Saturday, December 17, 2011

Carmelized Onions?

So, I actually had some time to cook last night.  Jim went shopping for chocolate supplies (look for in the next post)... and I had not one, but TWO dinners cooked and ready for him when he came home.  I was on a roll.  Why?  Who knows? 

I made good old spicy chili.  Mmm.  I also made this:

Macaroni and Cheese with Carmelized Onions

Fancy, right?  I've never carmelized an onion before.  You may say they look a little blackened... is that different from carmelizing?  Haha.  About half the onion burnt to a crisp and I had to throw it away.  Those were actually the less blackened ones...  :-)

It was still pretty tasty.  Not to mention a weight watchers recipe.  For Mac & Cheese.  Dig it.

Onions prior to blackening... I mean, carmelization.



After it was all mixed in the pot, it went in the oven for a little while and got all congealed and cheesy.  Yum.

I do have to say that while this was fairly good, I think I have to say that the blue box is still my favorite.  What kind of macaroni and cheese do you like? 

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Casseroles for Baby

With baby on the way, I started making casseroles... I figured at least if I could freeze a few casseroles for later, we wouldn't starve.  Here are some pictures! 




Beef & Tater Bake

Who doesn't love tater tots?  I'm a fan.  Remember, though, I am in general a fan of things all jumbled together in a yummy mess.  Plus, I was pretty pregnant when I made that.  Regardless, it was tasty.

This next casserole is for any fan of pizza.





Spiral Pepperoni Pizza Bake

A little warning... either don't fill your dish quite so full of mozzarella OR put the dish on a cookie tray so that the cheese doesn't bubble all over your oven.  I love my darling husband who cleaned our oven!  <3

This last casserole is completely designed by me! 





Alissa's Mexican Polenta Bake

Alissa's Mexican Polenta Bake
1 can refried beans
1 roll of polenta, cut into rounds
Corn (canned or frozen)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
Green chiles
1 lb. ground beef, turkey, or chicken (I prefer beef... but you can use what you like!)
Taco seasoning (Packet or make your own!)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jar salsa con queso
Other toppings... grape tomatoes, black olives, mushrooms, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, sour cream, guacamole, etc.

Cook the ground beef in a pan and toss in the onion.  Add the taco seasoning.  *Just a side note... I made my own taco seasoning the other day without a packet (because I didn't realize I was out of them).  This works just as well! 

Spread the refried beans into a 13 x 9 pyrex dish.  Sprinkle some of the corn and black beans on top.  Add the polenta rounds spread out evenly.  Add more corn and black beans.  Add the seasoned meat and onions.  Add mushrooms or banana peppers if you're going to do so.  Add more corn, black beans, green chiles, jalapenos, etc.  Top the dish with the jar of salsa con queso. 

Bake in the oven at 350 for about 20ish minutes.  Top with anything else you want!  See... easy.  For all of you who are watching your weight... this was about 9 WW pts for 1/8 of it.  Not too shabby.

Please note that I am writing this almost 6 weeks (tomorrow) after baby arrived! Did I manage to make and freeze these casseroles prior to baby arriving? NO. Baby came 3 weeks early and surprised everyone... especially me and Jim. 

My sweetie at 1 month.  :-)  Love!
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