Mac N' Cheese & Tomato Soup Bake

Finally! I pinterest idea that didn't fail! 

Mac n' Cheese & Tomato Soup Bake

Ingredients:

(I used leftovers that I had)

Mac n' Cheese 

Tomato Soup

 (Prepared with 1/2 can milk and 1/2 can water)

1 cup Cheez-its

A sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese

HOW TO:

Its SO SIMPLE! Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

1. Put Mac n' Cheese in a pan. Spread evenly (I don't have a pan, so I used a small pot, it worked relatively well, but a pan would've been better.)

2. Pour tomato soup over the top of the mac n' cheese. 

3. Crumble Cheez-its over the top of it all.

4. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of that

5. Put in oven for 15-20 minutes (if you use a regular pan it might end up being a bit less. Just make sure you keep it in long enough that the cheese melts but the Cheez-its don't burn.)

6. Scoop it into a bowl. (Depending on your Mac to Soup ratio it could be more soupy or more mac-n-cheesy. Mine was more soupy, because I just used the leftovers I had. I think if you used a full box of mac and a full can of soup you would probably have a mac-n-cheesier meal. But I am a college kid and I didn't want my leftovers to go to waste!) 

7. EAT IT. NUMNUMNUM. 

Too Early for Banana Pancakes

Today I learned a few very important lessons:

1) I need to stop looking at Pinterest late at night. I get these great "ideas" for new recipes and they never are as good as I imagine when I am half asleep.

 Last night, while mourning the Packer loss ( :( Still so fresh. Next year Pack! Next year!) and wasting away time on pinterest, I ran into a recipe for "easy" banana pancakes. All I needed was one overripe banana (which I had in my freezer) and two eggs. PERFECT, I had the ingredients and I thought to myself, "Yum, I will make these for breakfast tomorrow." I didn't take into account that my not-yet-coffee-fueled brain would not be able to handle actually cooking a breakfast meal.

2) I should not try to cook anything before I drink my morning coffee.

I burnt the first two "pancakes." Not just crispy black edges, the entire bottom of the pancakes were BLACK. 

3) I should stop trying to make things with bananas. I don't like them, but I keep trying to find ways to incorporate the potassium rich, healthy fruit into my diet. Remember Banana Chips? Yep. I need to stop.

The "banana pancakes" tasted like banana flavored eggs. I don't know what you think about that, but let me tell you, I was not pleased. I could not even take a second bite. Blehk. I still cannot get the taste out of my mind. I guess if you really enjoy eggs and really enjoy bananas, you might think that sounds like a perfect match. I am not fond of either, so I really have no idea what I was thinking. It was awful. 

 Hopefully I will remember these lessons and you will not have to read about my banana fails anymore. No promises.

Truly A Cheese-head Chili

It has been WAY TOO LONG since I have blogged, for that, I apologize! My fall semester was INSANELY crazy, and I was just as busy as I thought I would be, leaving me little time to do anything advegturous, and how many blogs could I have written about the dining hall food? I am starting off 2013 with the promise to myself and my readers that I will blog this semester and go on adventures in Minneapolis and my kitchen.

Yes. That is a Packer Pillow Pet. 

 AND NOW, the newest advegture occurred because my ALL TIME FAVORITE TEAM, the Green Bay Packers are playing the San Francisco 49ers in their second playoff game of the season tonight! Of course, a cheese-head at heart, I decided to prepare Amy's vegan black bean chili and Annie's organic shells and real aged cheddar. Because you cannot be from Wisconsin and not enjoy chili and mac n' cheese on game day. I wasn't sure what to expect since I have never experienced chili from a can. FACT: I actually used my can opened for the first time and I even opened the can on my first try. Go me!


While awaiting the game to start, which was like waiting for water to boil, I literally waited for water to boil so that I could make the delicious mac n' cheese. I like Annie's because it doesn't have that artificial flavor or color that other boxed mac n' cheese often has. Plus, the real aged cheddar was the perfect cheese-head chili partner. If you are from Wisconsin, you probably love cheese. Its practically in your blood, probably why they call us cheese-heads, which I am perfectly proud of!

The chili was GREAT! I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was full of flavor, but not overly spicy and the beans were a great meat substitute. I did not feel like I was missing out on meat at all. YUM! I will be making this again for the next game, maybe even....THE SUPERBOWL!? (Fact: I couldn't be more excited for the Superbowl. I am a HUGE Beyonce fan! If the Packers make it, I would be SO FREAKING HAPPY.)

Now that my belly is full, I will watch the game! FINALLY!  GO PACK GO!!! 

Parent's Weekend!

The Parentals visited me last weekend! Beyond taking my mother to her first college football game (where the Gophers lost, par usual...) and exploring the Mall of America (where I got some new swag) we ate A TON of food. By the time my parents left, I was filled TO THE RIM! Here are just a few of the places we went!
The Imperial Room 
Where: 417 1st Ave. N in the one and only Downtown Minneapolis.

What: An after-work type of bar. Would be a great place to go during happy hour after work...if I had a job and I was actually over 21. They had a 1/2 off app and drinks deal during happy hour on Thursdays & Fridays, and a gaggle of work people were there to munch. It seemed like a great place to relax after work, or to go after you travel 6 hours to visit your amazing daughter at college.
FOOD: Of the many things that were eaten at this meal, there were a few that were reasons to go back. The first, one of our appetizers-Breaded Mushrooms. Besides the fact that the breaded mushrooms alone were delicious and perfectly breaded, the home-made horseradish sauce was GREAT! The Mom ate it by itself once the breaded mushrooms were gone. For my main meal, I had a veggie filled flat bread pizza. It was cheesy and every bite was full of vegetables. Lastly, I had apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. My dad saw the large plate and told me to just eat the ice cream and take the rest home, because he didn't think I could finish it. I took that as a personal challenge and ate the entire dessert. YUM. Showed him!

Bryant Lake Bowl
Where: 810 West Lake Street. Uptown Minneapolis(My favorite part of Minneapolis!)
What: The Parentals saw this place on the food network's tv show, Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives and HAD to   check it out. It is a bowling alley, theater, and restaurant. The Parentals went there while I was in class on Friday, and loved it show much that we went again after the gopher game. It almost defines what a "hole-in-the-wall" type restaurant is. It has tiny tables and a great, small-time feel. The menu is some-what small, but the deliciousness is BIG! The meat is grass-fed and the vegetables are such are all local. It was definitely a "hipster hangout" and I LIKED IT.
FOOD: The Dad, my Roomie, and I all had vegetarian chilli. It was the most perfect after game meal. It was full of beans and was perfectly spicy. It was served with a heaping pile of cheese on top and was so delicious  that I would take a bus just to get the chilli to go and leave. I had my chilli with a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich. I want it right now. It was such a fantastic meal. YUM!

Boo! Cake

Happy Halloween! Goombah and I made a cake to celebrate the fabulous season. Originally , the plan was to make a dark-chocolate chip and pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting....which I will make someday because that sounds delicious. BUT we  had no ride to the grocery store, and didn't feel like taking a trip to Downtown Minneapolis to Target to get cooking supplies. We settled for CVS and came up with an on-the-spot recipe to celebrate the spooky holiday.

BOO! Cake. 

So easy, a child could do it.

....or two college students.

WHAT WE FOUND AT CVS!

(aka ingredients)

1 box chocolate cake mix.

1 bag pumpkin-spice Hershey's Kisses

3 Eggs (Or whatever it says on the box)

1 cup applesauce

(because we were too cheap to purchase vegetable oil and I had some in my cabinet.

PLUS its healthier than vegetable oil. Its a Win-Win situation)

Vanilla Frosting 

Candy Corn 

TO MAKE IT:

Preheat oven to what it says on the box (350 degrees probably)

1. Make the box cake mix. Follow the directions on the box. Substitute a cup of applesauce for vegetable oil. Put the made-up cake mix into a greased 9x11 cake pan.

2. If you want to be FANCY, like Goombah and I, you can double-boiler melt the kisses. (I think that is what it is called, its pictured over there-->) But you could probably just break the kisses into pieces and mix it in the cake mix. FUN FACT: In case you didn't already figure it out, you are going to have to unwrap all the kisses. Unless you really like the taste of the wrapping...no judgement.

3. If you fancy double-boiled the chocolate, marble it into the cake mix. As in plop it on top of the mix, and then swirl it around with a knife. Its pretty simple, I think.

4. BAKE IT. According to the box. It should be around 35 minutes I believe.

<---it should look awesome like this after you bake it. SO PRETTY!

6. Frost it. Decorate with candy corn.

7. EAT IT UP! Share the holiday spirit with your friends.

8. Have the happiest of  Halloweens :)

Six Months!

Last week Thursday I celebrated my half-way point in my year of veggie-hood. So far, I am still undecided on whether or not my veggie ways will conclude at the end of the year or not. Part of me really likes being a vegetarian, because I feel like it forces me to make healthier choices, like eating more veggies and fruit. The other part of me, really hates the restrictiveness of a vegetarian diet. I LOVE trying new things and too many times I have been disappointed by repeating another meal at a restaurant or have had to make myself a veggie sandwich at the dining center in my res. hall. I really do not crave meat anymore, but I find myself craving meals that have had meat in them. For example, I miss chicken noodle soup. It is completely possible for me to make myself a vegetarian knock-off of chicken noodle soup, and I am sure if I looked hard enough, I could probably find one as well. But why should eating healthy be this hard?
ANYWAYS! to celebrate my 6 months of veggies, I made a scrumptious veggie-casserole, a knock-off of one my mom had made for me growing up at home!

VEGETARIAN CASSEROLE 

Serves 8. (or four with leftovers for the weekend!)

Ingredients:

1/2 box of whole wheat rotini noodles

1/2 bag frozen peas

1 can of your fav. pasta sauce

 (or just condensed tomato soup)

1/4 cup chopped celery

1/4 cup chopped onions 

(which I didn't have but would have liked)

1/4 cup chopped green pepper

[as far as the chopped veggies go, I really just eye-balled it]

3/4 small bag of Parmesan or Mozzarella Shredded Cheese

(I used a mixture of the two)

2 slices of bread, crumbed.

(I used the butts[ends] of the bread, because they make lousy toast.)

the sneaky vegetarian ingredient:

1 bag Morning Star "ground beef"

HOW TO MAKE YOUR STOMACH SMILE:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit

1. Cook the noodles. I hope you know how. Drain them, put them in a large mixing bowl.

2. Saute celery, peppers, and onions (what my mom refers to as the holy trio) in a large frying pan.

3. Add the "ground beef" to the sauteing veggies. Mix until the "beef" is no longer frozen. This is mainly just to mix the flavors of the sauteing veggies with the "beef".

4. Add the sauteed mixture into the mixing bowl with the noodles. 

5. Add the can of sauce to the mixing bowl, fold into the delightful mixture until everything is covered in sauce.

6. Add most of the 3/4 bag of cheese to the mixture, but not all! Leave some for the crusty top!

7. Grease a casserole dish (or in my case, a 9"-11" cake pan.)

8. Pour the casserole mixture into the pan. Spread Evenly.

9. Mix the bread crumbs with the leftover cheese, sprinkle on top of the casserole. 

10. Put tinfoil on top of the pan, making sure the casserole doesn't touch the tin foil. This will make sure your crusty topping doesn't get burnt while your casserole insides are baking.

10. Cook for approx. 35 minutes. Take the tin foil off and cook for another 10 minutes.

11. Try your best to let the casserole cool a bit, or get a burnt tongue. 

12. EAT IT ALL UP! It also makes yummy leftovers.

I enjoyed this meal with my lovely roomie, Goombah, and Jay. Goombah and Jay brought instant mash-potatoes and pudding. We had quite a lovely home-made(ish) meal and enjoyed an episode of Glee. It was a spectacular conclusion to my first 6 months of veggieness. Six more to go until the year is up. My continuance of these veggie ways after this year is still in question! 

So Busy! AH!

I realized I haven't blogged in a few days, or maybe even in the last month. And I realized it was about time for a veggie-update. I haven't done any amazing awesome baking/cooking lately. A few weeks ago I repeated the banana bread recipe but with chocolate cake mix in place of vanilla. It was delish! The frozen bananas worked out fine, the only thing that was a little disturbing was how dark the peel of the banana was. It was a very dark brown and I was a bit nervous the bananas would be gross as well. Thankfully the bananas were kept perfectly over-ripe in the freezer.
Also, I went on an advegture to the Mill City Farmers Market  this past Saturday with Goombah and one of our fab. friends, G.R. It was a GREAT DAY. First off, on our walk to the market, we merged with the Big Gay Race. The race was part of the Minnesotans United for All Familes and the VOTE NO campaign for Minnesota gov. ban on same-sex marriages. We joined in the fun and cheered on the runners, giving high-five's to those who passed by (side note: No one actually physically high-fived me because they kept missing my hand. True story. So sad). When we made out way out of the 6,000 people crowd, we headed to the farmers market. Goombah and friend got breakfast, which I tasted, except for G.R.'s because it was a meaty breakfast sandwhich. I got some absolutely divine sunflower seed multi-grain bread, a bag of honeycrisp apples, and a few green peppers. Honestly one of the best day's I have had in a long, long while. It was scrumptious, I am devouring the bread, and apples. And will be using the peppers in my 6-months-of-veggieness feast this Thursday. Don't worry, I will make a solid effort to blog about my meal, because I plan on it being a veggielicious event.
ON a vegetarian related note, I am really digging being a vegetarian, and I am thinking about sticking with it beyond this year. ALSO, my goals for October include being optimistic about life and not eating cookies. (I may or may not have had at least 30 cookies last week. I wish that was an over-exaggeration, but it's not. I have a problem. It will be solved this month. NO COOKIES FOR ME.) Hopefully I accomplish these goals. I have faith in myself! WOOT!
ALSO! My main reason for not blogging has been that for one of my classes I am doing a blog about the news, so blogging has become homework, so finding the time to do this blog has been a struggle. I will find time readers, I will find time! If you are interested in looking at my other blog, look HERE. I am not 100% sure you can see it if you aren't a UMN student. But, I hope you can! :) SHINE ON!