Panera Bread's Macaroni and Cheese

It is pretty much a known fact that macaroni and cheese is my absolute favorite food.  When Panera came out with one, I could not wait to taste it!  The creaminess of their mac and cheese is unmatched and I tried hard to figure out how to do it at home.  After many trials and errors this is what I came up with.  And it is not only as good as Panera's, but it may be even a little bit better!

Ingredients:
1 pound shell shaped pasta
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup flour
2 1/2 cups half and half or whole milk
6 slices white american cheese
8 oz shredded Vermont white cheddar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
salt

Directions:
Begin by boiling a large pot of water for the pasta.  This takes a while, so I always do it first.

In a small sauce pan heat the oil for about 2 minutes.  Then slowly stir in the flour and cook on medium high until it begins to bubble while whisking.

Cook this for another 2 minutes.  Then slowly pour in the half and half while whisking vigorously.  With the burner on low, allow the sauce to thicken while stirring occasionally.  

Once the water begins to boil, season the water with salt and cook the pasta based on the package directions.  Mine took about 14 minutes.  Make sure to stir the pasta so it does not stick together.  

While the milk is thickening, prepare your cheeses.  I like to grate my own cheese because it doesn't have any of the stabilizers of pre-shredded cheese.  Also cut your American cheese into small pieces.

Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the mustard and whisk until smooth.  Then toss in the American and Vermont White Cheddar cheeses and stir until the sauce is completely smooth with no unmelted cheese left.  

Once the pasta finishes cooking, drain the pasta and put back into the hot pot.  Put it on the stove over a medium flame and pour the cheese sauce over it.  Stir for about one minute over the medium heat.  Serve and enjoy!

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Goat Cheese and Avocado Burger

Ingredients:
1 avocado
1 lb ground beef
12 oz goat cheese (amount can be varied)
salt
pepper
4 burger buns
1 lemon
1 tablespoon oil

Directions:
Form the ground beef into 4, 1/4 lb burger patties.  In a large grill pan, heat 1 tablespoon of oil.  Season each patty with salt and pepper on both sides. Once the pan is hot, drop the patties in.  Don't touch them so you can allow them to get brown on one side.  They should cook about 4-5 minutes minutes on this first side with the heat on high. 

Meanwhile, slice up the avocado.  Push your knife into the side of the avocado so it comes in contact with the pit.  Rotate your knife around to make one line.  Twist the avocado open and remove the pit with a spoon.  Then using a large spoon, scoop it out of the shell in one piece.  Put it on a cutting board and slice it very thinnly.  Then sprinkle with salt and squeeze with a little lemon juice. 

Now you can flip your burger.  Cook them on the other side for another 5 minutes or until they are completely brown.  Once that side is completely done, flip them over again and put however much goat cheese you want on top.  I like a lot of cheese! Then put a lid or tin foil over the burgers to allow the cheese to melt for 2-3 minutes.

While the cheese is melting, get the hamburger buns ready.  Whatever bun you like is perfectly fine.  I lay 2 or 3 pieces of avocado on the bottom bun. 

Once the burgers are done, take them out and put them on top of the avocado.  Then place another 2 or 3 pieces on top of the cheese.

Then put the tops on your burger and serve!

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Florentine Lasagna Rolls

Ingredients:
Filling:
1 lb ricotta cheese
1 cup bechamel sauce (recipe to follow)
1 box frozen spinach, thawed and drained completely
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1 egg
salt
pepper

Bechamel Sauce:
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons flour

Lasagna:
1 lb. lasagna noodles
4 cups tomato sauce (I just made a quick one with canned sauce and add some garlic and sauted it for a half hour)

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you are making everything else.

In a small sauce pan eat the oil up for the bechamel sauce.  Once it is hot, whisk in the flour until it is thick.  Then add the milk and stir vigorously. Turn the heat to medium and allow the sauce to thicken for about 10 minutes, stirring every minute or so.

Defrost the spinach in the microwave.  Once it is completely defrosted, put it in a kitchen towel and squeeze it and drain it completely.  It should be completely dry. 

In a large bowl stir the ricotta cheese, drained spinach, bechamel sauce, egg, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.  Be light on the salt as the cheese is very salty. 

Once the water has boiled, salt the water and put the lasagna noodles in being careful not to break them.  Cook them based n the package directions, usually abut 14 minutes.  Once they are cooked, drain the noodles and allow them to cool for a few minutes.  Try to separate them without burning yourself and lay them over the sides of the pan.

In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, lay the sauce on the bottom just to cover.  Take one lasagna noodle and place it flat on cutting board.  Put about 1-2 tablespoons of filling on one end and roll it to the other.  Place it in the pan.  Do this with every other lasagna noodle.  Once they have all been made and are in the pan.  Cover the top with the rest of the sauce.

Bake covered for 40 minutes.  Uncover the lasagna and sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the top if desired.  Put back into the oven for another 15 minutes or until top is golden.  Serve and enjoy!

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Lasagna

Lasagna

Ingredients:

1 lb lasagna noodles

5 cups tomato sauce

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

½ cup parmesan cheese

1 lb ricotta cheese

1 egg

2 tablespoons parsley

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Once the water has boiled, add salt and the lasagna noodles.  They take about 10-12 minutes to cook.  Stir them every so often so they do not stick together.  Once they are finished cooking, strain in a colander and allow to cool for 5 minutes.  Then separate the noodles and lay them over the sides of the colander so they do not get stuck together.  Be careful, steam gets trapped in between the noodles and will release when you separate them. 

I usually make a homemade sauce, but if you want you can use a store bought.  Heat it up for a few minutes in a saucepan beforehand.  In a large bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese.  Then add the egg and parsley.

In a 13 x 9 inch baking dish, pour a little sauce in the bottom of the pan.  Then layer 3 noodles across the bottom of the dish.  Take a few teaspoonfuls on each individual lasagna noodle.  Spread it across so the entire noodle is covered.  Then spoon sauce over the top of the cheese layer.  On the next layer, use 5 noodles and lay them in the opposite direction of the first layer.  You can cut off the extra and use that on future layers.  For the last layer, leave 3 noodles for the top.  Lay them on the previous layer and just pour sauce on top of that without any of the cheese mixture.  Sprinkle with a little bit of parmesan cheese.  Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 40- 45 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

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Fettucine Alfredo

As you know I am a huge fan of Disney!  One of their former restaurants, Alfredo's, had the best fettucine alfredo I have ever tasted!  It was actually the original fettucine alfredo and it differs from its competition because it actually contains no cream!  This recipe is so simple and absolutely delicious!

Ingredients:
2 sticks of butter
1 lb fettucine
2 cups parmesan cheese
salt

Directions:
Bring water to a boil and salt.  Then cook your pasta for about 10 minutes.  Right before draining reserve 1/2 cup of the pasta water. 

In a small bowl mix together the 2 sticks of softened butter and parmesan cheese.  I used a fork to mash the two together. 

Once the pasta is done cooking and the water has been reserved in a separate bowl, drain the pasta.  Then add the butter and cheese mixture in the bottom of the pot and melt for a minute or two.  Then add the pasta back into the pot with the butter and cheese.  Toss together with tongs until everything is melted.  Slowly add a few tablespoons of the water until a sauce forms.  You may end up using the whole half a cup, but don't pour it all in at once.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

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