Cheeseburger Macaroni

Back in my 20’s my cooking repertoire consisted of fish sticks, grilled cheese and Kraft dinner. Occasionally I would get super fancy and buy a box of Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper… I really liked it! Listen don’t judge!

As I started cooking more and more the boxed stuff just didn’t do it for me anymore. I started making my own version of the classic. This version is SO much better! Plus you can customize the seasoning to you taste, which I love.

So here it is… my version of Cheeseburger Macaroni.

What you need,

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1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, finely diced

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups milk (I used 1%)

1 ½ cups macaroni noodles

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1 tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. season salt

½ tsp. paprika

¼ tsp. cayenne

1 tsp. sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

1½ cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Cook the ground beef until it is browned and cooked through. Drain off any excess fat.

Add the chopped onion and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onions begin to soften.

Into the milk, whisk in the cornstarch, garlic powder, season salt, paprika, cayenne and sugar.

Stir the macaroni noodles into the beef mixture and cook for a minute or so. Add the chicken stock and the milk mixture, stir to combine.

Bring the mixture to a boil and reduce the heat to medium. Cover the pan and let it cook for 10-12 minutes or until the noodles are tender.

Turn the heat off and add the cheese, a little at a time until it is all incorporated.

Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve right away with a nice green salad.

This makes a super quick weeknight meal that is sure to please all your hungry people!

It also re-heats really well for lunch the next day, which is always a good thing in my book.

Enjoy!

Jen

Some Summer Stuff

Well hey there! Hope you all are having a great summer. I know I am, it seems to by flying by, I mean it is almost the end of July... how is that possible?

I haven't been spending a whole lot of time in the kitchen in the last month or so, I guess that is ok, summer is for relaxing and hanging out in the sun.

Last weekend we met friends on Gabriola Island for a little get away, it was amazing. Such a pretty place, so relaxing. We walked on the beach, drank lattes on the deck and played a whole lot of Trivial Pursuit! It was fantastic!

My Dad is coming out for a visit in a couple weeks, which I am very excited about. Can't wait to show him all Victoria has to offer!

Then after that we are driving out to Alberta for a Family gathering at my in house taste testers family farm. We are really looking forward to that too!

We have been eating a lot of BBQ'd Burgers and Corn on the cob and Watermelon Salad, and washing it all down with my very favourite summer drink, the Mojito!

I will have a new recipe for you later this week, I promise!
But for now I am going to sit out on my patio with a tall glass of lemonade and finish reading this, which I am loving!

Jen

Chex Mix

I made you a snack, and it is a good one!

Now I know you can just go buy a pre-made bag of Chex Mix at the store, but I am telling you this classic homemade version is WAY better!

I love mixed nuts, cheesy crackers and pretzel sticks in my Chex mix, but you feel free to add whatever you like to your mix, just peanuts or curly pretzels or bagel chips… you do what you like, no one is the boss of your Chex Mix!

  

What you need,

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3 cups each of Rice, Corn & Wheat Chex Cereal

(I couldn’t find corn and wheat Chex so I used Life and Crispix, both tasted great!)

1 cup mixed nuts

1 cup pretzel sticks

1 cup goldfish or other cheese crackers

6 tablespoons of butter, melted

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 ½ tsp. seasoning salt

¾ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion powder

Heat the oven to 250 degrees. 

In a very large bowl, mix all 3 cereals with the nuts, pretzels and crackers. 

Add the spices to the melted butter and stir to combine.

Pour the butter mixture over the cereal mixture and toss gently to coat everything well.

Pour the chex mix onto a large sheet pan and spread out into a thin layer.

Bake for 50mins to 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes until golden and toasted!

Cool completely and then store in airtight containers.

You don’t have to worry too much about how you store it because it isn’t going to last long, seriously this stuff is super addictive.

This is such a great snack to whip up for a summer barbecue or a weekend away with friends. Plus it is a Christmas snack classic!

Make some this weekend, you won’t be sorry!

Enjoy!

Jen

4 Perfect Monster Cookies

It has been awhile since I whipped up a small batch of cookies. I was having a cookie craving so I decided to make a batch up today!

Previously I have done a small batch of Chocolate Chip, Snickerdoodles, Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chocolate Chip cookies.

Today I made Monster Cookies! They are full of peanut butter, oatmeal, coconut, chocolate chips, M&M’s and Reece’s Pieces.

So you know all the good things in life!

What you need,

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2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. peanut butter

2 tbsp. granulated sugar

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 large egg yolk

¼ tsp. vanilla

¼ tsp. salt

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2 tbsp. oats

2 tbsp. shredded coconut

1 tbsp. each mini chocolate chips, mini M&M’s and mini Reece’s Pieces

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat.

In a small bowl mix the butter, peanut butter and both sugars.  Beat in the egg yolk until light and fluffy. Stir in the vanilla.

Add the salt and flour and mix to combine.

Stir in the oats and coconut.

Add in the fun stuff and divide the dough into 4 and place on the baking sheet.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the edges are crisp and the center is set.

Let the cookies cool on a rack for 5 minutes then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Now the hard part, try not to eat them all in one sitting. You are going to want to, they are just that good!

If you need a cookie or 2 or even 4 then this is the recipe for you!

Enjoy!

Jen