Macaroni, Slightly Paula Deen Style

Do you remember a certain Savannah, Georgia trip? Well, if you missed out, it was a very LONG day that was supposed end in dinner at the Lady and Son's restaurant, but instead, ended in dinner with "Wanda" at the Cracker Barrel. A mistake that will never be forgotten.

With that in mind, I was watching the food network yesterday, trying to maintain my dignity as drool ran down my chin, when Mrs. Paula Deen made a macaroni and cheese in a crock pot.

In a crock pot?

Well, I had to see what that was about.

Of course, I never copy or repeat a recipe exactly, so my macaroni has been slightly modified from the original, to save calories. (She says with a giggle, laughing at the idea of a low calorie macaroni. Hahaha)

The first step was to heat the 2 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese (I used a vermont white chedder... my preference), with half a stick of butter. Well, I cut that down to a quarter stick and BAM, it's practically diet food!

You then transfer this mixture into the crock pot. Mixing in a 1/2 a cup of sour cream ( I used lite, since this is a low cal meal), 1 cup of milk (which I split, whipping cream and milk. I felt bad about all those calories I was taking out), then 1/2 tsp ground mustard, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp of pepper. Mix these ingredients together and add 1 bag of cooked elbow noodles.

When I tasted this, to ensure quality of course, the macaroni was sensational! Honestly the best I have ever had! However, whoever told Paula that mac and cheese could go into the crock pot should be fired from her staff immediately.

The first part of the process should begin 5 minutes prior to serving this delicious, creamy mac and cheese, and should NOT be cooked for any extended period. The flavor remains, but the creamy texture goes away. Which is what I suspected as I added the sour cream, but I did it anyways, trusting in Paula's decision.

If you're craving macaroni, I highly recommend Mrs. Paula Deens' recipe, but skip the extended cook time... sour cream and cheese don't deserve that kind of treatment. ;)

What Happened to the Diva Mom?

Wow... so much for the previously mentioned goal of putting my nifty little tools to the test.

I have discovered, in the midst of dealing with 3 children and a husband... the crock pot is my favorite tool.

Don't get me wrong the bullet gets used. I blend and chop, dice and grind many things with it, but not enough to blog about it.

The panini press gets used, but mostly for grilling asparagus and peppers and such. Oh yes, it's very handy for that. Nothing like a fresh $0.12 anaheim chili thrown into a meal after being grilled real quick on the press. Much better than canned.

Ok, there might have been a few things to blog about.

Here's the truth. As some of you know... (I say 'some', assuming there is more than 1, being The Wino, reading this thing) I moved from Massachusetts a few months ago. I now live in Hell. Wait, there's another word for it... Oh yes, Arizona! Indian for "Hell".

I'm not a fan.

Hey, being a fan would be handy in this heat.

ANYWAYS.... I have been in low spirits these last 2 months. Blogging has not been the priority of my day. The small people keep me preoccupied and the rest of the time is spent doing 'busy work'... or plugging my ears, closing my eyes and saying "Na Na Na Na Na Na!"

My point.... Yes, I had one... Finally, I found something to pull me out of my funk. (Well, we'll all cross our fingers anyways.)

I discovered MonaVie. You may or may not have heard about it. It is an Acai Berry juice that you drink every day to improve your health.

Well, living in Hell has cause a level of stress that is wreaking havoc on me. So, I needed this stuff! The best part about it is, I can actually make money as well. Anyone that knows me knows that if I like something, I tell everyone I know about it. So, might as well earn some money and make us all healthy and happy to be living in this God foresaken place. (Yes, occasionally, the MonaVie may have to have Vodka in it for that to work.)

So, we're taking a little detour. I'm hoping that a few weeks from now, you're going to hear me raving about Hell and how much I love it here. Ok, Acai berry probably isn't THAT magical. BUT, Oprah swears by it, so... lets just see, shall we.

In the mean time, if you would like to try some for yourself, you can get some on my website.

I would LOVE to do this WITH someone. Please post your comments with me.

www.MonaVieSimplicity.com

Chicken Tomatillo Enchilladas

Now, I know that my goal was quick, easy and healthy... but considering it was early in the day, quick and easy wasn't my most important goal... but Healthy, I got!

I've been dying to make fresh corn tortillas. So, I decided to use the skillet plates of my panini press and make some beautiful and healthy tortillas.

After throwing away a few bowls of crumbly dough, that I over watered to the point of mush... I decided to read the directions on the back of the bag, which I hadn't realized were there until I started cursing directly

to the bag.

After a few attempts at flattening the little dough balls, I discovered that a rolling pin and wax paper was the best method. The looks of my sad little tortilla blobs make it obvious that a tortilla press will be my next kitchen toy.

After my tortilla mess was cleaned up. (NOT being the quick and easy part of this meal) I proceeded to grill some vegis that I pulled from my refrigerator.

Like most of my meals, I did not start off knowing what I was creating. I knew that it would somehow involve my homemade tortillas, along with the tomatillos, green chillies and chicken.

So, I grilled the chillies, a yellow pepper and my tomatillos, threw them into my bullet and turned it into a sauce. I then blended cilantro, half a jalapeno (cause there are children eating it) and some green onions and threw that mixture into my crock pot with the rest. At this point it smells FANTASTIC! (I cook with my nose, so we'll find out how it tastes later.)

....Later

At this point, I just want to use my cute little individual baking dishes, so ENCHILADAS it is!

After about 6 hours of marinating in a crock pot, the chicken and tomatillo mix was ready.

I layered the homemade tortilla blobs, chicken mix and cheese, baked and created the PERFECT Enchilada.

I garnished my perfect enchilada with some light sour cream and some salsa verde.

I highly recommend you try this. And, let me know how it works for you... maybe you'll have better luck with your tortilla blobs. However, beauty aside, the flavors were EXCELLENT!