Copy cat recipe

Recently, Jack in the Box has had a yummy snack...wakey bakey hash browns. Hash browns topped with a bacony, garlicky, cheese sauce and a fried egg. I decided to try making it for dinner.

I found a super easy cheese sauce recipe that you can make in the microwave (or a double boiler, tho it's intended for the micro). Three simple ingredients: 8oz shredded cheese, 4t corn starch, and a cup of evaporated milk. Mix cheese and starch in a large bowl (I like a glass pie plate), pour milk over, and nuke in 2-3 minute intervals, whisking in between, until melted and thick. Done! The recipe calls for cheddar. The first time I made it for another recipe, I used swiss. This time I used Kraft smoky bacon cheddar shredded cheese. Here's the link for the recipe https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/3-ingredient-cheese-sauce#reviews

The hash brown patties have so much oil in them, I just dry fried them in a non stick skillet. Pushed them to the side when they were about done and fried a couple eggs over medium. Put the hash browns on a plate, top with eggs, then cheese sauce. Yummy!

The picture isn't very colorful, but shows the yumminess. Enjoy!

Poffertjes

I decided that because I missed the poffertjes we get at the NWWA Fair, I was going to try making some myself. I got a little pan at the Kitchen Konnection in Lynden. It has 7 spots for cooking. It is cast iron, and with tax was about $15. I had to season it, which consisted of me heating it til hot, and brushing a small amount of canola oil all over the cooking surface until it started to smoke. This helps it to be a nonstick surface, and seemed to work, as the only thing that stuck was the shredded cheese I tried putting in the first batch (would you believe Safeway only had shredded Gouda, no whole chucks for me to dice up?). After looking for recipes online, I found several that used half regular flour and half buckwheat flour. Since I had buckwheat flour, I gave that a try. My next hurdle was sweet syrup. I wasn't 100% sure what that was, but figured it was like simple syrup. Problem was, I only needed 2 tablespoons, so did not want to make a whole batch. If I was making dessert poffertjes, I figured Karo corn syrup would work...however it has vanilla in it which I was afraid could be weird with ham and cheese. But then I found another recipe that used sugar instead. So problem solved!

So once the batter was made and had a chance to rest (it has yeast in it, so had to rise, but was a softer batter than regular bread, so didn't puff up like regular bread rising does), I scooped it into the pan using my small cookie scoop. For the filled ones, I used a half a scoop of batter, added a chunk of ham (and shredded Gouda to the first batch, which didn't work so well), then added another half a scoop to cover the ham. When they got bubbly on top, it was time to flip them.

They sell special poffertjes forks, which look strangly similar to fondue forks, so I saved some money and used a fondue fork! They were a little tricky to flip to start with, but then I got the hang of it...I had to loosen up the cooked edge before trying to flip.

Here are some of the finished poffertjes. I don't think the ones at the fair use buckwheat flour! They were tasty, but needed a little something more than just the ham. The last batch I didn't put ham in, and sprinkled them with regular sugar (I didn't want to hassle with powdered sugar which is more traditional!) when they were done.

I think the next ones I make will have all regular flour in them. I am also going to try aebleskivers, which are Danish mini puffs (poffertjes are Dutch). The aebleskivers also use buttermilk and baking powder and baking soda instead of yeast. I will let you know how they turn out :)

Chicken and mushroom pasta

Tonight's dinner was planned with an eye to using up half a package of Trader Joes ceasar chicken strips. So, I sautéed a package of sliced crimini mushrooms in some butter until soft. Then I tossed in the chicken, broken into bite size pieces. I seasoned it all with salt, pepper and onion powder. I then added about 1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine and let it simmer a bit while I waited for the pasta to finish cooking (chicken broth could be used instead). Once the pasta was done (I used campanelle), I added it to the pan with the mushrooms and chicken. I stirred it all together and added some shredded Parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed (I added more pepper). It was quite yummy :)

Cheater mac and cheese

Tonight I wanted something fast and easy for dinner. I also wanted something cheap. So upon inspection, my fridge offered up a package of shredded cheddar cheese and some left over evaporated milk. My pantry offered 3/4 of a pound of salad macaroni.

So, I cooked the macaroni and returned it to the hot pot. I then poured in about half a cup of milk, and started adding the cheese by the handful, letting it melt between each addition as I stirred it in. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder. I used just over half a pound of cheese, but use it and the milk to taste for a cheesy, creamy sauce.

Four cheese mac & cheese with roasted broccoli

Tonight I used up my left over cheese from the grilled cheese sandwiches I made.

I boiled a pound of macaroni. In another pot I made a simple roux of 3T each flour and butter. I then added 2 cans of fat free evaporated milk (the only ki d of fat free dairy I can tolerate!!) I then stirred in my left over cheddar, jack and Gouda that was pregrated from the other night (between 2 and 3 cups). I also stirred in about 3oz of cream cheese. I season with salt and pepper, and mixed it with my cooked and drained macaroni.

The broccoli was super easy. I brought 3 stalks of broccoli, which I cut off into flowerettes. I sprinkled them with oil and salt, spread them on a baking sheet and cooked at 375* for about 20 minutes. It was a yummy alternative to steamed broccoli :)

Spaghetti carbonara

Being the end of the month, the food budget is running low. So, when looking to see what I had on hand, I decided to make spaghetti carbonara. All I needed to go to the store for was Parmesan cheese and cream (not used in this particular recipe, but I have used it in others and like the addition of several tablespoons to the egg mixture). I used a recipe from Tyler Florence on Food Network (link below). It was nice and creamy and bacony. And all I needed was spaghetti, bacon (I used double the amount called for, partly because we like bacon, and partly because that was what I had left), eggs and Parmesan cheese. Yum :)

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/spaghetti-alla-carbonara-recipe/index.html