Creamy Baked Macaroni with Basil Recipe

 Creamy Baked Macaroni with Meaty Basil Sauce

Baked Macaroni is undoubtedly one of my family's comfort foods. It is so easy to prepare and make. With this type of dish, you can plan ahead of time to prepare the meaty sauce just in time for any party or gathering. Baked mac can be prepared and made in a variety of ways. Nevertheless, the most basic ingredients that are used to make this dish are the following: meaty sauce, cheese and, of course, the macaroni noodles.

Fun Fact!

Did you know that the origin of baked mac and cheese can be traced back to Italy? A 13th century old cookbook known as "Liber de Coquina" (Book of Cooking) contains a recipe in which food historians believe to be the first macaroni and cheese recipe. The recipe consists of sheets of pasta, cooked in boiling water and tossed with a generous amount of  grated cheese to achieve its creamy, cheesy flavor. 

Let's start baking!

For the Macaroni Noodles

◻️ 400g macaroni elbow noodles

◻️ 2 tbsp salt

◻️ 2 tbsp cooking oil (any kind)

◻️ 6 cups water

For the Meaty red sauce

◻️ 500 g ground beef

◻️ 5 cloves garlic, minced

◻️ 1 big white onion, minced 

◻️ 1 big red bell pepper, minced 

◻️ 1 big green bell pepper, minced

◻️ 6 pcs red hotdogs, diagonally sliced

◻️ 150 g tomato paste

◻️ 200 g tomato sauce

◻️ 2 tbsp sugar

◻️ 2 tsp salt

◻️ 1 tbsp black pepper, ground

◻️ 3 tbsp sugar (adjust the sugar if you want a sweeter sauce)

◻️ 8 - 10 pcs fresh Basil leaves, tear or cut into smaller pieces.

◻️ 2/3 cup water

For the cheese topping

◻️ 5 tbsp butter

◻️ 5 tbsp all-purpose flour

◻️ 2 cups milk (any kind)

◻️ 185 g quickmelt cheese, grated

     - 3/4 for the cheese topping

     - 1/4 for garnishing later

◻️ 1 tsp of salt

◻️ big skillet or wok

◻️ chopping board

◻️ knife

◻️ baking tray/s

◻️ container for noodles

◻️ strainer

◻️ grater

◻️ spoon

◻️ spatula

1 Boil the macaroni noodles. Pour the water in a pot. Add the oil and salt. Turn on the stove over medium heat and wait until the water boils. Once the water is boiling, drop in the noodles by batch and soak them in using a spatula until all the noodles are soak in the hot water. Boil for 8-10 minutes or until the noodles get tender. Turn off the stove. Drain the macaroni of hot water using a strainer. To avoid getting soggy, as the macaroni noodles are still hot and continuously cooking, pour cold water to the macaroni to abruptly stop the cooking process. Set aside.

 

2 Make the meaty red sauce. Pour the oil in a skillet and turn the stove over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes or until it turns light brown. Next, sauté the onion for another 2 minutes or until color turns lighter. Add in the ground beef and stir it for a few seconds. Add in the salt and black pepper. Stir from time to time and wait for 5 minutes or until for the ground beef mixture turn light brown in color. Add in the hotdog slices and cook for another 5 minutes. Next, add in the bell peppers and cook further for another 3-4 minutes or until the bell peppers are tender. Pour in the tomato sauce, tomato paste and  water. Stir from time to time. Once boiling lower the heat and sprinkle some fresh Basil leaves (about 2/3 of the amount you have). Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes. Turn off the stove.

3 Make the cheese topping. Get a small skillet. Turn the stove over low heat so as not to burn the butter and other ingredients. Add in the butter and start stirring gradually until it melts. Add in the all-purpose flour gradually and continuously stir so as to disperse the flour and prevent it from forming lumps.

milk

You can already pour in the milk from time to time to keep the flour mixture from drying up and forming lumps. 

grated quickmelt cheese

Just like with the milk, add in 3/4 of the grated cheese gradually while continuously  to blend it in the mixture. This whole process would take around 10- 12 minutes to be done. You can further adjust the butter, milk and cheese until you reach your desired consistency. Turn off the stove and set aside.

4 Prepare and bake the macaroni. Get a baking tray and fill it in with a half-full of macaroni mixture. Pour some drizzle of cheese topping mixture on top of the macaroni mixture.  Continue to fill in some more macaroni on top up to slightly near the brim. Again, pour the remaining drizzle of cheese topping on top, spreading it evenly with a spatula or spoon. Sprinkle the remaining fresh Basil leaves on top. Lastly, sprinkle the remaining grated cheese on top.

drizzle of cheese topping

Heat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius and bake the macaroni for 15 minutes. I usually bake ours by batch. Turn off the oven. Let the baked macaroni to rest for a few minutes before serving. Oh well, you might as well skip this and start serving it if your family is already starving! (wink, wink). Who would resist eating this kind of dish?

5 Serve and enjoy.

👍Baked macaroni with Basil will last for 3 to 5 days in the refrigerator.

👍To extend the shelf life of Baked macaroni with Basil, freeze in covered airtight containers or heavy duty freezer bags.

Have you ever tried making this comfort food? I would love to know your thoughts. If you like today's special, you may share this recipe and follow me here on Blogger and Facebook for more free recipes to try and enjoy. 

 

Till next time!

Happy Cooking ! 

Read More

Adobong Sitaw with Ground Beef Recipe

 

A different kind of Adobong Sitaw

Adobong Sitaw is a popular Filipino dish that is composed normally of sitaw (string beans) and bite-sized pieces of pork meat cooked  in adobo-style sauce. This Adobong Sitaw recipe today is a bit different as we will be using ground beef in place of the usual pork meat. Most of the time, this dish is eaten as is with rice, which is suitable for those who are cutting down on meat intakes.

Fun Fact!

Did you know that string beans (sitaw) contain hidden nutrients and vitamins that are beneficial for the body? First of all, string beans are packed with fibers that help regulate cholesterol and sugar level. It also has folate which is crucial during early pregnancy as it reduces the risk of birth defects of the brain and the spine in babies. In additon to these, string beans also have vitamin A that helps care for our eyes.

Now, let's start cooking.

Recipe	Adobong Sitaw with Ground Beef
Serving	6
Prep Time	15 minutes
Cooking Time	15 - 20 minutes

◻️ 3 cups of string beans, cut into 2-inch long pieces (both ends removed)

◻️ 4 cloves of garlic, minced

◻️ 1 medium-sized onion, chopped

◻️ 1/2 cup of ground beef 

◻️ 1/2 cup of water 

◻️ 3 tbsp of soy sauce

◻️ 3 tbsp of spicy vinegar

◻️ 1 tbsp of black pepper

◻️ 1/2 tsp of seasoning mix powder

◻️ 2 tbsp of canola oil

◻️ chopping board

◻️ kitchen knife

◻️ spatula

◻️ skillet

1 Sauté garlic and onions. Pour the oil in a skillet and heat over medium flame. Sauté the garlic for 2 minutes or until it turns light brown. Next, sauté the onion for another 2 minutes or until color turns lighter. 

2 Cook the ground beef. Add the ground beef into the skillet and cook for 4-5 minutes or until the ground meat  changes color from pink to light brown. While waiting, add the black pepper.

3  Add the string beans and other condiments. Once the ground beef is cooked, add the string beans,  soy sauce, vinegar and water. Stir the string beans to incorporate the flavor. Cover and wait for it to boil.

4 Add seasoning powder.

While waiting to boil, add the seasoning mix powder.  Stir to blend the powder into  the sauce.

5 Simmer string beans until cooked, Once boiling, lower the flame. Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the string beans (sitaw) are already tender. Adjust the taste by seasoning with a bit of soy sauce or vinegar.

6  Serve with steamed rice and enjoy.

All in all, Adobong Sitaw is a good side dish to pick because it will definitely complement any of your fried meal. The combination of sour and salty taste (thanks to its vinegar and soy sauce content) will go along well with your fried pork chops, fried fish, to name a few. 

Have you ever tried making this side dish? I would love to know your thoughts. If you like today's special, you may share this recipe and follow me here on Blogger and Facebook for more free recipes to try and enjoy. 

 

Till next time!

Happy Cooking ! 

Read More

Homemade Real Chicken Stock | Chicken Essence Recipe

 

Real Chicken Essence

There are some of you who would rather have the taste of real chicken goodness in their soup or dishes. As some say, NOTHING TASTES LIKE THE REAL THING. Today, we are going to make a homemade chicken stock that is just as marvelous that would make any soup or dish beaming with real chicken essence. Yes, chicken stock is simply the essence of chicken that are extracted from the chicken's flesh and bones through boiling process.  This chicken stock recipe is just so easy to prepare and make. What we only need are some chicken meat with bones and a couple or two of your leftover veggies in the refrigerator.

Now, let's start cooking.

Recipe	Homemade Chicken Stock
Serving in cups	5 - 6
Prep Time	15 minutes
Cooking Time	35 - 40 minutes

◻️ 3 pieces of chicken meat with bones, chopped in small pieces

◻️ 1/4 tsp. salt (optional)

◻️ 4 cloves of garlic, crushed 

◻️ 1 medium-sized onion, sliced 

◻️ 1 tsp. black pepper, whole

◻️ 1/4 cup carrots, peeled and sliced

◻️ 1 - 2 stalks of onion leeks, cut into smaller pieces

◻️ 1/2 cup pechay Baguio (Chinese cabbage), cut into smaller pieces 

◻️ 6 - 7 cups water

chicken bones with meat

◻️ chopping board

◻️ kitchen knife

◻️ stock pot

◻️ spatula

◻️ strainer

◻️ container with lid

1 Prepare the water and chicken meat. Turn on the flame to medium high. Fill the stock pot with water. Drop in the chicken meat with bones.

2 Drop in the rest of the ingredients. Next, drop in the black pepper, garlic, onions, onion leeks, carrots and Chinese cabbage into the pot. You may season the broth with salt if you wish. Bring the broth to a boil.

3 Simmer the broth. Once boiling, lower the flame and simmer the broth for about 35 - 40 minutes. Turn off the stove. Set the broth aside and let it cool.  

4 Remove the meat and veggie pieces. Once the broth has cooled, remove the chunks of meat and veggies and put in a small bowl. Using a strainer, transfer chicken stock into another container and cover it with lid. 

5 Store chicken broth in container with lid. If you are not yet going to use the chicken broth,  store the container inside the refrigerator to prolong its shelf life. Best to label the container  with the date the broth / stock is made, so you'll know when it will get spoiled.

🍵Chicken stock stored in a refrigerator should be consumed or used within 3 - 4 days. It is not advisable to use it beyond that period.

🍵To extend the shelf life of your homemade chicken stock, store it in an airtight container or heavy duty freezer bag and put it in the freezer. It will still be good to use within 4 – 6 months of storage.

For an authentic experience, we all want a dish that will capture and retain the essence of the meat in every sip or bite. Have you ever tried making a homemade chicken stock? I would love to know your thoughts. 

If you like today's special, you may share this recipe and follow me here on Blogger and Facebook for more free recipes to try and enjoy. 

 

Till next time!

Happy Cooking ! 

Read More