Sunday, February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day!

A year ago tonight was the last time Chris and I ate in a restaurant. It was Rocco's and I wish we could have been there tonight. 

For Valentine's Day, I did prep work. Lent starts on Wednesday and one of our go-to meals on Friday nights during Lent is Fettuccini Alfredo. And of course, we have to make it with homemade pasta.



I now have 2 packages of pasta in the freezer!

Next, I made Mac and Cheese Balls for the Air Fryer. I am ashamed to say that I have never made Mac and Cheese from scratch. You know like Krafts or Annies. What the hell is wrong with me. It is so freaking easy. All the years we have been eating processed mac and cheese. I will go stand in the corner.


Here is the recipe I used for the Mac and Cheese -

Ingredients-
1 (8 ounces) box elbow macaroni
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour 

½ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste

2 cups milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Method-
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour, salt, and pepper until smooth, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour milk into butter-flour mixture while continuously stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese to the milk mixture and stir until cheese is melted 2 to 4 minutes.

Fold the macaroni into cheese sauce until coated.





Now for the Mac and Cheese Balls, this is what I did -

I chilled the Mac and Cheese in the fridge.

After it was chilled I used a tablespoon and shaped each tablespoon into balls.

I mixed 3 eggs with 3 tbsps of milk in a bowl.

In another bowl, I mixed 1 cup of panko bread crumbs with a tsp of salt and a tsp of paprika. 

Next, I placed each of the mac and cheese balls in the egg and milk mixture, coating the entire ball, then add to the panko mixture, then add to a lined parchment paper cookie sheet.

Place in the freezer and freeze for 30 minutes.

When it is time to bake, or air fry I will do that by setting the Air Fryer at 360 degrees. I will place the mac and cheese balls into the air fryer basket in a single layer, making sure they don’t touch. Air fry for 8-10 minutes until light and golden on the outside. Remove, serve, and enjoy.


No comments: