Cheddar cheese

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Kathy’s Broccoli Salad

Every year we all look forward to the company BBQ at Bruce’s  good food, drinks and company. Horseshoes was replaced by a similar game that you toss bean bags and instead of a pole it’s a hole. Stewart’s kids make a beeline for the pool while the rest of us watch and chat. I loved when Stewart’s youngest son tried the dark chocolate coated ice cream, “ DISGUSTING” as he handed it to his mother, his face must have resembled mine at that age the first time I tasted semisweet cooking chocolate, not what I expected. Anyway, Bruce’s wife Kathy made the best broccoli salad I have ever had, it disappeared very quickly.

Thanks Kathy’s this was great!!

She said that she does not follow the amounts exactly and to me that is what cooking is all about tweaking to your likes.

brocolli salad

Salad

  • 1 lb of bacon – cooked and broken into pieces
  • Broccoli maybe 1 to 2 heads
  • 12 oZ white cheddar cheese- shreddedDressing¾ cup sugar

Blend in blender

  • Add to all other ingredients ½ hour before serving
  • 4 TBSP Cider Vinegar
  • 2 cups Mayo

Blend in blender

Add to all other ingredients ½ hour before serving

 

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Ridley Believe it or not Nachos
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Ridley Believe it or not Nachos

Growing up my son Mike’s specialty was nacho’s he always threw together the best nacho’s ever. When it hit the table we just dove in like a fumble recovery. So I present my version of his Nachos for NEpatriotslife.com game day recipe. I do him no justice.

Did you know Howard Cosell made a huge impact on nachos acceptance to the mainstream!

Do you know who Howard is?

 Ingredients:

  • 1 pound ground beef, chicken or turkey
  • 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 (18 ounce) package restaurant-style tortilla chips
  • 1 cup shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese, or more to taste
  • 1 (15.5 ounce) can refried beans
  • 1 cup salsa
  • 1 cup sour cream, or more to taste
  • 1 (10 ounce) can pitted black olives, drained and chopped
  • 4 scullion onions, sliced thin
  • 1 (4 ounce) can sliced jalapeno peppers, drained

How:

Cook and stir ground beef or whatever- if chicken or turkey add a little olive oil to brown,in a skillet over medium heat until meat is crumbly and no longer pink, 5 to 10 minutes. Drain excess grease. Stir in taco seasoning mix and water and simmer until beef mixture has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Set the oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Spread tortilla chips on the prepared baking sheet; top with Cheddar cheese and dot with refried beans and ground beef mixture.

Broil in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, watching carefully to prevent burning, 3 to 5 minutes.

Top nachos with salsa, sour cream, black olives, green onions, and jalapeno peppers

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Howard Cosell: Nachos ultimate champion!!

Now here is where the story gets even better. The tasty snack becomes a specialty in many restaurants in Southern Texas but is virtually unknown anywhere else on the planet. That is until a gentleman by the name of Frank Liberto decided to try to sell the stuff as a concession stand item! He changed up the recipe by reformulating the cheese to be soft all the time and using simple tortilla chips. He began to sell his new version of nachos in 1977 in Arlington Stadium in Arlington Texas. but what really made the concept take off was a visit by “Monday Night Football” later that year. Before the game started they were offering the product in the reception area where Howard Cosell took a liking to the name. That night and for weeks after, Cosell and the rest of the “Monday Night Football” team worked the word nacho and the product itself in wherever they could! From there on out nachos quickly grew into the massive force they are today!!

Mexican Lasagna Recipe
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Mexican Lasagna Recipe

Still on the fend for myself diet, but I am proud of Lyn she is sticking to her strict diet the woman has will power. After all she has to avoid my cooking most of the time that is hard to do. So I am taking advantage of this whenever I can and trying to stay eating healthy. I think everyone likes TexMex inspired meals so when I saw this on Pinterest I grabbed it and decided to make it as healthy as I could so white turkey breast, organic black beans and corn but I refused to use low-fat cheese it just does not melt right ya know what I mean? BTW she was right this was a great meal.

Anyway after making this I believe adding fresh chopped cilantro to the mixture after cooking just before spreading it in the baking dish would add a nice addition.

I just copied her recipe below except I used turkey.

Ingredients:

  • 3 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 pounds ground turkey breast
  • 2 Tablespoons chili powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 cup taco sauce
  • 1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn
  • salt
  • 8 (8 inch) soft corn or flour tortillas
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
  • sliced black olives for topping
  • low-fat sour cream for topping

 

How:

1.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2.  Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 Tablespoons of the olive oil to the skillet.

3.  Add ground turkey and season with chili powder and cumin. Brown the meat (about 5 minutes).

4.  Add taco sauce, black beans and corn. Heat the mixture through then season with salt to taste.

5.  Coat a shallow baking dish with remaining Tablespoon of olive oil.

6. Cut the tortillas in quarters for easy layering.

7. Start with a layer of the meat mixture, then layer with tortillas and then cheese.Repeat for a second layer, ending with cheese.

8. Bake lasagna 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is slightly browned.

9. Remove from oven, top with sliced black olives and serve.

   

Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie.
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Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie.

Continuing theme a night dinner plan it was vegetarian night again. We have fallen very nicely into the flow and I don’t have to peek at the calendar as much to figure out what tonight brings theme wise.

We love the taste of spinach and cheese but can’t say that I have tried this combination. The best thing was that I came home from work and the house smelled soooooo good. Lyn worked from home and had everything ready for me including a nice glass of wine with cheese and crackers. How lucky am I!

 Ingredients

  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 10 oz. package frozen chopped spinach, thawed , and squeezed dry
  • 3 cups cooked brown rice (small grain)
  • 1 cup diced extra sharp cheddar cheese
  • ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 4 large eggs
  • ¼ cup nonfat milk (we use lactose free)
  • 1 roasted red pepper cut in strips

How

Make sure your wife is working from home 🙂

Preheat the oven to 4250. Generously coat a 9 inch pie pan with cooking spray.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat.

Add Onion and cook. Stirring frequently until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a large bowl. Add rice, cheese, pepper and salt to the bowl and stir to combine.

Note: We thought after that some red-hot pepper flakes would be a nice touch if you wanted a little more heat.

Whisk eggs and milk in medium bowl then stir in rice mixture. Transfer to the pie pan and smooth the top with a spatula and arrange the roasted red pepper on top.

Bake the pie until lightly browned in spots about 25 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into wedges.

Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie   Spinach, Cheddar and Rice Pie

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Potato, Canadian bacon, and Spinach Frittata

Eggs for dinner are great and I don’t mean scrambled you got to make a meal of it something that will fill you up. We had been running around all day first time in about 2 weeks that we could spend time on us and we got home from restocking our wine cellar, actually it’s a shelf. I looked at Lyn and she looked at me and she said do you think you could make something like this as she fluttered her eyes, I’m just a sucker for those eyes. I took a look, thought about what I had on hand and soon after we had Potato, Canadian bacon, and Spinach Frittata

Took about 15 minutes prep time and 15 minutes cooking.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil split 2 for cooking 1 for dressing
  • 2 small russet potatoes (about 3/4 pound), peeled and thinly sliced
  • The whites and some greens of 6-8 scullions sliced thin
  • 9 large eggs
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • About 10-ounce frozen chopped spinach (you could thaw and drain of excess water but I did not I was hungry)
  • 4 ounces white Cheddar, grated ( about 1 cup)
  • 6 -8 slices of Canadian bacon cut in quarters or eights.

 Dressing

  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 head red leaf lettuce, torn into bite-size pieces (6 cups)

How

Heat oven to 400° F. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large oven proof nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the potatoes and scallions and cook, tossing occasionally, until the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the spinach, Cheddar, and ham. (Make sure you break up the spinach so no chunks)

Add the egg mixture to the skillet, shake the pan to settle, and transfer the skillet to oven. Cook until the eggs are set, 12 to 15 minutes.

While that is cooking make your vinaigrette in a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, the remaining tablespoon of oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Add the lettuce and toss to coat. Serve with the frittata. If you want to make it spicy try Trader Joe’s Dijon mustard makes Chinese mustard seem mild.

       whoops forgot to take picture in pan  

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Baked Macaroni & Cheese

I loved Mac & Cheese since I was a kid. I can remember in my teens making the Kraft boxed and thinking I was a great chef mixing powered cheese(?) with the freshly boiled tiny little elbow macaroni’s and milk or water. I graduated to the deluxe version that had the cheese(?) as sauce in the can. I was in Mac & Cheese heaven watching Bruin’s hockey a devouring a whole box. It was not until I was transferred to Dallas with 20th Century Fox that I met Paul and Clair who introduced me to Mac & Cheese made from scratch and real chesses. I was sold.

This time I made it with white cheddar and America cheeses, but normally I like a sharp orange cedar cheese. You can use many kinds of cheeses which I have, so experiment. I have found at least to my liking that cheeses that get stringy when melted (i.e. mozzarella) do work but everyone has different taste and who am I to say…..

Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

  • 1 pound penne, elbow or cavatappi (corkscrew) macaroni.
  • 1/3 cup whole wheat flour.
  • 4 cups milk, heated.
  • 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese.
  • 2 cups finely chopped American cheese.
    • Remember you can use more or all cheddar if you want.
  • Salt and pepper to taste.
  • Tabasco or hot pepper sauce.
  • ¼ freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

How

In a large pot bring lightly salted water to boil and cook macaroni and cook aldente. Drain well.

Preheat the oven to 350◦ with rack in center. Butter 13”x 9” baking dish, alternatively use a deep 4 quart casserole.

Melt the butter in medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Slowly whisk in the milk. Bring to simmer, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup each of Cheddar and American cheese. Season with salt, pepper and tabasco sauce.

Combine the rest of the Cheddar and American cheese. Spread ½ of the macaroni on the bottom of baking dish. Sprinkle with slight more than half the combined cheeses and then ½ the sauce. Add the remaining of the macaroni top with the cheese and then sauce. Now sprinkle the graded parmesan cheese over the top. If using the 4 quart casserole 1/3 of macaroni, ½ of combined cheeses, 1/3 of the sauce. Repeat with another 1/3 of macaroni and remaining cheese and ½ the sauce.  Finish with the removing macaroni and sauce and then sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese. I prefer the baking dish it is easier to make single servings and you can freeze these for a quick, meal or side. (Add a little water when re-heating in microwave.

Bake until bubbly and golden brown around the edges. About 30 minutes.