Elizabeth Obsesses...

Beefaroni:  A new take on a childhood classic I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but I used to love Chef Boyardee Beefaroni when I was a child. My mother used to split one can between my brothers and I and we would each get a little piece of toast to go along with it.  It was so good! Somewhere along the way, I grew up and had children of my own.  One afternoon I wanted to recreate for them one of the meals I loved as a child.  So, I bought a can of this magic stuff and warmed it slowly in a sauce pan while toasting some bread.  I set the table and sat down with my kids to share in this meal from my childhood...and wondered what the hell happened.  This was not delicious.  In fact, this stuff was awful!  And Orange!  The noodles had a weird fake texture...and the meat?  Just what kind of meat was that , anyway?  It didn't taste like beef at all!  Needless to say, that was the end of that. But what if it didn't have to be , I wondered to myself.  So I set out t

Philly-style Steak Sandwiches All Winter, I've been waiting for snow.  I mean, a really good snowfall that would completely shut the roads down encourage us to stay inside and keep warm. Well, this past week it finally arrived!  I was so excited with anticipation that I planned out our snow-day food in advance.  Yeah, not kidding here...just tryin' to keep it real. The plan was to make something hearty, warm, and filling.  This was important because I knew that guy I have a huge crush on would be out shoveling the driveway and sidewalk and I wanted to make something he'd especially love:  Philly-style Steak Sandwiches.   My take on these delicious sandwiches is a little different because it's even heartier than the original IMHO.   I use tender fork-shredded chuck roast slow cooked all day in a delicious marinade which is then reduced to sandwich-ready perfection.  To really top it all off, I served it with my homemade  hand-cut French Fries .   Man food at it

Romertopf White Bread:  The easiest loaf of bread you'll ever make! Clay pots or earthen-ware may be the oldest type of cookware ever found.  In fact, they've been unearthed by archaeologists at historic sites all over the world!  We know that these ancient civilizations put these clay pots in the glowing embers of fires, and used them to bake, roast, poach, and braise all sorts of meals.   I admit that I'm new to clay pot cooking.  My mother-in-law gave me a beautiful covered Romertopf roaster for Christmas and when I started learning about how to use it, all I could think about was bread .  I make a lot of bread in my oven, but I was incredibly excited to try it in a clay pot!  After all, I reasoned, this would have to be as close to an authentic brick oven as I was likely to get, and I couldn't wait to get started. The basic bread recipe, which was included with my cookware, was the first one I tried.  Because you soak both pieces of the clay pot p

Vegetable Lo Mein Lo Mein is a delicious Chinese dish, featuring sliced vegetables and soft noodles that are stir fried and married in a sauce, bringing everything together.  I love it because it's so versatile.  You can make it as an accompaniment to a main course, or it can even be the main course by simply adding some meat to the mix.  It's simple because you can use whatever you have on hand and it always seems to work .  Don't be intimidated by the list of ingredients.  It literally takes 10 minutes of prep and 10 minutes of sizzle, before you'll be eating and wondering why you didn't try this sooner. I'm always looking for food the whole family will enjoy that's easy to prepare on my busy work night evenings but tastes like I spent all day cooking.  This one came together in a flash, and everyone loved it.   Everyone!  I wasn't sure my sons would try it...not only did they try it, they loved it so much I had to stop them from eating it

Taco phyllo poppers with creamy Chobani yogurt If you're looking for a super easy Super Bowl snack that is equally delicious and beautiful, look no further - you've got to try these taco bites!  Whether you plan on having a big party or it's just you and your family, these mini tacos make the perfect treat. It only takes about 20 minutes to brown ground beef and assemble these treats, but if you plan ahead and "feed your freezer" it takes even less time.   "Feeding your freezer" is one of my favorite time saving techniques where you do the prep work up front and freeze the results for nights when you don't have time.   For example, when I go to the big warehouse stores, I buy five pounds of ground beef at a time! When I get it home, I brown it all in a big dutch oven with onions, but no other seasonings.  After all, it doesn't take that much more time to brown five pounds of meat than it does to brown one! Once it's all browned, I s

Chobani Vanilla Cheesecake Bites The Super Bowl is right around the corner, and I'm already obsessing about my menu.  After all, the Super Bowl is the um...well, it's the  Super Bowl of cooking holidays!   I know some people might think that Thanksgiving  is the center of the cooking world, but they'd be wrong.  While I love roasting turkey and making all the sides, being constrained by tradition is not nearly as fun as coming up with an outrageously different feast filled with amazing entrees and appetizers for hungry masses every year ! This year, I'm whipping up these delicious vanilla cheesecake bites using vanilla flavored Chobani Greek Yogurt in the batter.  They are amazing and turned out even better than I imagined.  So good, they may just be my new "go-to" cheesecake recipe. Now - what is everyone else having for Super Bowl Sunday?  I need some more ideas, so please respond in the comments! Chobani Vanilla Cheesecake Bites Choban