39: Cheddar Quick Bread

Another recipe from Canadian Living's Family Cookbook, Cheddar Quick Bread.

2 cups flour
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 tbsp butter, melted
6 green onions, finely chopped

In bowl, stir together flour, cheese, powder, sugar, and spices.  Whisk together egg, milk and butter; add to dry ingredients along with onions, stirring until combined.  Spread in greased and floured loaf pan.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 40-45 minutes.  Let cool for 10 minutes before turning out of pan.  Serve warm.  Makes 1 loaf.

Recipe 19: Hamburger Strata

This tastes a little like lasagna, and a lot like stuffed french bread (only easier to eat).  If I were paying more attention, I would have doubled this recipe.  Probably a good thing I didn't, since I've been cooking so much I don't need a lot of leftovers.  And my husband is picky, and doesn't like the tomato/cheese combo very often (except on pizza) so the small batch was perfect for me and Cupcake.  If making for a larger group, definitely double and use a 9x12 pan.

Cook:
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion

In an ungreased 10x6x2 dish, layer
1 cup plain croutons
1 7-ounce can whole kernel corn (drained)

Spread the beef on top and then layer:
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup plain croutons

In a separate bowl, mix together:
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Pour the egg mixture over top, cover the dish in foil and bake at 325 for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean.  Let stand for five minutes before serving.

Recipe 1: Macaroni and Cheese

I love macaroni and cheese.  I've made it lots of times, usually with just those two ingredients: macaroni and shredded cheese melted over top.  I know how to make a cheese sauce, and will occasionally, especially when I have some pureed butternut squash to add to it.  So I'm happy to try a new recipe - it's pretty difficult to ruin macaroni and cheese (aside from using powdered "cheese").

Homestyle Macaroni and Cheese from recipegirl.com was pretty dang tasty, but I picked the wrong night to try and make it.  I had a very hungry and whiny girl at my feet the entire time, and I know that something faster would have made us both happier!  I think it was worth the extra time though, and Cupcake enjoyed snacking on some bacon while she waited.  

The cracker and bacon topping was nice, and added some good texture.  (Next time add more bacon, because you can never have too much bacon.)  And adding cream cheese to the cheese sauce was awesome.  It didn't take much to add a nice flavor and it really helped to thicken the sauce.  Even if I don't make the entire casserole again I would make the cheese sauce.  (Instead of the mustard I added a touch of cayenne, garlic, and white pepper.)

EDIT: My husband is not usually a big fan of macaroni and cheese but he had TWO servings of this.  Hooray!  Totally made my day.  Definitely a success.