Busting out the slow cooker

In a previous post I mentioned I am the new proud parent of a 6-quart Crock-Pot. The mother of all Crock-Pots, this thing has a digital timer, and can be programmed. It was my Easter gift from my mom this year. She knows me so well.

I've already made the Roasted Lemon Chicken that I posted about a week or so ago. My latest was a lentil soup. I made soup this week for lunch because I worked all weekend and didn't have time to make something fancy for lunch. I liked that I could chop a few things, toss it in the crock Sunday night and by lunchtime the next day the soup was ready to eat. Even the maintainance man (who came at 8:30 ish when I was in the shower!!) said it smelled good.

It's pretty good. Not the best lentil soup I've ever had, but it does the trick. If using the ham, I would definitely put it in only to warm it up. I put it in at the very beginning and it's like eating dried pellets of ham. Not that appetizing.

Swap outs gone wild

I "tried" to make a new dish last night. But, I'm not sure it came out how it was supposed to. I probably swapped too many ingredients. The recipe is actually Andouille Sausage and Shrimp with Creole Mustard Sauce. But that's not really what I made.

Instead of andouille, I used light smoked sausage and instead of creole mustard, I used whole grain mustard. Probably not an acceptable swap. But, I couldn't find creole mustard and I had the whole grain mustard on hand. Such is life. I also cut down on the oil just to make the points even lower, although by using light smoked sausage, it's not really a bad-for-you dish to begin with. Sometimes you can find fairly healthy recipes in Bon Appetit. Other times, not so much. Too bad it's the recipes that aren't so much healthy that I love the most.

It was fairly decent but WAY too salty for my tastes. Definitely use a salt-free creole seasoning and low sodium chicken broth (which I did use). The cornbread was really tasty, though. But it's hard to mess up Jiffy. :)

They can't all be winners

Most of the time, my food comes out pretty well. It's pretty darn delicious. But sometimes recipes fail. Maybe it's just not my taste, maybe I misinterpreted the directions, or maybe the recipe was just plain bad.

Last night I was craving comfort food, so I made the DBF and I some homemade stove top macaroni and cheese. I found a recipe for the lightened version in Cook's Illustrated's Best Light Recipe. It failed miserably. First of all, I burned the milk mixture, so it did taste a little charred (even though I strained out the burnt pieces). But I think it was more than that. I didn't care for the cheese I used, which was Cabot's 50 percent light. It was actually nasty. Even though it got such good reviews. Maybe the block I had was a bit old, or maybe I'm just so conditioned to like the fake yellow stuff that I wouldn't know good cheddar if I had it? Who knows. But the dinner stunk. I could barely finish it. Even DBF could barely choke it down, and he'll eat just about anything. Except beans and raisins. He really hates those, but have been known to eat both in my presence so as not to make me feel bad.

The macaroni looks good at least... (maybe?)

Macaroni and Cheese
3/8 pound elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)
1 (12-ounce) can 2 percent reduced-fat evaporated milk
2/3 cup low-fat milk (2 percent)
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder or celery salt (optional)
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons cornstarch
8 ounces 50 percent light cheddar cheese , grated (about 2 cups)

Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and the macaroni; cook until the pasta is completely cooked and tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave it in the colander; set aside.

Add the evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of the 2 percent milk, mustard, garlic powder (if using), cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the now-empty saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk together, then whisk it into the simmering mixture. Continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened and is smooth, about 2 minutes.

Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cheddar until melted and smooth. Stir in the macaroni, and let the macaroni and cheese sit off the heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, 2 to 5 minutes, before serving.

PER SERVING: 360 calories; 10 grams fat; 1 gram fiber

The salad in the background was a version of Cooking Light's Caesar Salad with Bagel Croutons. That was delicious as always. I love making that salad.