valentine’s day wrap-up

This Valentine’s Day, we went the comfort food route.  An old stand-by recipe…tried and true.  If you were to try any of Slaed’s famous dinners/recipes, this would be the one!

Slaed’s “Low-fat” Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 6 1-cup portions

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cooked elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup fat free cottage cheese
• 3/4 cup low-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 tbs grated fresh onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoons reduced-calorie margarine (we use “earth balance“), melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 tbs reduced-calorie margarine (earth balance again), melted
• 1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Directions:

1. Combine the first 10 ingredients into a large bowl (cooked macaroni, cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, milk, onion, margarine, salt, pepper, egg), and stir well.

2. Spoon mix into a 2 quart casserole dish coated with the vegetable cooking spray, then set aside.

3. Combine breadcrumbs, margarine, and paprika, and stir well.

4. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over casserole.

5. Bake casserole (covered) at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.

For some reason this batch of macaroni and cheese was the most delicious we have ever made.  It may have been the addition of the corn, so corn may take a permanent spot on the ingredients list.  To balance out all the cheese and pasta, I served the macaroni and cheese with a simple spinach salad with pine nuts and dried cranberries.

Valentine’s Day can’t be complete without a tasty dessert, right? One of Slaed’s most favorite desserts is pecan pie.  I didn’t want to make an entire pie, so I found this amazing, easy recipe from The 99 cent Chef for mini pecan pies.  Delicious.