Macaroni Bechemel (Angie's version)

1 16oz. penne pasta
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbs. butter
4 tbs. flour
3 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated parmesan cheese

Spray casserole dish with non-stick spray and set aside.

Cook pasta until done, drain and return to pot.

Melt butter in another saucepan; add onions and garlic and cook slowly until tender.

Have milk & cream measured, set aside and ready to go... then add flour, salt & pepper to the butter, onion, garlic mixture. Stir well and cook flour mixture for just a few minutes.

Add milk slowly, stirring with a whisk. Whisk constantly until thickened. As soon as it gets thick enough, remove from heat and whisk in nutmeg.  Then pour sauce over pasta. Mix well, and transfer to a casserole dish.

Top with mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees until hot and light golden brown.

*** We made this at home and added some cooked chicken to it and it was very yummy! I also think it would be very yummy with some mushrooms added in ***

Best Popcorn Ever

This is a really good recipe for homemade microwave popcorn courtesy of Alton Brown and FoodTV.  The original recipe is here.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup good quality popcorn
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt or popcorn salt
• Sprinkle jalapeno seasoning mix (if desired)
  
• Paper lunch bag
• Stapler

Directions

Toss the popcorn with the olive oil, salt, and jalapeno seasoning mix in the paper bag. Fold the top of the bag over and staple the bag twice to close. Place the bag in the microwave and microwave on high for 2 minutes to 3 minutes, or until there are about 5 seconds between pops.

NOTE: Popcorn salt is a super-fine salt that is designed especially for sticking to food such as popcorn. It has the taste of regular table salt, but its granules are much finer.

Best Steak Ever

Here you will find the original recipe for the best home cooked steak we have ever had. It is from Alton Brown from the Foood Network. I have put it below however all credit goes to Alton.

Ingredients

• 1 boneless rib eye steak, 1 1/2-inch thick
• Canola oil to coat
• Kosher salt and ground black pepper

Directions

Place 10 to 12-inch cast iron skillet in oven and heat oven to 500 degrees. Bring steak(s) to room temperature.
When oven reaches temperature, remove pan and place on range over high heat. Coat steak lightly with oil and season both sides with a generous pinch of salt. Grind on black pepper to taste.
Immediately place steak in the middle of hot, dry pan. Cook 30 seconds without moving. Turn with tongs and cook another 30 seconds, then put the pan straight into the oven for 2 minutes. Flip steak and cook for another 2 minutes. (This time is for medium rare steaks. If you prefer medium, add a minute to both of the oven turns.)
Remove steak from pan, cover loosely with foil, and rest for 2 minutes. Serve whole or slice thin and fan onto plate.

Tater Tot ‘Skins’

1 bag frozen tater tots
2 – (8 oz.) bags shredded cheese – cheddar, Colby jack, Mexican blend, etc. ( I have used each of these kinds and they all work well. )
1 lb. bacon – cooked and crumbled (Real bacon bits can substitute in a pinch)
1 bunch green onions – thinly sliced tops and bottoms
Sour cream to serve alongside

**These amounts make about two pans (48 tots). If you double the cheese, bacon and onion amounts, it should finish out the bag of tater tots.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In mixing bowl, combine shredded cheese, bacon and onions; set aside. Place one tater tot in each hole of a mini muffin pan. Place pan in oven and heat until the tater tots get soft enough to smash. Remove pan from oven and smash all tater tots flat. Top each tot with a mound of the cheese, bacon, onion mixture. Return to oven until browned, hot and bubbly. Serve with sour cream.

Enjoy!

Pizza Dip

2 - (8 oz.) cream cheese
2 – (8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese
1 – (14 oz.) jar of pizza sauce
Sliced pepperoni

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread cream cheese evenly in 9x13 baking dish. Spread pizza sauce over cream cheese (I don’t use the whole jar… I use about 2/3 of it). Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the pizza sauce. Top with pepperoni. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with Tostitos. It’s also very good served on bread. I slice a baguette into small rounds, then toast. Enjoy!

Strawberry Pretzel Salad

This is the best strawberry pretzel salad recipe I have found.  Very yummy!!

I use Paula Deen's recipe, but I make a few changes to it.  Please see my recipe below, or click here to go to the Food Network website for her original recipe.

Angie's Strawberry Pretzel Salad

Ingredients:
2 cups crushed pretzels
3/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons sugar (for crust)
1 1/4 cups sugar (for cream cheese filling) 
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese
1 (8-ounce) container whipped topping
2 (3-ounce) packages strawberry Jello
2 cups boiling water
1 (16-ounce) package frozen strawberries
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple ** do NOT drain 
Whipped topping, optional for garnish when serving 


Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
For the crust, mix the pretzels, butter, and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Press this mixture into a 9 by 13-inch pan and bake for 7 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool completely.
In a mixing bowl, beat together the 2 cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups of sugar. Fold in the whipped topping, and spread over the cooled crust. Refrigerate until well chilled.
In a small bowl, dissolve the Jello in the boiling water, and allow to cool slightly.  While the Jello is cooling, I cut the frozen strawberries into smaller pieces and then add the frozen strawberries and pineapple to the Jello.  Pour over the cream cheese mixture. Refrigerate until serving time.

Fruit Pizza

1- roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough
1- 8 oz. cream cheese
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. Almond extract
Fresh fruit of you choice, cut into bite-size pieces
(I use strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, kiwi and mandarin oranges. Sometimes grapes.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press cookie dough evenly into pizza pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely. Beat cream cheese, sugar and almond extract until smooth. Spread over cooled cookie. Arrange fruit on top of cream cheese. Cut into wedges or squares for serving.

I make this in a jelly roll pan, but if you do, then you need to use 1½ rolls cookie dough, 2 cream cheese, ½ cup sugar and 1 tsp. of almond extract.
ENJOY!!