Creamy Baked Mac n Cheese

Yup.  Winter.

Cold, damp, snowy winter.  And unless you ski (we don't) or snowboard (we tried) or snowshoe (not yet) - the cold days tend to lend themselves to making good, home-cooked comfort foods.

I'm surprised I'm not 700 pounds.  Good genes, I suppose.

And on the make this time was a nice, creamy mac n cheese that sticks to your ribs and has left-over qualities that go beyond just finishing off what's in the fridge to save from tossing them!

So, grab some noodles, grab some cheese.  And if you're like me - grab some friends to share this wonderful meal with!

Meatball Submarine

OK, so last post I told you about making meatballs that can be used in a variety of ways and how we use them for meatball subs.  I decided to break up the meatballs vs the meatball subs posts so they don't get lost in cyber space.  And this recipe (if you can even call it that) is to show you that I don't ALWAYS cook full meals.

At least once or twice a week we have something simple and easy to do, or leftovers.  Gone are the days when we had loads of time to stand in the kitchen baking, cooking and creating a new meal each day.

But, it's so easy to get into the habit of the same.old.thing over and over again.  I've been there before!  You find a meal that is easy and tastes good and before you know it - you're tired of it because you've had it 5 times in the past month.

So what a great way to take something and change the way you use it!  And really, soup and a sandwich really isn't a bad meal after all!

Meatball Submarine
Makes: as many as you want


Submarine buns, parisian rolls or hoagie rolls

2-4 slices of cheese per 6" bun (we use mozzarella most days but any kind of cheese works nice)

2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 jar of spaghetti sauce (I use Classico Four Cheese Sauce because it's got a really nice/rich flavour)








Put your thawed or fresh meatballs (about 6-8 per 6" bun) into a pot and pour in enough sauce to just cover them.  Simmer over low heat until heated through.

Preheat your oven to broil.  Low if you have a choice of settings.

Cut open your roll, without fully cutting it into two pieces.  You want to have a healthy 'hinge' part still holding the top and bottom pieces together or you'll give your meatballs another place to escape from when you bite into this great sub!  One side open is enough!

Carefully lay your buns open on a baking sheet and lightly coat each side of each bun with butter or margarine.  You could also use Extra Virgin Olive Oil or a flavoured oil (I suggest chili oil if you can find it) but be careful you don't soak the bun too much.  Put sheet into the oven to lightly broil (about 3-5 minutes).

Remove from oven and, keeping the buns on your baking sheet, load one side of the bun with meatballs and sauce.  How much sauce you add is up to you, knowing that more sauce = messier sub.  But hey, that's the whole point of this meal!  Layer mozzarella cheese on top of meatballs and put the baking sheet and subs back into the oven until the cheese is melted and slightly toasted.

Gently close your sub, cut if required and slide onto a plate for devouring!  Don't mind the mess of sauce and cheese dripping through your fingers - it's the joy of a great tasting, messy meal!  And watch for that one meatball that just wants to try to escape out the side!

Enjoy your simple, tasty supper!

--The Cook

Prawn and Cream Cheese Ravioli with White Wine Cream Sauce

I have, over the years, nearly made myself crazy thinking, dreaming, drooling over stuffed pasta recipes.  I've seen thousands and in my sleep - ate thousands!  Do you see colour when you dream??  I sure do!  And surprising enough, I can taste things in my sleep too (go ahead, call me strange).

Did you know that once you mix up the fillings you can put INTO pasta with the sauces you can put ONTO pasta - you'll probably have as many options as there are stars in the sky!  The possibilities are endless!!

So yes, I've been dreaming of making my own filled pasta.  Now, I'm not yet ready to tackle the pasta itself (my beautiful blue Kitchen Aide can work with an attachment that lets me roll pasta and I'd rather use that than do it all by hand beause I'm afraid of a pastry fiasco like I've experienced before) just yet.  Mr. Hungry and I decided that we'd attempt some over the weekend and (let's be honest here, right) it went well but ONLY after I changed my plan of attack!




Prawn and Cream Cheese Ravioli with
White Wine Cream Sauce


I first tried this recipe using fresh Olivieri Lasagna Sheets, which to my brain meant it was pasta and pasta would STICK to pasta.  Did not work.  At all.  I tried the right out of the package, soaked for a few minutes and soaked for a few more minutes.  Nothing I tried would make them darn things STICK together.  *sigh* 


Thankfully Mr. Hungry was hungry enough (yet still interested enough) to run to the store and make an emergency purchase so we could make our meal (we had these the same night as the Roasted Garlic and Peppers with Goat Cheese Baguette) with as little screaming as possible.  Me screaming.  He saved the day, but don't tell him that!!


So here it goes!

Roasted Garlic and Peppers with Goat Cheese Baguettes

Roasted Garlic and Peppers with
Goat Cheese Baguette

Mr. Hungry and I love to eat together.  And sometimes cook together.  It's like I have my very own helper, who's not scared to roll his sleeves up and do the dirty work (which is usually running down to the freezer and washing the dishes) plus chop, mix and prepare anything I need.

We also have Date Nights.  Getting out of the house can be tricky at times, and expensive!  But why go out when we can eat in and have a pretty splendid meal for next to nothing!

So, after the kids go down for the night, we have Date Night.  It's relaxing, it's romantic - it's just the two of us! 

 Tonight is Date Night.

And I have a secret addiction.  A few really - but lately it's been goat cheese.  Soft, spreadable, delightful goat cheese.  And this appetizer is good for a crowd, low maintenance for the cook (just plop it all on the table and guests can create their own) and ever so good! 

Spaghetti Night

So I wanted to make spaghetti.  Lots of spaghetti.  Enough spaghetti to feed the whole neighbourhood AND more!

Isn't that a good looking pot of spaghetti?

OK (let's be honest here), I wanted to make spaghetti to feed us, some friends and (because we're a working family) some to put in the freezer for a quick meal.  I usually make things like this in huge bunches, because coming home and heating something yummy is far better than hot dogs and grilled cheese - although the kids never complain when it's hot dogs and grilled cheese.  But then, some days neither do the adults!

So, prepare to witness the biggest pot of spaghetti EVER.  Massive.  And honestly, I'd have made more if I had a bigger pot.  *Note to anyone interested in what to get me for -insert holiday here-, I want a pot.  A big, huge, like-grandma-used-to-use pot.