One Pan Mac and Cheese

Growing up, I was an extremely picky eater. I hated to see anything green in my food. One of the few things that I would eat (and could eat every. single. day.) was mac and cheese. It's still one of my favorite foods... and I could still probably eat it every day (but it would not be very good for my health...)

I recently figured out a way to make mac and cheese easier. In the past, I had been making a roux to make the sauce and boiling the pasta separately. This is probably the easiest mac and cheese recipe you'll come across- and it doesn't come with a neon orange powder. 

One Pan Macaroni and Cheese (Makes 4 servings)

1/2 box Macaroni Noodles

2 cups Water

1/2 cup Milk
2 tbsp Butter
2 oz Sharp Cheddar Cheese
2 slices American Cheese
Shaved Pecorino Cheese
Salt 

Pepper 

Garlic Powder

1. In a large saute pan, bring the noodles and water to a boil.

2. Once it boils for about 2 minutes, add the milk and butter. 

3. When the noodles become about 75% cooked (try one), add the cheese in. Chop up the cheddar, and shave the pecorino with a vegetable peeler. You can shave about 10-12 pieces. Add more if you wish!

4. Mix the cheese into the mixture, and then add seasoning to taste. Pecorino is salty, so you can add less salt than you normally would. 

5. Continue to mix the mac and cheese until the sauce thickens. You don't need to add any flour, because the starch from the pasta will help to thicken the sauce. 

6. Add more milk if the noodles become too dry. Once you get the right consistency and the noodles are done cooking, serve!

This is one of the simplest recipes you will come across, and it will be done in just over 20 minutes! Perfect way to enjoy comfort food made with love and cheese (although they're basically the same thing) Thanks for reading! :)

Chocolate Cake with Caramel Buttercream

Caramel and chocolate basically go hand in hand, right? This is a great recipe for a rich, delicious, and simple chocolate cake that is nothing short of awesome. I layered a chocolate cake with caramel buttercream and poured caramel sauce over the top of the cake for a gooey caramel cake!

Chocolate Cake with Caramel Buttercream
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix
Ingredients on the Box of Cake Mix

1 stick Butter
4 oz Shortening
3 oz Powdered Sugar
3 oz Sugar
2 Egg Whites

1/2 cup Sugar
2 tbsp Water
1/3 cup Heavy Cream
2 tbsp Butter

1. Mix the cake batter according to the box's instructions and bake into cake pans.
2. Allow the cake to cool completely.
3. Cream butter, shortening, and powdered sugar together until completely soft and incorporated.
4. Combine egg whites and sugar and heat in a bowl on top of a pot of boiling water.
5. Allow the egg white mixture to get to about 140 degrees F. The sugar will be completely dissolved into the whites at this point.
6. Remove from the heat and whip to stiff peaks.
7. Mix the meringue into the butter and shortening mixture.
8. Heat sugar and water over high heat. Do not stir.
9. Once the sugar begins to take on some color, swirl the pot. Have the cream ready by this point.
10. Once the sugar gets to an amber color, quickly remove the pot from the heat.
11. Pour the cream into the sugar, and stir. Be careful, the sugar will boil up very quickly.
12. Add the butter and allow the caramel to cool completely.
13. Once the caramel is cool, fold half of it into the buttercream.
14. Save the remaining half for the top of the cake.
15. Slice the cake into 3 even slices using a serrated knife.
16. Once sliced, trim the uneven parts, and then layer the cake with buttercream. This is easiest when you use a piping bag to pipe the buttercream in layers on the cake.
17. Then, put a layer of buttercream on the top. Place the cake into the fridge to set up for about 20 minutes.
18. Check the caramel sauce to make sure that it isn't too thick. If it is so thick that it will not flow at all, heat it very gently until it flows slightly.
19. Make sure that the caramel is not hot or too warm. Then, gently pour it on top of the cake and allow it to come down the sides.
20. Serve immediately.

I used cake mix to make this cake. It actually works great! It's easy, but also very moist and fluffy. The best part of this cake is the buttercream, so there's no reason to spend too much time making the cake itself! 

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! I hope you felt super appreciated today! I really have a lot to be thankful for. My dad is an awesome man who really leads by example. He's a great supporter and caregiver and has always been a great source of advice and encouragement. My stepdad is also a great man. He treats my mom with a lot of respect and love, and cares for me and the rest of my family as if we are his own. Both my dads are so selfless, loving, encouraging, and are great examples of what heads of households should look like. They help me to strive for more and pursue my passions. I hope everyone is able to show their dads some love this day! :)

Handmade Pappardelle with Mushroom Cream Sauce

I hope everyone had a great valentines day! Whether it was spent with friends, family, or significant others, I hope that you were all able be appreciative of whoever you were with, and show them love!

I showed my valentine some love with an Atlanta Hawks themed bouquet. If you missed some of the macarons I made, check out my instagram, @deliciowhso!

Anyways, let's move onto this week's post! Earlier in the week, my roommate and I made some delicious pasta! We took the handmade pasta recipe (click here), and cut them into thick strips for pappardelle pasta. The key to making the noodles is rolling them very thin. If you have a pasta maker, it's much easier, but we went with a rolling pin. With some elbow grease, he was able to make some great noodles!

Handmade Pappardelle with Mushroom Cream Sauce (makes 4 servings)

Pappardelle Noodles
 Handmade Pasta Dough

1. Section the dough into 4 sections and roll into a very thin sheet.
2. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife against a straightedge to cut noodles about 1-inch thick.
3. Boil water, and season with salt.
4. Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook until tender, about 7 minutes.
5. Drain and cool the noodles.

Mushroom Cream Sauce
3 Chicken Thighs
3 Cloves Garlic
2 tbsp Olive Oil
10 Medium-Sized Baby Bella Mushrooms
1 cup Heavy Cream
1 tbsp Flour
1 tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Large Kale Leaves
Salt
Pepper 
Garlic Powder
Dried Thyme
Pecorino Cheese, for garnish

1. Cut chicken thighs into small pieces.
2. Mince garlic, slice mushrooms, and chop up kale.
3. In a large sauce pan, heat oil.
4. Add garlic and saute slightly. Then add chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. You want to season at every step of the way, so that the flavor is balanced and cooks into the food. Allow the chicken to cook at least halfway before continuing.
5. Add the mushrooms until slightly tender. Add seasoning as needed.
6. Add the cream, and mix well. Allow to simmer for about 5 minutes. Then, sift flour into the sauce. This will help the sauce to thicken.
7. Add the kale. It will seem like a lot, but it will cook down into the sauce. Turn it gently until it cooks down.
8. Add the pasta and mix well. Add lemon juice, and any seasoning it may need. Cook until the pasta becomes hot, and the sauce is thick.
9. Place onto a plate. Shave some pecorino with a vegetable peeler, and garnish the pasta. Serve immediately.

This pasta is a great way to impress friends and family! The sauce is simple, and delicious! It's a creamy sauce with just the right amount of acid to balance the mushroom flavor. A big thanks to Nam for making the noodles for me, and I hope all you readers will take the time to recreate this yummy dish!

Nut-Free Basil Pesto

Nut allergies are extremely common, one of the top 5 most common food allergies. During my freshman year, my roommate had a nut allergy. We had dinner one day at the campus eatery. She ordered pesto pasta, but didn't mention to omit the pine nuts. Luckily, she didn't have a severe reaction, and when I made pesto, I couldn't help but think about that moment.

Pesto is a great sauce. It can be used as a pasta sauce, as a spread on bread or in a sandwich, as well as a seasoning for baked chicken. Depending on the purpose, you can adjust the amount of salt and pepper. For something like pasta you may need more. For a sandwich spread you may need less. The same would go for the olive oil.

Basil Pesto 

2 bunches Basil

1 Lemon

4 cloves Garlic

1/4 cup Grated Parmesean Cheese 

1/2 cup Olive Oil

1 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1. Remove the basil leaves from the stem. 

2. Peel and roughly chop the garlic. 

3. Slice lemon in half. 

4. . Place basil, garlic, parmesean, lemon juice, salt, and pepper into a food processor. 

5. Grind down to chop and slowly add the olive oil. 

6. Stream the olive oil in until.the sauce reaches a pasty consistency. 

7. Remove from food processor and use as desired. 

You can also add nuts if you would like. Traditionally pesto is made with pine nuts, but walnuts also work well. You can add a small handful of each to the recipe. 

Pesto also freezes very well! You can place into a small airtight plastic container or into an ice cube tray :) Just defrost to use. The pesto defrosts relatively quickly because of the oil. You can pull it out for a quick dinner option with pasta, veggies, and chicken! 

Cranberry Sauce

THANKSGIVING! A time to be thankful, but better known as the holiday about food! In commemoration, I decided I would write a few Thanksgiving posts! I mean, this is a food blog, after all. The Facebook page also will have links to recipes you can make for the holiday dinners/potlucks, so go check it out!!!

Thanksgiving dinner is usually complete with cranberry sauce. I remember growing up, we would purchase the canned cranberry sauce. I wasn't very fond of the gelatinous wiggly thing that would fall out of the can onto a plate to then be sliced to look slightly more appealing. So, I began to make my own cranberry sauce. I like to brighten up the normal cranberry sauce by adding clementines to create a tangy, tart flavor that perfectly compliments any Thanksgiving feast. Clementines are smaller, and sweeter than oranges (but they also happened to be the only citrus at my grandfather's house). I got cranberries for $2 (so worth it!) at my local grocery store. They should be easy to find because they are in season. Try this simple, inexpensive recipe for your Thanksgiving dinner!

Cranberry Sauce
12 oz package Fresh Cranberries
2 Clementines
1/4 cup Sugar
2 tbsp Honey
1/2 tsp Salt

1. Rinse and pour cranberries into a small saucepan.
2. Zest the 2 clementines and add it to the sauce. If you want larger pieces, you can use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest and then cut it smaller with a knife.
3. Place the zest into the pot with the cranberries.
4. Cut the clementines in half and squeeze all of the juice from them. It is okay to have the pulp in the sauce, since it will cook down.
5. Add sugar, honey, and salt to the pot.
6. Heat on low heat, stirring occasionally. The heat will begin to open the cranberries. Remove from the heat when all of the cranberries have opened.

You can make this sauce days before, refrigerate it, and then reheat it when you're ready to serve it. You can also use this as a spread for post-Thanksgiving sandwiches (the best way to use Thanksgiving leftovers). Make this cranberry sauce as a healthy, fresh alternative to the canned jelly-sauce.

Lastly, I am extremely thankful for all of my readers! I hope that you all enjoy your holiday! Be sure to create and share these dishes with your close friends and family to let them know you are thankful for them as well! Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving recipes!