Ground Beef Jalapeno Mac n' Cheese Casserole

"Any thoughts on dinner tonight?"

"We have the bourbon jalapenos, but that's as far as I got."

The texting goes on, we've got ground beef. Burritos? Only one tortilla left and no cheese to shred. What about ground beef mac n' cheese (half-joking), ok, that sounds good. With some of those cheese curds we just got? Layer them in later like poutine so they don't melt all the way?

....

Recipe:

2T of olive oil

1 small onion

1 lb of ground beef

6 cloves of garlic

Salt

Pepper

Chili Powder

Yellow Curry powder

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

1 box Kraft Macaroni and Cheese

Cheese Curds (ranch flavored)

Bourbon Pickled Jalaponos *

Horrock's has a dangerous cheese section

Chop onion and saute in olive oil until it begins to carmelize.  Add in ground beef and brown.  Add in spices and garlic.  Cook until ground beef is cooked through.

Meanwhile make macaroni and cheese based on box directions.

Mix together beef mixture and mac n' cheese.

In a casserole dish layer noodle and beef mixture, cheese curds (spread out), repeat 2 more times with cheese curds landing on top.  Put top on casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes (or until you can see the top curds kind-of melted).  Top with burbon jalapenos and serve.

(first layers)

(2nd layers)

Bourbon Pickled Jalepenos

*Bourbon Pickled Jalepeno Recipe is the base that Bryan uses, he still adds his own twist (as with most things).

Instant Pot Recipe 4: Broccoli and Bacon Quiche

So we started with this recipe: https://www.momskitchenhandbook.com/uncategorized/instant-pot-broccoli-cheddar-quiche/

Super simple, and I love the suggestion to use tin foil to lift the Corningware dish out of the pot.  This tip would have definitely helped with the previous night's chicken and rice dish!

Of course, in our usual manner, we added bacon.  You could really use the base of this recipe for any kind of quiche.

This is also a great dish for just two people, we have had a lot of leftovers in our cooking, not the case with this dinner.

As of late, we have also had a difficult time keeping Clark out of the kitchen garbage can...

Instant Pot Recipe 3: Honey Garlic Chicken and Rice

We tried our first chicken recipe in the instant pot and yum.  The chicken melts in your mouth and the white rice comes out soft and soaked with the flavor from the sauce. 

Here's the link to the printable recipe: https://www.365daysofcrockpot.com/instant-pot-honey-garlic-chicken-and-rice/print/9858/

  

There is a note at the bottom of the recipe that there is an issue with the instant pot letting you know it's burning. I'd double the sauce recipe in the future so that this doesn't happen.  It did burn the chicken a little bit, but it was a glazed-sort-of-burn and still delicious.

Instant Pot Garlic

Last night we were up late and decisions were made.  A recipe for heads of garlic in the instant pot was produced: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/instant-pot-roasted-garlic

This recipe turns garlic into a delicious spread for toast.  When you eat this much garlic, you eat it together. The herd (of cats) go crazy about food so the leftover shells of garlic heads were made availabe for them.  Morgan sniffed and walked away. Clark sniffed and walked away. Lois was chewing on the shells and eating whatever delicious leftovers there were.  

I woke up this morning and she wasn't in bed (I'm assuming the boys kicked her out because...stinky), I was worried she hurt herself eating all the garlic, or got a shel lodged or something.

This innocent looking Lois still reeks of garlic.  

It's going on 24 hours.

Bryan's Potato Soup in the Instant Pot

If you like whisking dairy products, this is the recipe for you.

Chop:
5-6 Potatoes
1 Large Onion (we used a Spanish Onion this time)
1 Cup of Green Onions
5 Garlic Cloves (3 for the weak)
1 Pound of Smoked Sausage

Put these in the Instant Pot.

Add to the Instant Pot:
1/2 Stick of Butter (4 Tablespoons)
2 Cans of Chicken Broth (14oz each)

Set Instant Pot to high pressure for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan:
2 Cans of Evaporate Milk (12 oz each), on low
Whisk in
1 8oz Cream Cheese
and, very slowly,
1 Cup of Shredded Cheese (or more, we used Sharp Cheddar, 4 oz and Smoked Cheddar, 8 oz this time).

When the Instant Pot is done, add sacuepan of deliciousness to potato mixture.

Add Salt and Pepper to taste (duh).

Top with shredded cheese.

Utilize kitty cleanup crew for cheese-crusted kitchenwear.

Test Post

This blog is starting with recipes and cats. 

"It's not an actual problem because we've got plenty of cheese" -Bryan