Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes

Last week got away from me and I didn't have time to update the blog with the latest recipes. I'll try to be better because I'm sure you're all starving without ideas of what to eat.

This particular recipe was easy, and pretty tasty.  I liked the tomatoes in with the macaroni and cheese. It'd be a great way to get your kids to eat some veggie's with the tomatoes hidden in the mac n cheese.

I used Fire Roasted diced tomatoes because that's what I had on hand. I liked the flavor the fire roasted added to this dish.

Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes
Serves 8

• 1 lb Elbow macaroni
• 1 can Petite diced tomatoes (28 oz)
• 6 T Unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp Cayenne
• 4 cups Half and Half
• 1 cup Low sodium chicken broth
• 4 cups Shredded mild cheddar cheese
• 2 cups Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.  Cook macaroni to just before done; about 6 minutes. Drain pasta.

Pour diced tomatoes with their juices over pasta and stir to coat.  Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until most the liquid is absorbed; about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat until foaming.  Stir in flour and cayenne and cook until golden, about 1 minutes. Slowly whisk in half and half and broth until smooth.  Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer stirring occasionally until mixture thickens, about 15 minutes.

Off heat, whisk in cheese, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper until cheeses melt.  (Note: if you add them a little bit at a time you don't get the gritty texture you sometimes get with homemade mac n cheese ). Pour sauce over macaroni and stir to combine.

Scrape mixture into a 13X9 baking dish. Bake until top begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Let stand 10-15 minutes before serving.

Texas Reubens with 1,000 Island Slaw

I am not a Reuben fan.

I repeat...NOT a Reuben fan. It's because of the rye bread. Bleck!

And maybe the pastrami...but definitely the rye bread.  Or is it corned beef in a Reuben? I can't remember. I do know I know like them.

This Reuben, however, is different.  The recipe called for cooked brisket - which leads me to believe it's a great option for left-overs. I didn't have any cooked brisket and I wasn't about to cook an entire brisket for this one meal. So I do what I always do...the "What's in the freezer?" game.  And as luck would have it, I had some nice single serving sizes of flank steak.

I figured I'd just grill that up and slice it thin...it'd be delicious.

Except no gas in the grill.

DOH!

Guess I'll fry it up. Which, BTW, makes a horrible flank steak.

Still I prevailed. I made this meal and I've gotta say, it was pretty darn good.  The bread I chose to use was too think so I actually made this open-faced.  Which was probably better for the waist line, or roll depending on how you look at it.

So, in the end, if you have any type of left over meat, this sandwich might be a good way to use those leftovers.

Texas Reuben with 1,000 Island Slaw
Serves: 4

For the 1,000 Island Slaw -

• 1/2 c light mayo
• 1/4 c ketchup
• 2T Sweet pickle relish
• 2T grated red onion (I didn't have a red onion and used a walla walla sweet...just as good in my book)
• 1T lemon juice
• 1 package coleslaw mix (14oz)

For the sandwich -

• 4 slices caraway rye bread - blech - no thank you. I used a rustic hard bread instead
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 12 oz sliced, cooked brisket, heated

Whisk all the items for the slaw together (except the slaw mix). Once mixed, toss in the slaw mix and stir to combine.

Preheat grill to medium heat.  Toast bread on the grill until lightly browned on one side, 2-3 minutes (I used my broiler - worked just the same).  Flip bread, top each piece with two slices of Swiss. Cover grill and toast bread until cheese melts.

Remove bread from grill. Divide sliced meat between the 4 sandwiches. Top each with 1/2 cup slaw. Serve extra 1,000 dressing on the side.