This weekend we thought Macaroni & Cheese sounded amazing to go along with a drop in temperature and some stormy nights.
So we picked up the ingredients, decided on our pasta (a corn/rice based penne) and whipped up the recipe on page 139 of the BFC book.
BLECH!!
I have never been so disappointed by Mac'n'Cheese in my life!
You know what salt tastes like? ....This was saltier!
We even added a cup each of broccoli and cauliflower hoping to cut the salinity of the dish (and also because there is WAY too much cheese in the recipe for the piddly amount of pasta it called for).
Gross. We suffered through a serving each, and threw out the rest.
So here's what we'll try the next time we attempt it (because it smells like fall out and we will want our Autumn carbs before bedding down to hibernate the winter away):
1) Don't add the salt seasoning to the recipe, just use black pepper
2) Instead of 2.5 cups of extra-sharp cheddar, use 1 cup of sharp cheddar and 1/4 cup something else more mild, like a Monterey Jack.
3) Leave out the parmesan cheese entirely, MAYBE sprinkle some on top, but probably not.
4) Add 2 cups broccoli to the recipe, mixed in.
5) Don't use panko/butter in the top layer, just extra shredded cheese and parsley
6) Use a smaller baking dish than 9 x 12! This would barely fill a square 9" pan, seriously.
Hope I've saved you all from making that one. Yuck! First recipe in the book we didn't totally love!
Now I need to figure out what to have for lunch today since I didn't want the leftovers. I'm thinking Chicken Piccata from Bertucci's. Need something AMAZING to counteract that nasty recipe.
Tonight I have class so I'll be having eggs and bacon before I go and some chocolate and Reddi Wip when I get home.
Oh, and speaking of exercise, I downloaded the MyFitnessPal tracker and just want to remind everyone to watch out! MyFP will give you back some carbs and sugars (along with everything else you track) if you log exercise! So don't go by the "remaining" if you use it to log your exercise, too. Other than that I love using it, especially to enter the ingredients of recipes and have it calculate the values of each serving for me. The mobile app has a barcode scanner that brings up packaged ingredients, FAST. Great Free app!
And thanks to everyone who commented on my before and after photos! I'm sorry I didn't show my face, but they were both taken with no make-up and some weird expressions as I remind my husband that he's over 6 feet and he needs to lower the camera to take photos of me. ;)
I never really made recipes from The BFC book. I have always learned from it and then did my own interpretation of stuff. I think your new way sound good. Let us know how it comes out.
ReplyDeleteHave a great day :-)
Thanks for the info on the mac'n cheese. I like your explanation for the reason you blocked your face in your progress photos :)
ReplyDeleteThat is so funny! I have made the recipe from the book, but with some alterations that sounds pretty close to your above recommendations. I leave out pasta entirely. I am actually working on a recipe now that I plan to publish on my blog sometime this week, I just need to make the food and taste it first. Hopefully you won't think mine is yucky, although I will understand if you don't try it after that horrible experience!
ReplyDeleteI have never made anything from the book either, but if I ever do I'll definitely stay clear of that one. Thanks for your comment about the fitness pal taking off carbs when you log in your exercise. Not really a problem for me since I would have to actually exercise to even think about logging it in!
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