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!

Crunchy Chicken Broccoli Bake and Spring Salads

As much as we wish, it is not spring out yet. It may be almost May, but mother nature just can't seem to let winter go this year. Last week we comforted  ourselves with delicious new recipes as we try our hardest to be patient and wait for spring. 

 One of the many fun things about this blog is that we can keep track of what we make each week. At the end of every successful Girl's Dinner Night, we laze around full to the brim and try to think of what to make next week. Granted, we could have written it down, but whatever, we've been doing it almost 3 years now, so we're bound to forget from time to time... 

Crunchy Chicken Bake

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups chopped cooked chicken

1 can (10 ¾ ounces) condensed cheddar cheese soup or homemade condensed cheddar cheese soup 

½ cup milk (use even if you are using homemade soup)

Dash ground pepper

2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen broccoli cuts, cooked and drained

1 can (2.8 ounces) French fried onions

Directions:

1.  Stir the cooked chicken, soup, milk, pepper, broccoli and 2/3 cup of the onions into a 1 ½ quart casserole.  Cover.

2.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes until hot. Stir the mixture.

3.  Sprinkle the remaining onions over the mixture.

4.  Bake for 5 minutes more until the onions are golden. Makes 6 servings.

Who doesn't love those fried onions? This is a comfortingly  crunchy casserole style dish. So simple to whip up and delish!

Is it Spring Yet? Salad

-3 cups mixed greens

-2 mandarin oranges, sectioned

-3 strawberries, diced

-1/2 cup almonds

-2 green onions, chopped

-1/2 cup feta cheese

- Raspberry Vinaigrette

Directions: Divide ingredients evenly in three bowls and add dressing to taste.

We needed color to brighten up this dark spring. This is just an amalgam of colorful and flavorful fruits and veggies to help us think summery thoughts.We also did a spring dance, which is the opposite of a rain dance and meant to bring the sun out from behind the clouds. hey, it can't hurt, right? ;)

Next week's menu: Mexican fusion night: Taco Pasta, guacamole and Tex-Mex truffles!!

"Soup's On!"

"Soup's On!" is what my mother used to say when dinner was ready.  It always bothered me considering we never actually had "soup" but supposedly this is a common expression meaning simply "Dinner is ready".  Well, this time, we did have soup and so I found it a more appropriate time to say "Soup's On!" and in good time too, as Old Man Winter has finally dropped in to say hello to the Northland!  We enjoyed our warm soup accompanied by delicious cornbread muffins and salad! 

Spicy Chicken Corn Chowder

Prepared by: Sabrina

3 Large Chicken Breasts (cut into bite sized pieces)

3 Tablespoons Butter

I Diced Red Bell Pepper

1 Diced Green Bell Pepper

1 Diced Small Onion

1 Bushel Green Onions

5 Diced Baby Red Potatoes

2 Cans Cream Corn

5 Cups Water

3 Chicken Bouillon Cubes

I Tablespoon Minced Garlic

Up to 2 Tablespoons Red Pepper Flakes (beware...start small like 1/2 Tablespoon or none at all if you do not care for spicy)

2/3 Cups Sour Cream

Directions: In large pot, saute chicken and veggies in the butter until cooked.  Add the water and bouillon cubes and cook on Medium-High for about 10 minutes.  Add the cream corn, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook for about 10 more minutes.  Next add the sour cream and stir.  Voila!

Parmesan & Herb Cornbread Muffins

Prepared by: Kala

1 Cup Flour

1 Cup Cornmeal

1 teaspoon Baking Soda

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 Stick Melted Butter

1/3 Cup Honey

1 Egg

1 Cup Buttermilk

1/2 Cup Parmesan

1 teaspoon each:

Basil, Garlic Powder, Oregano

Directions: Preheat oven to 350.  Line and spray muffin tins.  Combine wet and dry ingredients separately (leaving Parmesan and herbs out), whisking to combine.  Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then fold in the Parmesan and herbs  Bake 20 -25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

Pear Salad

Prepared by: Stephanie

1 Cup Chopped Romain

1/4 diced Pear (fresh or canned)

6 Wasabi Soy Almonds

2 Tablespoons Chopped Red Onion
1/3 Chopped Avocado

Bleu Cheese Dressing

Directions: Toss ingredients in a bowl and enjoy!
 

As usual, dinner night was amazing, and warmed our bellies during the cold evening.  Next week, we're doing dinner sandwich style!  Stay tuned!