Mac n Cheese Pizza Pleez!

My neck of the woods

It’s the first “official” day of summer but here it hasn’t been very summer-y! For many of you I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of hot weather but I’m waaay up here in Northwestern Minnesota. We’re the last MN gas station in the US before you hit Canada! Our days have been filled with rain, wind, rain, clouds, rain, a tiny bit of sunshine, rain…well you get the idea. ;D

Needless to say, I’m a little envious of you guys with better weather. I would LOVE to turn on the sprinklers for the kids to run wild or take a nice long bike ride but at least the garden doesn’t need any watering! Too bad it washed away a lot of my seeds. :(

With the kids home for the summer, getting something on the table tasty and fast isn’t always easy. We don’t have pizza delivery or fast food in our small town – not that I’d buy it anyway because it’s just too darn expensive and unhealthy! My kids love mac n cheese and they love pizza! Enter homemade mac n cheese pizza!

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 TB sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 package of instant yeast (not active, INSTANT)
• 1 cup of warm water (115 to 125 degrees)
• 1 cup flour reserved
• your favorite macaroni and cheese recipe (plus 1 TB milk)
• shredded mozzarella & parmesan or other shredded cheese

Directions

Blend all 2 cups flour, sugar, salt and INSTANT yeast together in a large bowl. Slowly add enough warm water to combine all ingredients. Lightly flour surface and knead in the extra cup of flour until you get a pliable workable dough. (Depending on the moisture in the air and flour you may need less or more flour). Roll with a floured fingers or rolling pin into an 1/4” thick 12 x 9 rectangle or any shape you like. Place dough onto a greased baking sheet. Prick or dock with a fork. Brush the top of the dough with EVOO and sprinkle with herbs like basil, oregano, garlic powder, thyme, etc. Spread prepared macaroni and cheese pizza evenly over pizza crust. Top with shredded cheese and sprinkle with chopped parsley or basil.

Yummy Mac N Cheese Pizza!

 

Jenn is a stay at home southern mom raising her kids in Northwestern Minnesota with her trucker hubby. Living on one income isn’t easy but it can be done with a little creative thinking and budget savvy strategies. Read more at Frugal Front Porch.

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Pasta Bolognese

My Mom clipped an article for me, out of a grocery store's magazine, probably late last summer. It was a reader submission section, where one could write a short piece sharing a food related memory. She suggested that I write something and send it in - why not, she said.

It's taken me this long to get around to it. I can be such a fabulous procrastinator when I want to, yes?

Anyway.

I've finally written a piece. And because I waited so long, it doesn't look like the magazine has this reader submitted section anymore. So I'm feeling rather like a balloon that's lost it's air.

Will you read my article? It's about my son, the Bear, and a pretty fantabulous milestone he conquered just the other day, and it was all because of some pasta bolognese...

"My son Bear is two and a half years old. He's what some might call 'special needs' or 'challenged'; his main issue is hypopituitarism, which means his body does not produce certain necessary chemicals like yours and mine do.

Due to this deficiency, his development has been somewhat slower than typical kids his age so every milestone is celebrated because it's been achieved, rather than when he achieves it.

You see, when he was born, all the doctors and specialists at the children's hospital insinuated that he would be extremely dependent. Possibly never walking or talking, blindness was a strong possibility and consuming anything other than pureed food wasn't even brought up because it was so far fetched, at that time.

Turns out the specialists were wrong.

Bear is progressing well. Very well, in fact. Yes, he's delayed. We're just fine with that - because he is progressing.

A few days ago the Bear hit a pretty big milestone, in our opinions, anyway. He ate his entire dinner, by himself, with his fingers.

Previously he'd point at his spoon, then at either myself or my husband, communicating that he wanted us to feed him. Not this time. He dug in with both hands and pasta bolognese spread far and wide.

I couldn't have been more excited to see bits of carrot and ground pork on my newly installed hardwood - not to mention every square inch of Bear's face, hair and (thankfully) his dark colored t shirt. I was cheering him on with every meaty handful. He was terribly encouraged by this and joined me in arms-raised excitement.

That pasta bolognese recipe is going down in the memory books as the meal that helped my son reach a long awaited milestone."


PS - it was really quite delicious, too.

This recipe makes a lot of ragu. I halved the recipe and had enough sauce to make a big pot of pasta for our dinner, plus leftovers for the Bear and I as well as my husband's lunch the next day - and I froze about four cups worth for future meals.

Ragu alla Bolognese
Lemons & Anchovies

2 pounds ground pork
1 pound ground turkey
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
2 - 28 ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 cup red wine or chicken stock, plus more if necessary
1/4 cup milk
grated Parmesan for serving
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Place celery, carrot and onion in a food processor and pulse till finely chopped. Saute the vegetables in olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat for 6-7 minutes. Raise heat to high and add the ground meats. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, breaking up the meats as they cook.

When the meats become a light golden color (approximately 6-8 minutes), add the wine or chicken stock and scrape the bottom of the pan as it deglazes. Cook until the wine has almost reduced then add the tomato paste, tomatoes and more wine or stock if needed. Bring to a boil then simmer about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add the milk during the last half hour of cooking.

At this time the sauce will be a medium thick consistency. If it's too dry, add more wine or stock. If it's not thick enough, allow to simmer longer to reduce and thicken.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

I blog over at Gotta Little Space and Suitable For Consumption - come on over and say hi! If you'd like to read more about my son, here's a link to posts about him!