Spicy, Creamy Baked Mac & Cheese

Macaroni and cheese is hands down my favorite comfort food.  I have several different recipes I like to make.  I even love the cheapo boxed kind.  This recipe is great because you can make it ahead of time and refrigerate it until you're ready to bake it.  And you don't have to make a pan sauce, which makes it ultra convenient!  It's very creamy and very well seasoned.

Ingredients:  elbow pasta, sharp cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, Monterrey pepper jack cheese, flour, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, dry mustard, nutmeg, sour cream, egg, heavy cream, half and half and onion.

Start by cubing all of the cheese except 1/2 of the cheddar, which needs to be shredded and reserved.

Mix the flour and spices in a large bowl.

Then add the rest of the ingredients except the cheese and pasta.  Use a fine cheese grater to grate the onion.  You won't notice it in the dish because it will be super fine but it really brings out the flavors in the other ingredients.

Whisk it all together.

Cook the pasta until it is slightly underdone and add it to a baking dish with the cubed cheese.

Then pour the cream sauce over.

And top with the reserved shredded cheddar cheese.  You can also top it with croutons, bread crumbs or sliced tomatoes.  But I like mine cheesy, creamy and simple :)

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes until melted and bubbly.

Hello lover!

Link to the printable recipe:

Spicy Macaroni and Cheese

Source:  Sunny Anderson

Pots de Creme

This is by far the easiest desert with the fanciest name out there.  It's pronounced poh deh crehm (not pawts day cream).  If you want to impress someone with your fantastic cooking skills...MAKE THIS!

Ingredients:  semi-sweet chocolate, eggs, vanilla, salt and coffee.

Place the chocolate chips in a blender.

Add the eggs, vanilla and a pinch of salt.  IMPORTANT:  the eggs must be room temperature.  When a recipe calls for room temperature eggs I rarely ever remember to set them out, so what I usually do is soak them in a bowl of hot tap water for about 5 minutes or so.  That usually does the trick!

Blend on low for about 20 seconds or so to break up the chocolate and combine with the other ingredients.

With the blender running, slowly pour in the very hot, very strong brewed coffee.

Once the coffee is in, blend for about 30 seconds or so more until the mixture is smooth and you can't see any more chunks of chocolate.

Pour into serving dishes.  You can use desert bowls, wine glasses, martini glasses, goblets...whatever you have!

Cover and chill in the refrigerator for a few hours to set.  Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.  I had some Kahlua sitting around so I added a little to my whipped cream.  Oh my Lord...

You can substitute anything you want for the vanilla.  Liqueurs or extracts such as hazelnut, orange, mint, raspberry or coffee would all be delicious.

The texture is light and fluffy like mousse but the flavor is so rich and decadent.  This recipe is a home run!  It literally took me five minutes to make.  Don't tell anybody... ;)

Link to the printable recipe:

Pots de Creme

Source:  Pioneer Woman

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

I have tried three different homemade ranch dressing recipes (four if you count the Hidden Valley Ranch packet :D ) and this one takes the cake.  Did I mention it only has five ingredients?!?  You heard me...FIVE!

Ingredients:  garlic, scallions, buttermilk, mayonnaise and dried dill.

Add the scallions and garlic to a food processor.

And pulse until the garlic is minced.

Then add the buttermilk and mayo.

Process until smooth and creamy.

Transfer to an air-tight container and season with salt, pepper and dill to taste.

And if you want to get a little crazy and add ingredient number SIX...you can drop in a few dashes of Tabasco.  But this is optional...

Serve it over a bed of iceberg or romaine lettuce.  Simple, easy, perfect Ranch dressing!

Link to the printable recipe:

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Source:  Claire Robinson

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Sometimes when I watch cooking shows I think "hmmm, that looks good.  I'll have to make that sometime."  Other times I think "OMG I have to have that NOW!  GIT IN MAH BELLAY!!!"  This was one of those recipes.  I made it that night :P

Ingredients:  flour, baking powder, salt, paprika, onion powder, milk, butter, bacon, cheddar cheese and egg.

Add the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl.

And mix them together until they are combined.

Fry up a few pieces of bacon until they're crisp.

Chop the bacon into bits and shred the cheese.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the bacon, cheese, milk and butter.

Fold the wet ingredients gently into the dry ingredients until combined.  The dough will be very sticky.

Use a scoop to drop the biscuits onto a cookie sheet.  Lightly beat an egg and add about a tablespoon of water to make an egg wash.  Brush the egg wash over the tops of the biscuits.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes.  These are nothing short of Heaven!  Fluffy, cheesy and seasoned perfectly from the paprika, onion powder and bacon.  If you REALLY want to take it over the top, slice one in half and put a fried egg in the middle for a biscuit sandwich.  WOW....

Link to the printable recipe:

Bacon Cheddar Biscuits

Source:  Sunny Anderson

Honey BBQ Oven Ribs

My husband and I usually only eat barbeque that has been smoked.  And while I have to be true to the fact that there is no real substitute for smoked meat, this recipe was an easy and delicious week night version of one of our favorite meals.

Ingredients:  paprika, onion powder, salt, pepper, dried oregano, garlic powder, cumin, cayenne pepper, beef ribs (the recipe calls for short ribs, but I couldn't find them and country style ribs worked just fine) and honey.

Combine the spices in a bowl to make the rub.

Coat all sides of the ribs in the rub and place them snugly in a baking dish.  Let them sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours to soak up the spices.

Cover tightly with foil.

And bake at 300 degrees for 2 1/2 hours.  Remove from the oven and drizzle with a generous amount of honey.

Put them back in the oven at 425 for 10-15 minutes.  They will be sweet, spicy and fork tender.  I like mine drenched in barbeque sauce.  YUM!

Link to the printable recipe:

Honey BBQ Oven Ribs

Source:  Sunny Anderson

Crockpot Ranch House Pork Chops

I've been on a Crockpot kick lately.  Mostly because I've been too tired to make anything else.  I found this little number on Pinterest.  It is the epitome of busy-mom-on-the-go Crockpot meals.  I'm not a super huge fan of Crockpot meals because, frankly, they are usually just mediocre.  Probably because of the heavy use of canned soups.  But this one was surprisingly AWESOME!  So I had to share... ;)

Ingredients:  pork chops, cream of chicken soup and Hidden Valley ranch seasoning.  Yes that's all.  ONLY 3 INGREDIENTS!!

And guess what??  All you have to do is mix together the 3 ingredients in a Crockpot and cook it over low for 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.

Seriously, this is what you make when you are too exhausted to drive to McDonald's or pick up the phone and order Domino's.

Serve it over mashed potatoes.  The sauce makes an excellent gravy.  My husband LOVED this recipe.  The pork was fork tender, the gravy was creamy and flavorful.  I think I may keep these THREE ingredients on hand at all times for when I am totally worn out!

Link to the printable recipe:

*Note:  the blog post includes a recipe for garlic mashed potatoes.  I always make Pioneer Woman's mashed potato recipe.  It's the best ;)

Crockpot Ranch House Pork Chops

Source:  Real Mom Kitchen