comfort food

Tonight was one of those nights. On one hand, I've been on derm rotation all week trekking all the way across Lexington (and risking my life during morning rush hour). On the other hand, I only started work on Tuesday, only worked half days (8-noon), and I have a day off tomorrow. The temperatures are dropping lower and lower and panic has set in to our icy town. My street is a deathtrap and my parking lot has spun out one too many cars for my liking (Chris literally had to push someone out of their spot).

In reality, every other road in Lexington is fine, except for my pitiful little street. Thankfully we're not on too much of a hill! Anyway, it was a comfort food kind of night. I pulled out my newly acquired "Joy of Cooking" book Chris gave me for Christmas (thanks, sweets!) and flipped through the pages while Patrick played video games on the couch. We decided on sloppy joes to use up the ground beef we had in the fridge, and I decided that I just couldn't pass up making some mac and cheese to go with it.

Both were delicious, but I have to say that the mac was some of the best I've ever tasted. I like for my mac and cheese to have a lot of flavor (since it's full of calories) and I've been disappointed on many occasions with various store bought mixes (and even recipes of my own). I didn't have the right noodles or enough of any ingredient, but I played with a recipe and just had to share. I sadly don't have any photos because, well, it was just too delicious. Mac and cheese really isn't that photogenic anyway.

Delicious Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from Joy of Cooking)
Makes 4ish servings

1 cup pasta (I used those tiny little alphabet noodles because that's all I had)
- boil pasta according to package directions and return to the pot

Add the following to the pasta:
1 tbsp margarine or butter
1/2 can (a 12 oz can, so 6 oz) evaporated milk
>1cup extra sharp cheddar (I used lowfat cheese and it did just fine)
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp mustard (all I had was a packet of Chinese mustard, I think this is what made it so amazing)
1/2 tsp salt (or as needed)
1/4 tsp ground red (cayenne) pepper

Stir on low heat for 5-10 minutes. Don't let it boil or the egg will scramble and you'll have lumps in your mac. The sauce will get really think (you're essentially making a custard base) and everything will get all melty. I love that the mustard and cayenne made it just a little bit spicy, and the cheese sort of sets that off a bit. It makes yummy leftovers too but we only had a couple spoonfuls left over, so next time I will be making a double batch for sure!


Sloppy Joe's not from a packet (also adapted from Joy of cooking)
-Chris dubbed these the Best Sloppy Joes Ever, but I'm pretty partial to the powdered stuff...it feels good not eating a bunch of preservatives, though!

Heat the following in a skillet on medium for about 10 minutes or until everything is soft but not brown:
1 onion, finely diced
1 red or yellow pepper, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper

Remove vegetables from skillet. Brown 1 lb ground beef, then add the vegetable mixture back. Next, add in:

1/2 c ketchup
1/2 c beer (water works too, but why use water when you can use beer? Plus, you have to finish the bottle off somehow...)
3 Tbsp Worcerstershire sauce
Hot sauce or salsa to taste

Simmer until thickened, 10-15 minutes. Toast up some buns and pile it on high! They're called Sloppy Joes for a reason. :)

Now it's time to curl up in my Snuggie (don't bash it - they're SO cozy!) and watch some Netflix! My doc is off on Fridays so I get a snow day tomorrow!