Spicy Mac-n-Cheese, Chocolate Lasagna and Spring Salads

Though this blog has only been around a few months, we've actually been doing Girl's Dinner Nights for close to 3 years. We try to remember all the meals we've made with some accuracy,or make some again because they were so darn good the first time.  That's how we decided to make Spicy Mac-n-Cheese. I made it about 6 months ago, and it was SO great and easy, I couldn't fathom why I'd never made it before. Stephanie and Sabrina love the hot stuff, and so do I to a lesser, more apt to heartburn from it  extent, so I decided to make this one spicy. Chocolate lasagna doesn't have any pasta, don't worry. But it was an absolutely delicious and decadent dessert that I couldn't stay out of for days.

Spicy Mac-n-Cheese

-1/2 lb. elbow macaroni

-3 large eggs

-1 can evaporated milk

 -1 t. cayenne pepper

-1 jalapeno seeded and diced

-1/8 t. ground nutmeg

-1 1/2  cups grated jalapeno jack

-1/2 cup grated monterey jack cheese

-1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

-sriracha sauce

Directions: Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cook macaroni 6 minutes ( it will be slightly under-cooked). In a large bowl, whisk together eggs and evaporated milk. Add 1/2 t. salt, cayenne, nutmeg , jalapenos and cheeses, mix well. Add macaroni and stir well to combine. Transfer to a sprayed 9-inch glass baking pan and bake 15 minutes until slightly browned and bubbly at edges. Let sit 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with sriracha as desired.

You will weep with happiness, and also because your mouth is  on fire, in a good way. =)







Spring Side Salad

-Spring Greens
-Sliced red onions
- Whole salted almonds
-Cucumbers
-Raspberry Poppy seed dressing

- Combine in bowls and top with dressing

This salad is a great way to ease the spice of the Mac-n-Cheese ;)

Chocolate Lasagna

• 1 package regular Oreo cookies 
• 6 Tablespoon butter, melted
• 1- 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cold milk
• 1- 12 ounce tub Cool Whip, divided
• 2 – 3.9 ounce packages Chocolate Instant Pudding.
• 3 1/4 cups cold milk
• 1 and 1/2 cups mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Begin by crushing 36 Oreo cookies. I used my food processor for this, but you could also place them in a large ziplock bag and crush them with a rolling pin. When the Oreos have turned into fine crumbs, you are done.

1. Transfer the Oreo crumbs to a large bowl. Stir in 6 tablespoons melted butter and use a fork to incorporate the butter into the cookie crumbs. When the butter is distributed, transfer the mixture to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you work on the additional layers.
2. Mix the cream cheese with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add in 2 Tablespoons of milk, and sugar, and mix well. Stir in 1 and 1/4 cups Cool Whip. Spread this mixture over the crust.
3. In a bowl, combine chocolate instant pudding with 3 and 1/4 cups cold milk. Whisk for several minutes until the pudding starts to thicken. Use a spatula to spread the mixture over the previous cream cheese layer. Allow the dessert to rest for about 5 minutes so that the pudding can firm up further.
4. Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the top. Sprinkle mini chocolate chips evenly over the top. Place in the freezer for 1 hour, or the refrigerator for 4 hours before serving.
5. *Adapted from http://centercutcook.com/

This is the absolute best way to satisfy a major chocolate craving. Layer upon layer of whipped cream and creamy chocolate. Plus, it has Oreo cookies. Yeah, Enough said.

So once again, we wrapped up the night talking about how even though we've been doing these almost weekly for years, we still are coming up with new fun dinner night ideas. So I guess we'll have to do these until the end of time, because there are an infinite amount of new things out there to make!