deesdeliciousdinners.com

The holiday season is here and that means busy days and nights. If you’re looking for quick and easy dinners, stop right here. Three entrees that depend on cheese, fill the bill to fill your family’s tummy. The first is cheesy broccoli and rice. Even children who don’t like broccoli like this dish. The second is a spicy enchilada casserole and the third a gourmet take on mac and cheese. All three dishes are vegetarian which means they save you money. Start off with a preparing a silky cheese sauce in one of your sturdy saucepans

Combine 1 cup of whole milk with 1 tablespoon of flour until smooth. Heat in the saucepan until the sauce bubbles and thickens. Add 1/2 cup of your favorite shredded cheese. You’ll need one cup of this sauce for every two servings. Since the ingredients below make dishes that serve four, make 2 cups.

Cheesy Broccoli
Cook 2 cups of broccoli in the microwave until it’s softened but still crisp. The broccoli will finish cooking in the oven. Combine with 2 cups of cooked rice. Or use instant rice with water as the directions specify. Add 2 cups of the cheese sauce. Stir well.

Top with an additional 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Either freeze this in an air tight container for a dinner you only have to bake later or bake in a 350 F oven for 30 minutes until the dish is bubbly and the cheese melted.

Enchilada Casserole
If you can layer you can make this dish. You won’t be using the cheese sauce for this dish. Add 1 teaspoon of cumin and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper to two 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce. Add more cayenne pepper for a hotter kick or add several chopped jalapeno peppers.

Spread 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Layer in five or six corn tortillas. Add another 1/2 cup of sauce and spread over the tortillas.

Slice one medium onion and layer over the tortillas. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded cheese over the onions. Finish with 1/2 cup of sauce and another layer of tortillas. Spread the remaining sauce over the tortillas and sprinkle with another 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Bake 45 minutes in a 350 F oven.

Gourmet Mac and Cheese
Butter the bottom of a casserole dish. Combine 4 cups of cooked macaroni with 2 cups of cheese sauce and 2 cups of frozen defrosted peas. You don’t have to cook the peas. Place in the casserole dish. Cover with a layer of breadcrumbs — about 1 to 1/2 cups and an additional 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Heat at 350 F until the breadcrumbs are brown and the cheese topping melted. This is oh so much better than the boxed stuff.

If going vegetarian isn’t your thing. Add 1 cup of chopped chicken to the rice and broccoli, 1 cup of chopped turkey, cooked ground beef or cooked diced pork to the enchilada casserole and 1 cup of cubed ham to the mac and cheese.

November 30, 2011

Minnesota isn’t known as the culinary capital of the Midwest. Any cuisine that includes lutefisk – salted and dried cod fish cured with lye – has a lot to learn about good food. And for that matter football. However, as much as Packer fans may believe that the game this Monday is a no brainer for a win, keep in mind the Green Bay defense goes out to lunch quite often during game time. The defense needs to stuff the Vikings much like Wisconsinites stuff their beloved bratwurst. This football tailgating menu includes brats boiled in beer then grilled, served with a tangy coleslaw that’s a snap to make and baked potatoes with an assortment of toppings. So let’s get grilling.

Prick the brats with a fork. Place in saucepan. Cover with beer — a beer good enough to drink, not one of those trendy low carb or light beers. We’re talking a lusty lager here. Boil for 10 minutes. Let cool in the pan. Now on to the coleslaw.

Mix an 8 to 12 ounce package of shredded coleslaw with an equal amount of well-drained and rinsed sauerkraut. Sprinkle with a tablespoon each of caraway seeds, celery seeds and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix well. See, that was easy.

Bake the potatoes ahead of time at 400 F until they’re about 10 minutes away from being done. Poke them with a fork. There should be resistance to the fork. Let cool. When you grill the brats put on the potatoes wrapped in foil at the edges of the grill. By the time the brats are done the potatoes will be too. And hopefully by halftime arrives, the Packers have pounded Ponder perfectly pancake flat.

Start the grill for the brats. The fire or temperature if you’re using a gas grill should be medium. The brats are already cooked through. You’re just crisping the skin and turning that grey color into a beautiful dark golden brown.

Serve the brats with mustard, onions, pickles, chutney or whatever other toppings you prefer. Toast split French rolls or hot dog buns.

Set out toppings for the piping hot potatoes of cheese, sour cream, cheese, chili, cheese, scallions, cheese, bacon, cheese, parsley, cheese, tarragon, cheese, sautéed mushrooms, cheese, baby spinach leaves, cheese and salsa. Oh, did I mention cheese?

My prediction for the game? Cheese outplays lutefisk.

November 10, 2011

The Italians have a way to turn pasta into perfection. A fresh tomato sauce bathes pasta accented with peas, basil and sprinkled with a smidge of Parmesan cheese. Chop one medium fully ripe tomato for each serving of pasta. For example if you’re feeding four for dinner, chop four tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and set aside. Cook your choice of pasta until it’s nearly done. Add 1/2 cup frozen peas for each serving of pasta and add to the pasta just a minute or two before you remove from the heat. Strain the pasta and the peas. Chop a handful of basil leaves. Add the chopped tomatoes with their juice and basil leaves to the pasta and peas and toss well. Sprinkle each serving with one tablespoon of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

November 8, 2011