The Crocheting Chemistry Professor

Today wasn't the greatest of days -- cold, icky, a bit wet. Time for some comfort food -- what could be more comforting than mac 'n' cheese? Below is my basic recipe for mac 'n' cheese, and I'll post variations on it later. 1 lb medium shells or macaroni (regular or gluten-free) 8 oz natural cheese (cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby/Jack, etc) or plant-based versions 8 oz Velveeta (or other processed cheese product -- you can also use cream cheese, but it doesn't melt as well as Velveeta) or plant-based cream cheese 6-8 oz light sour cream or plain nonfat Greek yogurt or plant-based sour cream Non-fat cooking spray (or butter if you don't care about calories ;) 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 2. Boil the shells or macaroni as directed on the package. Drain most of the water, but leave some for the cheese. 3. Add the cheese and Velveeta to the pasta, stirring until all the cheese melts. 4. Spray a 2-qt casserole dish with cooking spray, then dump the past...

I forgot to mention this yesterday! If I find a great crock-pot (or stove-top) recipe that I think is absolutely delish, I'll post a review along with the link. Some things just cannot be improved upon :D Lisa

Ingredients: 3 lb ground beef or ground turkey, taco, fajita flavored, or plain (any combination)  dash of salt 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes, undrained 2 cans pinto beans (or 32 oz already cooked pinto beans) for flavored beef or ground turkey, OR 2 cans Ranch style beans (for plain ground beef or turkey), undrained 1/2 cup water, beef broth, or beer (if needed) Cheddar or Colby Jack cheese, if desired Tortilla chips, if desired Jalapeno slices, if desired Directions: 1. Prebrown the meat in a 6qt Dutch oven for 10-15 minutes. Drain off any grease. 2. Mix the prebrowned meat, Rotel tomatoes, and pinto beans into 6-7 quart Crock Pot. Add water, beef broth, or beer if the mixture is not 1/2 to 1 inch from the top of the crock. 3. Cook on Low for 6 hours. Serve with cheese, tortilla chips, and/or jalapeno slices, if desired. ETA 1/3/10: If you're too impatient for the crock pot, dump all ingredients in Dutch oven, heat to boil, then cover and simmer for 45 min to 1 hr. Variations: Meat: I...

I'll be posting some of my own recipes, as well as some of my late mother's specialties. My mother didn't believe in cookbooks, yet she could cook up some of the best food on the planet :) Thus, I'll be scrambling to quantify the amounts since Mom just threw in whatever she wanted to taste. Some of the dishes are definitely crock pot dishes; some are not. I may actually throw a little chemistry in just for kicks (the blog, not the recipes) ;) I may not have a lot of time to post regularly, but I'll try to post something. I apologize in advance if some of my recipes are similar to your recipes; I try them out in my own kitchen. If you try them out and find that I've left something out or made a mistake, I would appreciate constructive criticism so that I can correct the problem. Update 12/6/2018: I'm importing my other blogs into The Crocheting Chemistry Professor blog so that everything's in one place.