Leftover Love

On Easter, Ryan made macaroni and cheese for lunch at his grandparents. He had some cheese sauce leftover, which we saved because I just knew I could come up with a way to recycle it. This is the story of that leftover cheese sauce...

First, I picked up some all natural, hormone and antibiotic free chicken breasts at the Choppin' Block, and when I arrived at home, I set out the sauce so it could come to room temp.

Next, I got out a jar of marinated quartered artichokes and a can of mild diced tomatoes and green chiles. I sliced about half of the artichokes, added them to the sauce, drained the tomatoes and chiles, and added them, too. It was finished off with black pepper and cilantro and stirred.

I placed the chicken on a broiler pan and spooned the cheese sauce mixture over each one.

They baked at 350 for about 25 minutes, and then they were ready-to-eat deliciousness.

I served them with sweet yellow corn and lima beans. (Ryan called them butter beans - cooked in milk and butter. I don't know anything about cookin' beans!)

So, the lesson here is be creative and use what you've got on hand to make an easy and yummy dinner!

For the cheese sauce:

I know Ryan made a rue with milk, butter and flour, but I don't know the amounts. I do know that when either of us make a rue, it is just done by "feel." (Here is a link to make a rue from Allrecipes.com: http://allrecipes.com/howto/cheese-sauce-made-easy/)

To the rue, he added Philadelphia Cooking Creme Italian Cheese & Herb. He let that melt and combine. Once it was combined, he added black pepper and it was taken off the heat to cool down to room temperature. Then it was combined with the rotini pasta and shredded cheddar cheese to make the macaroni.

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Hamburger Steak with Mushrooms and Broccoli & Cheese

HAMBURGER STEAK with MUSHROOMS:

1. Pat out hamburger patties, sprinkle with salt, black pepper and garlic powder
2. Cook in skillet over low to med-low heat, slowly so it will crust
3. Flip when the liquid really starts to come out of the meat
4. After flipping, add a few dashes of worchestershire sauce; cook until done
5. Put sliced and washed mushrooms into a skillet with about 1/2 Tbsp of olive oil
6. Lightly sprinkle with salt and pepper; and cook over medium heat; stir
7. Add a small splash of vegetable stock; cook over med-low heat until liquid is absorbed
8. Serve hamburger steak with the mushrooms on top

BROCCOLI & CHEESE:

1. Wash and trim broccoli - about 2 to 2.5 cups
2. Put in water in pot on stove; bring to a simmer and cook until the broccoli is as tender as you like it
3. In another small pot, melt 3 Tbsp of butter
4. Slowly add 1-1.5 Tbsp of flour while wisking - it should become thick and smooth
5. Slowly add 1/2-3/4 cup of milk (I use 2%) while continuing to wisk
6. Add 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar (or whatever kind of cheese you wish) and stir til completely melted
You can add more cheese if you need to make the sauce thicker...just keep adding small amounts until it gets to the consistency and flavor you like.
7. Add black pepper to sauce and stir well
8. Drain broccoli and serve with the sauce poured over it

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Ryan poured the cheese sauce over his hamburger steak, too, which he said was fantastic. ;-)