I made Mac and Cheese, and popcorn this weekend! I couldn't be more proud of something so unimpressive and the satisfaction of making something new for the first time and having it taste good and sharing it and eating it to satisfy some spontaneous cravings is something to smile about!!!!!! *breathe*
I am lazy when it comes to following a recipe. For the mac n cheese, I read about 3 different mac n cheese recipes and combined what I liked together....orrrr it was more like combining whatever ingredients I have in our pantry and take it from there. I actually didn't have any elbow macaroni and took the noodles from a Kraft dinner and Annie's mac n cheese boxes we had lying around and threw away the cheese powder mix. We never eat that stuff anyway so not sure why we have it.
Simple recipes like this need not to be shared and described but if y'all lazy like me..maybe this will inspire you to DIY when you have these junky little cravings. Now I know I won't be ordering Mac n' Cheese when I go out nor buy bags of popcorn which was an obsession at some point. Were you guys also addicted to microwave popcorn like I was? Anyway, I can make it myself now and add as much butter and salt as I want without all the chemical preservatives!
Enjoy!
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| Mac and cheese -nykeiko.com |
Mac N Cheese:
45 minutes to make tops, unless you're slow at grating cheese.
-Grated cheese (Sharp cheddar and gruyere). I was lazy and used a block of Trader Joe's fresh gruyere/cheddar cheese mix. Dave did the grating which is the "hard" part. I used 3/4 of the cheese but I think we could have gone all the way and use it all!
-3 tbsp of butter
-1 egg
-dices of onions (1/4 onions or more if you like them onions). I think scallion would work too!
-1 cup of whole milk or cream?
-2-4 cups of elbow macaroni (I actually just took the noodles from two Kraft's and Annie's Mac N cheese boxes we had sitting around).
-salt, herbs, paprika, fresh grounded pepper, cilanto or parsley to garnish (I ate the parsley along with the mac n cheese and it was gooood!). Really though, you can probably add anything to your liking!
Boil the butter, milk and onions on high heat. Add salt and paprika. Some herbs if you'd like. Stir occasionally until butter melts. Slowly add the egg to mix and 3/4 of your cheese until cheese melts. Pour in your cooked noodles and mix in medium heat until all the noodles are covered and gooey. Transfer everything into a baking pan and top it up with lotsa leftover cheese. Bake in 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. I broiled for extra 5 to make the cheese crispy. Easy peasy!
Use this recipe from
Food Network as a guide b'cause I sure suck at writing up recipes!
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| Homemade popcorn is easy -nykeiko.com |
Popcorn:
10 minutes tops
-1/2 cup of corn seeds
-3 tbsp of oil (I used grapeseed oil)
-salt, cayenne, melted butter to taste. Cheddar or garlic powder are popular flavors but we didn't have any of that.
Follow instructions on the bag of corn. hehe.
Ok ok. Add 3 tbsp of oil in a pot* and add 2-3 kernels on high heat. Cover lid and wait. As soon as the kernels pop, add the rest of the seed and shake the pot so the kernels spread out. Keep on high heat. Watch them pop away. Shake the pot a little to ease poppin'. When all the poppin' stops, turn off heat and add melted butter, salt and pepper and whatever garnish to your liking!
*I didn't know how much kernels was 1/2 cup and the popcorn overflowed in the pan I used. I learned it the fun way, now you use a bigger pan or pot to prevent overflowing popcorn!
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