Mac & Cheese

Who doesn't crave mac & cheese every now and then?  I do, at least once a month.  It's also still one of my kids' favorites.  So, I started thinking about how I can make my own and make it healthy and still delicious.  Voila!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb brown rice elbow pasta (or what ever shape)

Cheese Sauce:

• 2 C. raw cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours
• 1/4 C. melted Kerrygold butter, or ghee, or olive oil
• paprika, salt, garlic powder to taste
• pinch of cayenne
• 1/4 - 1/2 C water
• 2 blocks of raw cheese, grated (to make this dairy free you can substitute the cheese for nutritional yeast)

Directions:

1. Cook your pasta according to package directions.
2. While your pasta is cooking make sauce.
3. Drain cashews and add to food processor.
4. While the processor is on add butter and seasonings, blend until smooth.
5. Add enough water to make it a creamy liquid, kinda like cake batter.  It will thicken as it sits.
6. When pasta is done, drain and add back into pot.
7. Add sauce and 3/4 of cheese, stir until well blended.
8. Pour into a buttered casserole dish and top with remaining cheese.
9. Bake at 350˚ for about 20 minutes or until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I had cooked, leftover broccoli so just before I drained the pasta I added the broccoli to the hot water to heat it up and drained it with the pasta.

This is good enough that I am putting it on my Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus.

Cheeseburger Fries

Photo: Simply Potatoes

This dish was inspired by Everyday Scoop in Rachael Ray Magazine, March 2014, Hash Brown Heaven!

Ingredients:

• 2T bacon fat, ghee, or butter 
• 2lbs sweet potatoes, shredded - peeling is optional
• 1lb grass-fed ground beef, browned and drained
• salt to taste
• 1 cup raw cheese, shredded
• toppings, optional - pickles, onions, tomatoes, ketchup, mustard, guacamole, fried egg...

Directions:

1. In a large sauté pan melt your fat and add the shredded potatoes, ground beef, cheese, and salt.
2. Mix together and pan fry until potatoes are crispy, about 10 min each side.
3. Serve individual portions and add top each off with optional toppings.