Pork & Cheese

Ingredients:

16oz uncooked elbow macaroni

Pinch of salt

1 tsp olive oil

1lb smoked pork belly, sliced

3 TBSP flour

Salt & pepper

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp paprika

2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups shredded white cheddar

1/2 cup shredded smoke provolone 

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan 

Chopped green onion

Butter for greasing baking pan

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil, add pinch of salt and olive oil. Boil pasta until al dente.

2. While you're cooking the pasta, pan fry pork belly until crispy. Drain on a paper towel. 

3. In a sauce pan on medium, add four TBSP of pork fat from the frying pan (if you don't have enough rendered fat, use butter to make up the difference. Wisk in flour, one tablespoon at a time, to form a smooth paste. 

4. Wisk in a pinch of salt, pepper, nutmeg,band paprika. Wisk in 1/4 cup of milk, maintaining a smooth texture. Wisk in the rest of the milk, 1/4 cup at a time, until it is all incorporated. 

5. Slowly bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in cheddar and provolone.

6. Chop pork belly and mix into your béchamel (cheese sauce). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

7. Grease baking pan with butter, add pasta & pour cheese sauce over the top. Gently stir to incorporate.

8. Bake for twenty-five minutes and top with Parmesan. Bake an additional five minutes and remove from oven. Top with green onion & serve.

Cheese Sticks

The only thing better than cheese by itself is cheese that has been breaded, fried, and serve with a sauce. If you really want to get your money's worth make your own! It is actually a very simple process and if you make the most of what you've already got and keep your eyes peeled for a sale on cheese it can also be extremely cost-efficient.

Ingredients

10oz block mozzarella 

1 cup breadcrumbs (try my homemade breadcrumb recipe)

1 large egg

1/4 cup milk 

Combine your egg and milk in one bowl. Pour your breadcrumbs in a separate bowl large enough to toss. Typically this is the point where I instruct you to season both the egg and breadcrumbs with salt and pepper, but not this time. I don't know what it is about cheese sticks but I find that aside from maybe adding dried herbs to the crumbs, if I salt and pepper the dredge it is too salty so I reserve that for after they're fried, but if you are so inclined, please do. I encourage you to add dried herbs to your breadcrumbs. Mine are homemade and do have just a small amount of Italian seasoning in them. Herbs can really change the entire experience, rosemary is one of my FAVORITE herbs to add to my crumbs.

Now it is time to cut the cheese (insert adolescent giggle here). I'm not an educated chef, so I have no technique to offer you as far as knife skills go (unless you count my free knife skills class thanks to the Craftsy app) other than the following: cut your block in half. Cut those halves into half, and so on and so forth until you've got thrity-two comparable pieces. Now, you may feel the need to make more or less if your block of cheese isn't ten ounces but this is what I've got on hand most of the time & the more inexpensive brand at the store (costs me approx. $1.75).

Next is the dredge. It is very important to keep one hand dry at all times. If you've ever dredged and caught both hands in the wet/dry crossfire then you're privy to the clumpy mess that becomes for fingertips as you're trying to get things done. If you're having a difficult time keeping one hand out of the egg, do what I do. I have the bowl of egg on the left side of my cutting board. I keep the crumbs on the right. I use my left hand to put the cheese into and take it out of the egg. My right hand carries my crumb bowl over the cutting board and I plop my cheese in with my left hand then I place my crumb bowl back down on the right side. Then I get a good grip with my right hand and toss, never once does my left hand leave the left side of my cutting board. I then remove the breaded sticks with my right hand and place them back on my chopping board. It all seems very tedious but it took me a while to figure out how to keep the crumbs in the bowl and off my fingers.

Now initially I will add all my cheese sticks to the egg bowl and toss three or four at a time in the crumbs and place them back on the board. Repeat until all are coated. You'll see the cheese through that coat and it won't really do much for you. Once it hits the oil, frozen or not, you'll soon have a fried cheese mess and empty breadcrumb shells to show for it. So you do a second breading. This time I dip one stick in the egg at a time, toss the one by itself in breadcrumbs, and then rest it back on my cutting board until they're all coated for the second time. Do you notice a huge difference?

That double coating will keep your cheese in when it is frying. Now. You can either put them on a baking sheet to freeze or use the cutting board they're sitting on. For me personally, it just depends on whether or not I want to wash an extra dish. 

Into the freezer they go. Most people forget that the freezer is a great cooking tool. Frozen bacon is easier to chop for chowder, frozen puff pastry dough can hit the oven and be ready in minutes, and freezing cheese sticks ensures the cheese will warm in the same time it takes to get the outside perfectly golden, which help prevent mozzarella sludge in your fryer. I usually make these ahead of time, but typically after three hours they're hard enough to package in a freezer bag to store. When you're ready to eat, fry them in 375 degree oil. I do this in batches of 4-6 at a time for about sixty seconds. Be sure you allow a bit of time inbetween batches for the oil to return to 375. Serve with warm marinara and a smile. 

I would say that a batch of thirty-two cheese sticks costs me anywhere from $2-$3, including a side of sauce, as long as I utilize my pantry, including making homemade breadcrumbs and marinara.

Crumbs & Crusts

If you are looking for a basic bread recipes, you can find mine here. However, if you're wondering what on Earth you'll do with all of the breads you've baked after discovering that you have mad skills in the oven but not enough stomachs to consume them all, I have a solution for that! Well, more like a list of possibilities, but this post will cover two: crumbs and crusts.

Breadcrumbs are essentially tiny pieces of bread without the moisture. They are extremely versatile and I find that, at least in my kitchen, they're a HOT little item to keep on hand. I have seen a lot of bread crumb recipes and some ask for the use of stale bread, others do not. I haven't ever tried it with a stale loaf because I typically THINK about making them a day ahead but I forget to actually take them out and place them on the counter to be stale in the morning. It usually goes on my mental list that I can never seem to find… yep, that is where I put it! If only I could find it. Back to the point, they're easy to make and once you get the hang of it you'll be pulling a batch together in fifteen minutes or less (and the majority of that is oven time).

What you will need:
Oven
Baking Sheet
Wooden Spoon
Tin Foil/Parchment (optional)
Bread Knife
Bread
Food Processor
Dry Herbs (optional)
Airtight Container

Heat oven to 350.

Cube your bread and place it on your foil-lined (optional) baking sheet (DO NOT grease the sheet or foil) in a single layer. Place the sheet in the oven and bake for approximately seven minutes, stirring after about five to prevent browning on the underside. Remove from oven and place pieces in the food processor. 

Pulse for approximately thirty to forty-five seconds and return to sheet. Bake an additional five minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven and pulse in food processor again. Add dried herbs at this point if desired (I add 1 TBSP dried herb for every two cups of crumbs). 

Allow the breadcrumbs to cool completely before storing in airtight container. Now, if you're just itching to use some of these amazing homemade bread crumbs try Lobster Mac & Cheese or Apple Pepperjack Pork Loin, I promise they do not disappoint.

Croûte is a French word meaning "crust". Crouton stems from this word, although they aren't solely crusts (however, if your family doesn't eat the "heels" or crusts of your loaves of bread, you can always freeze them until you've got enough for a batch) it is another option! Croutons are made similarly to breadcrumbs except we ADD flavor and subtract the food processor.

What you will need:
Oven
Baking Sheet
Wooden Spoon
Tin Foil/Parchment
Bread Knife
Bread
Butter/Olive Oil (optional)
Garlic (optional)
Cheese, grated (optional)
Salt & Pepper (optional)
Dry Herbs (optional)
Airtight Container

Heat the oven to 350. Cube your bread and toss it LIGHTLY with butter, garlic, cheese, salt & pepper (these are all optional as a lot of people like plain croutons). Rule of thumb is about 2 TBSP of butter forevery four cups of cubed bread, you want just enough so topping will stick. Garlic and cheese are all relative. I love garlic & I love cheese HOWEVER they are both high in oil content and the goal is to dry out the bread, not keep it hydrated. Salt and pepper to taste. Bake approximately five minutes then begin stirring it occasionally until the cheese begins to crisp up and bread feels dry. Remove from oven and toss with dry herbs. Cool before storing. My boys will snack on them, but they're most happy atop a fresh homemade salad.

There it is, simple and supreme!

Quick Rice Pudding

😄

I am all about maximizing my savings, which means trying to waste as little food as possible. I love repurposing leftovers and stretching meals. My homemade rice pudding is not exception.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice

1 cup milk

1/4 cup sugar

Pinch of salt

1 tsp vanilla

Cinnamon (optional)

Mix the rice, milk, sugar, and salt together in a pot over medium heat. Slowly bring it to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer until your rice swells and has absorbed the majority of the milk (5-7 minutes) stirring occasionally. Remove from hear, stir in vanilla. Top with cinnamon if desired. 

I enjoy this pudding both hot and cold! 

High Value Foster Farms Gluten-Free Coupon

Click here to print the coupon