Tag Archives: mac n cheese

Cooking, LIfe

Pulled Pork Mac N Cheese and Menu Planning 11-16-15

My heart breaks for Paris and Beirut.  When think of Paris I am reminded of a city that is kind and patient to foreigners which has been my experience.  I hope and wish love, peace, for safety for all in Paris and Beirut.

Kindness and understand can change the world

This weekend was fun, I went to NYC for a the KidzVuz Holiday event which is a toy and product showcase for bloggers.  Due to the events in Paris I was nervous about taking the train and going to Time Square with my daughter. I love taking my daughter every year to this event.  This year I decided to live by my mantra Never Live Scared so my daughter and I went to NYC.   After 911, I flew 11 days after on 9/22 with my family.  The point of a terrorist is to instill terror, I have to live and not give into the terror.   I feel it is important to share persistence and love of life with my children.

My daughter understood what happened in Paris, because she was watching the TV with me when the reports came on.  When we  on the train she showed me her earrings she told me it was in support of the victims.  I thought how thoughtful even a 10 year old can understand the impact.

 

eiffel towern earring from stella and dot

More on my trip- I love eating when in NYC because even the inexpensive restaurants are good, make sure you order the fresh cooked food.  The reason is because it is really hard to get a restaurant to survive in New York City with so much competition and the ablity for people to leave reviews if your food is bad you are gone.   My daughter and I stop by a little deli  she had a BLT and I had a Gyro both were fresh sandwiches with fries and the cost with 2 drinks $18.00.   What a great deal.

I also made Pulled Pork Mac n’ Cheese this past weekend will Pulled Pork on top.   I had a small pork roast 1.7 lb too small to make a fresh roast and I did not feel like cutting it into chops stuck it frozen in the slow cooker for a few hours with a can of broth, shredded it and tossed in BBQ sauce.  I also had left over Pasta from a dinner during the week.  I made a cheese sauce mixed the pasta, I had some small pie trays baked the mac n’ cheese for 30 min.  I add the pork and more cheese on top broiled till golden.  Yummy,  it was an unplanned meal I would do again.

Pulled Pork Mac n Cheese

Menu Planning

Those week my my son starts swim team which means he will be exhausted and hungry. He gets to swim 3 hours a day for high school swim team exhausting right.. I don’t think I could do one lap. The meal plan this week must be hardy.

Monday: Perogies and Kielbasa

Tuesday: Chicken and Rice

Wednesday: Fish Asparagus and Couscous

Thursday: Sausage and Peppers with Homemade fries

Friday: Pizza

Saturday : Fend for yourselves night

linking up to

Organizing Junkie Meal Planning Monday

Motivation Monday

 

Cooking

Celeb Chef George Duran’s Chance meeting

george duran

2 years ago I had the pleasure of meeting celebrity Chef George Duran  at the Blissdom Blogging conference.  He was super nice.  He looks just like this guy “Denis” my husband use to work with and I even showed him a picture Denis. I know true geek but they do look similar, he laughed and took a picture with me.  I have always loved his cooking.  I still use his method  of of broiling the top of my meat loaf for 10 minutes to seal in the goodness before lowering the heat for the remaining cooking time.

So I was really excited to hear that George Duran is working with Imusa on there with go-to Hispanic cookware and appliance line, IMUSA (available in Target)  He is doing a segment on the HSN segment Tomorrow Monday the 4th at 9am  of you want to watch here is the link to the HSN Live show

Here is a his recipe for:

George Duran’s Fiery Tomato-Basil Mac & Cheese courtesy of IMUSA:

Ingredients:

1 lb. macaroni (elbow)

Kosher Salt

2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes

1 cup packed fresh basil, chopped

1 stick butter

½ cup flour

5 cups whole milk

4 cups (16 oz) sharp cheddar, grated

 

For Topping

1 ½ cup Italian Style breadcrumbs

4 Tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese

Basil leaves for garnish

Preheat oven to 400 F.

 

Preparation:

Bring 6 quarts of water to a rolling boil and add salt to taste. Then, add macaroni and stir gently allowing it boil for about 7 minutes until “al dente”. Remove from heat and drain well and place in an extra large bowl. Add both cans of diced tomatoes and chopped basil and mix with a rubber spatula. Set aside. For béchamel sauce start by making a roux in a medium stock pot. Melt butter under medium heat and whisk in flour. Keep whisking for under medium heat until roux is browned, about 5-6 minutes. Add 2 tsp. salt. Gently whisk in the milk until properly combined. Constantly whisk the sauce until it thickens and begins to simmer, about 10-12 minutes. Remove from heat and add 4 cups of cheddar. Gently mix it with a rubber spatula until completely melted. Combine cheese sauce and macaroni and pour into a caldero (for best results use an IMUSA Evolution Nonstick Caldero). Make topping by combining all of the ingredients and spread it evenly on top of mac and cheese. Bake 15-20 minutes until top is golden brown. Serve and garnish with basil.

IMUSA Evolution Nonstick CalderoWhat are you cooking tonight?