Bachelorette Food

When Jesse is away, I always have a hard time motivating myself to cook a good meal. Usually, that's not a huge problem since his trips generally last for only a couple of days. However, he's on a 5-day site visit and it's hard to justify take out or grazing on hummus and pita for an entire week. Tonight I was really craving mac & cheese, but also wanted to try and get some vegetables in my diet. So, I turned to an adaptation of my favorite stove top recipe by Alton Brown.

His version is plain mac & cheese that calls for evaporated milk, but I never have that on hand and honestly, don't think it's necessary. I use a mixture of half & half and 2% milk and that works just fine. I also subbed Dijon mustard for dried, since I never have that in the spice cabinet either. I like the tang of the Dijon better anyway. The recipe is so easy that you can make it in the time you boil pasta and tastes way better than the boxed stuff. For this batch I added peas and spinach, but I've been known to incorporate grated carrots, sauteed mushrooms, sauteed garlic, onions, and even tomatoes. It's a perfect base recipe that I've adapted multiple times depending on my mood. Paired with a salad (eaten after this photo) and a refreshing grapefruit Juice Squeeze, I was a happy woman.

Brasilliant's Stove Top Mac & Cheese

3/4 - 1 lb. elbow pasta (I used fusilli)
2 Tbl butter
2 eggs
3oz half & half
3oz milk
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 tsp. hot sauce (I like Sriracha) or more to taste
10 oz sharp cheddar (I used a mixture of cheddar and Gouda this time)
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Boil the pasta according to box directions, drain and return to pot. Toss noodles with butter. Turn heat to low. Whisk together the rest of the ingredient except for the cheese and add to noodles. Stir in cheese and continue to mix until creamy and thickened, about 4-5 minutes. Make sure that you keep the mixture moving so that you don't scramble the eggs at the bottom. Mix in any additional vegetables and enjoy!

Optional Additions

• Sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and minced garlic
• 1/2 bag frozen peas (I throw them in the pasta water for the last 5 minutes)
• 1 bag baby spinach (sauteed and squeezed of water) -- Frozen would work well too
• 1 cup shredded carrots (toss them in the pasta water for the last 1-2 minutes to soften)
• Sauteed broccoli and minced garlic

My rule of thumb is to make sure that any veggies added aren't too watery. For the spinach, mushrooms, and tomatoes I always saute for a few minutes before mixing with the pasta. You don't want runny mac & cheese! If you think the garlic will be a little too powerful raw, stab it on the end of a fork and blanch it for about 30 seconds in the boiling pasta water, or just saute it with the rest of the veggies.

Voila! Delicious bachelorette dinner.