One last meal for my main man before I left for Jacksonville.

Homemade Bacon Mac and Cheese with Pan Fried Spinach

1 post 2 recipes

HOMEMADE BACON MAC AND CHEESE

Now just prepare yourself this a long and involved process, but the end result will be worth it.  This a double batch.  I cook half and then freeze the rest before the baking step for later.

Hand grate the cheeses; sharp cheddar, fontina, smoked gouda, Monterey jack, and parmesan.  You will need about 6 oz of each cheese.  I know this takes forever but it will be much better than just cheddar cheese.

Put on large pot of water on to boil 2 lbs of macaroni pasta

Cook 1 lb of bacon

Leave 1/2 the grease in the pan to start the sauce.

Saute 1/2 a medium onion and 3 cloves of garlic.

Add 1/2 cup of butter to the hot pan along with several tbsps of flour, enough to make a paste.

Then begin adding the milk, whisking constantly, this will take almost 3 cups.

After the milk is fully incorporated, then begin adding the cheese one handful at a time, continue whisking during this process.

Add 1 tbsp of dry mustard and 2 tsp of paprika.

Add cheese until the sauce has that thick cheesy consistency.

Add S&P to taste.

When the pasta has boiled for 6 minutes, drain and then add the cheese sauce over the top of the pasta.

Add the mixture to a greased baking dish.

Top with mixture of 1 tbsp melted butter,  1/4 cup bread crumbs, and the leftover cheese.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are brown and the cheese is melted.

PAN FRIED SPINACH

Heat a tbsp of oil in a pan,

Add the garlic right away, it only needs to saute for a minute.

Just as it begins to become fragrant add the spinach, about 4 cups.

Add S&P to taste.

Wilt the spinach for less than a minute.

Top with fresh lemon juice.

Serve and Enjoy.

I love this picture, that one happy boy and a horse.

Happy First Birthday Clare!  We all headed out to Lake Poway Park to celebrate Clare’s big day.

Grandma these balloons are GREAT!

Grandma and Grandpa need a picture with the birthday girl.

Now Mommy and Daddy’s turn.

And last but not least, my picture with the birthday girl.

I was tad bit skeptical going into the recipe.  I was worried this would be one of those meals that Country Boy would eat, but not really love.

But boy was I wrong.

This one is absolutely husband approved!

He ate his fill last night and then took leftovers for lunch today!

It’s been really cold in San Antonio the last few days so this turned out to be a wonderful way to warm up.  And for those of you who care, you can make this Paleo, or Paleo-friendly depending on how die hard you want to me.

I linked the original recipe at the top, but I made a few modifications to the recipe that I made.

Enjoy Y’all.

Cauliflower Soup with Chorizo and Spinach

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

12 ounces chorizo, sliced

1/2 medium onion, diced

1 medium head cauliflower, chopped into florets, reserve about 1/2 cup back

1 medium potato or two turnips, sliced thin

5 cups chicken broth or chicken stock

1 bag of spinach

a splash of white wine

3 tbsp of heavy cream

S&P to taste

Smoked paprika for garnish

Prepping this soup is a lot like prepping for the butternut squash soup.

Slice and cook your chorizo in a heavy bottom pot.  Remove the cooked chorizo with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel to drain.

Add onions to the chorizo grease to soften and become translucent.

Once the onions are soft, add a splash of wine to deglaze the pan, use a wooden spoon to pick up the bits from the bottom of the pan, then add 5 cups of chicken stock. Add S&P.

Add the sliced potatoes, and cut cauliflower, remember to reserve some small florets to add back in at the end for texture.

Bring to boil, and boil until the veggies are soft, about 10 minutes total.

Puree the mixture in batches, then add back to the heavy bottom pan.

Bring the mixture back up to medium heat, adding the chorizo slices, and cauliflower florets back into to soften.  About 5 minutes.

Add the spinach, lemon juice, and heavy cream, stir to combine and cook for another three minutes.  Add more S&P as desired.

Serve into bowls, tap a tiny amount of smoked paprika on top for color.

Country Boy and I went out on Friday night to watch the Cotton Bowl,  GO AGGIES!!!

Anyway, our friends were serving these drinks, and they are amazing.

*Disclaimer* – these will put you on your a**!

Seriously, they are awesome.  So refreshing, but those two shots of rum will sneak up on you.  It may be a little chilly this time of year, but file these away for the summer time, they will be perfect for sipping on the porch.

Hemingway Daiquiri

2 shots of white rum

1/2 shot of maraschino liquor 

1 shot of grapefruit juice

1/2 shot of fresh lime juice

Shake all of the ingredients over ice, until the drink is cold and a little frothy.

Enjoy!

If you went and looked in your fridge, how many random bottles of salad dressing would you see?  2? 4? 5?

That’s what our fridge used to look like as well.

But salad dressing it really is super easy, and you can easily make it yourself.

I bet you have most of the ingredients in your fridge and pantry already.

This is a white balsamic style dressing but you could substitute any vinegar or mustard that you have to make new and exciting combinations.

Isn’t that the cutest fat little mason jar you’ve ever seen?

Back to salad dressing,

my current green of choice is arugala, I love the peppery taste.

Country boy likes it as well, but just not to the same extent that I do, so I cut the salad with spinach just to ease him into my new greens obsession.

Add you favorite toppings, and then this dressing and you will have a new star at dinner.

I like to use some cherry tomatoes and some sort of toasted nut, usually pecans or walnuts.

After you assemble the salad then I just combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a mason jar, shake it up and toss with your salad.

I also have to put a plug in for shaved parmesan, those big salty chunks really complement this dressing and the salad in general.

White Balsamic Vinaigrette

1/2 good olive oil

1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp minced shallot 

1 tbsp dijon mustard

S&P to taste (use fresh ground pepper)

The next frontier in home ownership.

Putting hardware on the cabinets.  And it only took us 3 months to finish this task.

Country Boy and I spent a lot of time in Lowe’s and Home Depot pondering what kind of cabinet hardware we should put in our kitchen.

Should we do knobs or handles or both?  Should they be big or small?

What color should they be?

Anyway we decided what we wanted, and bought all the handles several months ago.

And right before we left to go to Indiana for Christmas we decided that we should actually put them up.

Well that turned out to be a project and a half.  We finished all the drawers one day and decided we need a break for the fun for a while.

But when we got home a few days ago we decided it was time to bite the bullet and finish.

Thank goodness the doors were a great deal simpler than the drawers.

We finished them all in just a few hours.

Second huge home owner project complete!

Now our kitchen just has a more polished look, not to mention that keeps us from rubbing the oils from our skin all over the corners of the cabinets as we open them, which will eventually discolor the wood.

Since we worked so hard on our project, we decided to reward ourselves by going on a little breakfast date to Magnolia Pancake Haus.

Pulled Pork Confetti Hash with a side of Buttermilk Pancakes.

Delicious!

Next project: Light Fixtures

Happy 2013!!!

2012 was a roller coaster year for us.

We’ve had some really great things happen and we’ve also suffered some terrible losses.

Here’s a recap of some of the good stuff

We bought a house, and moved to Texas.

This little beauty graced us with her presence.

We celebrated the wedding of some of our dear friends.

We visited Indiana, twice.  Once in the blazing heat, and once in the freezing cold.

We bought a king size bed.  Along with several other pieces of furniture.

And Country Boy and I celebrated 3 years together.

We can’t wait to see what 2013 has in store for us.  It’s going to be a interesting year.

Country Boy and I spent Christmas at his family farm this year.

It was cold, but it was worth it, I finally got SNOW!

Isn’t it beautiful there.

There farm is an Indiana homestead, it’s been in the family since 1825.

The original deed is on sheepskin signed by John Quincy Adams.

The blue star on the corn crib is one of Country Boy’s favorite things, it always reminds him of coming home.

I was just trying to get my Christmas Card picture for next year when all of a sudden…

I became engaged in a snowball war.

My favorite picture

Using Country Boy for a block.

Country Boy running for cover as I battle it out with Uncle Greg.

Country Boy and his Momma

Hungry Cows…

Waiting to eat…

Smarter cows wait in the barn.

Cats want to eat also.

It really was beautiful out there, but as soon as it started snowing we started packing to leave.  The snow is beautiful, but the ice that comes afterward was not something Country Boy and I were prepared to deal with.

So after we had lunch with the family we got on the road and headed for warmer weather.

These quilts are my mother’s final gifts to my sister and me.

She’d been collecting t-shirts of ours for years and then she added a college sweatshirt that we’d each given her.  So she’d be a part of our quilt.

She didn’t get to finish the project, so my dad had them quilted by a family friend after she passed.

This is the MOST precious gift I’ve ever gotten.  I’m fairly certain Rachel feels the same.

Thank you Mom, Dad, and Ms. Shirley for doing your part.

Family Shot from “Christmas Morning”.  We celebrated Christmas with my Dad and sister while they were down for Thanksgiving.  Then while we went to Indy for Christmas Dad went up to Rachel’s for her Captain pinning.

Congrats on O-3 little sis!

This was Mae trying to help us get out Christmas card photo.

Love that dog!

What was your favorite Christmas gift this year?