seasoned the beef with salt, pepper and rosemary then seared all sides  in the Ninja in Stovetop High setting. After browning all sides, place the roasting rack into the Ninja and set it to Oven 325 degrees. Pour in the water and broth. Place the beef into rack and cover. Cook for 1 hour 20 minutes or until the level of doneness is reached. 

Afterwards, remove the roast with its rack and cover with foil. I turn the Ninja back to Stovetop High and thicken the remaining broth. Enjoy!

Jalapeños

Canned and ready to sit (please ignore all my other junk!)

Two posts in two days!  You guys are some lucky readers. I love, love, love jalapeños pickled for my nachos. Nothing quite like the vinegary, spicy tang these babies pop. If you love these as much as I do, give this quick and easy recipe a try. I can't stress enough that you will need to make sure to wash and sterilize your jars. 

Sterilizing Canning Jars

Wash all jars, rings and lids with hot soapy water. I dry my jars in my oven at 250 degrees. I just fill my cake pan with my jars for easy removal from the oven. Dry the metal rings thoroughly. The metal lids I out in a small pot with lightly simmering water on my stove. Just remove them as needed. 

Slice up all your jalapeños and pack them into your clean jars. Set aside. 

Next mix 1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup water, 4 TBSP canning salt, 2 TBSP sugar, and 2 cloves of garlic. Bring to a boil and stir until all the sugar and salt are dissolved. 

Pour the hot mixture into jar and seal immediately. Process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes. 

Garden Fresh Tomato Soup

Tomato season and the question plaguing my mind is what to do with all that deliciousness.  Thanks to the recipe my mother in law sent, I have a delicious, never eat Campbell's soup again treat. 

What you need:

Tomatoes (chop them up, don't peel or anything else)

1 onion

1 carton low sodium chicken broth

Garlic salt

2 cans Rotel Tomatos with Chilies

2 tsp butter

2 tsp flour

Balsamic Vinegar

Sugar

Tools Needed:

Large Soup Pot

Skillet

Blender or Stick Immersion Blender 

Fill your soup pot with about 12 cups of chopped tomatoes. I really didn't measure, just chopped until it was full. Add a chopped onion and half the box of chicken broth.  I let the tomatoes cook down for about 30 minutes. At this point you could transfer to a blender or food processor but I'm all for minimum clean up. I used my handy immersion blender to purée EVERYTHING (seeds included) right into the pot. 

Next I mixed up a roux to thicken the soup. In a small skillet, melt the butter and then whisk in the flour. Let it start to get bubbly. Then take one ladle of tomato soup purée and add to skillet while still whisking. When it's fully incorporated, add another ladle of purée and follow the same procedures. 

Next, begin whisking this into the pot of tomato purée. Once it is all incorporated, stir in approximately 3 TBSP of basaltic vinegar and 3 TBSP of sugar. Enjoy!