Dinner Basics: Winter Nights Comfort Food

Monday. Chicken Pot Pie.

Pate Brise
Ingredients -
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch granulated sugar

5-1/2 Tbsp (2/3 stick) sweet butter, chilled

3 Tbsp vegetable shortening, chilled
1/4 cup ice water

Method -
Sift the flour, salt, and sugar together into a bowl; add butter and shortening and cut them into dry ingredients with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture is like a coarse meal.

Sprinkle on and blend in enough of the ice water to make a workable dough, mixing water in lightly with a fork.

Turn dough out onto your work surface and, using the heel of your hand, smear the dough away from you, about 1/4 cup at a time. Scrape up the smeared dough into a ball, wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Chicken Pot Pie from RealSimple.com

Ingredients-
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 carrots, diced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cups 1 percent milk
1 10-ounce package frozen peas
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

Method -
Heat oven to 400° F.
Cook the chicken in a pot of simmering water until cooked through, 10 to 12 minutes; let cool, then shred.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stir-ring, until they begin to soften, 6 to 8 minutes (do not let them darken). Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Add the wine and cook until evaporated, about 5 minutes. Add the milk and simmer until the sauce thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the chicken, peas, thyme, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.
Transfer to a shallow 1 1/2- to 2-quart baking dish.
Lay the crust on top, pressing to seal. Cut several vents in the crust. Place the pot pie on a baking sheet and bake until bubbling and the crust is golden, 30 to 35 minutes.

Tuesday. Mom's Baked Macaroni.

Dinner really does not get easier than this...

Feel free to substitute any cheese you prefer.

The recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Grease Pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break 3 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill a baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley. Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

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Mom's Baked Macaroni

Always delicious.

The recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Grease Pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break and beat 3 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill the baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley. Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
That's all there is to it. 

You can even freeze the baked dish. Just thaw in refrigerator and reheat.

Enjoy!

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Mom's Baked Macaroni

The first day back to work and we have our first freezer meal. Mom's Baked Macaroni. True comfort food.

 

This is the best Baked Macaroni recipe ever!

The Recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni.
Grease Pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and sliced American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break 3 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill the baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley. Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Mom's Baked Macaroni

The best. Just the best Baked Macaroni recipe ever!

The recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Grease Pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break 3 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley. Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Honestly that is the way the recipe was given to me.
It is pretty forgiving. Just boil macaroni and add cheese. I have used what ever cheese I have in the house. Mom used American. It is a good basic recipe you can build to fit your taste.

Good Friday

We end the Season of Lent with a dish I could easily eat once a week year round. My Mom's Baked Macaroni. Pasta, cheese, egg, and milk. The best part is the edges. And I just realized I have a brownie pan with the insert that gives each piece 4 edges. Hmmm, maybe next time.



The recipe -
Boil 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
Grease Pyrex loaf pan.
Alternate layers of macaroni and American cheese starting with the macaroni.
Break 2 eggs and pour over macaroni. Fill baking dish with milk to almost cover macaroni.
Top with bread crumbs, and parsley. Bake 350 degrees until set, usually about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Honestly, that is the way the recipe was given to me.
It is pretty forgiving. Just boil macaroni and add cheese. I have used whatever cheese I have in the house. Mom used American. It is a good basic recipe you can build to fit your taste.

Baked Macaroni x 3

x 3? Yes. Three kinds of pasta and three kinds of cheese. The pasta was pre-cooked in the freezer. I had Ravioli, Ditalini, and Ziti. I had boiled too much pasta more than once and decided to freeze it instead of having too many carbs for lunch. Wise decision. This was the easiest Baked Macaroni I have ever made. The pasta was thawed and layered in the baking dish with American, Cheddar and Parmesan Cheese. Actually, it would have been a Four Cheese Baked Macaroni because the Ravioli was filled with Ricotta. However many kinds of cheese there were we both agreed it was delicious.

Here is the base recipe for my Mom's Baked Macaroni. You can take this recipe and add whatever you like, cheese, pasta, even vegetables... hmmm vegetables...

Mom's Baked Macaroni -
Grease Pyrex glass loaf dish.
Cook 1/2 box of pasta elbows.
In the baking dish put a layer of cooked pasta. Top with some American Cheese and then add more pasta. Continue layering until you end with a pasta layer. You should have 3 layers of pasta. Beat 2 eggs and pour over the pasta. Fill the baking dish with milk. Fill until the milk almost reaches the top of the dish. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover the top with foil if it starts to burn.

Mom's Baked Macaroni

I was in New York a couple of weeks ago to see the Smithereens. Chris and I were sitting at a bar having cocktails before the show. I get a text from a co-worker requesting my Mom's Baked Macaroni recipe. She looked on this blog and could not find the recipe. I looked and could not find the recipe! I ended up texting her the recipe.

So here is my Mom's recipe for Baked Macaroni -

Grease Pyrex glass loaf dish.
Cook 1/2 box of pasta elbows.
In the baking dish put a layer of cooked pasta. Top with some American Cheese and then add more pasta. Continue layering until you end with a pasta layer. You should have 4 layers of pasta. Beat 2 eggs and pour over the pasta. Fill the baking dish with milk. Fill until the milk almost reaches the top of the dish. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, parsley and Parmesan cheese. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees. Cover the top with foil if it starts to burn.

The cheese can be whatever you have in the house. Tonight I used American, Cheddar and Gouda cheeses. It was creamier than usual. Delicious comfort food perfect for Lent.