Acorn Squash Stuffed with Macaroni and Cheese

Les Ingredients:
2 Acorn Squash, Split
4 Thick Cut Strips of Bacon
2 Tablespoons of Butter
2.5 Tablespoons of Flour
3 Cups Milk
Freshly Grated Nutmeg
Cayenne Pepper
Kosher Salt
2.5 Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Shredded (Additional for Sprinkling)
1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese
8 Ounces Pasta. (Shells, Elbows, Penne. Whatever.)

Preheat oven to 350.

Halve the Acorn Squash and remove the seeds. Place in Pyrex Baking Dish cut side up. Add water to bottom of pan (Maybe half an inch). Salt the top of the halved squash. Cover with Tin Foil and Bake for 45-60 minutes.

Meanwhile...

Boil 8 ounces of Pasta 1-2 minutes less than package directions. Drain well.
In large saucepan over medium-low heat, render fat from and cook 4 thick strips of bacon.
Remove bacon when cooked to paper towels.
Add 2 Tablespoons of Butter and melt.
Whisk in 2.5 Tablespoons of flour to make a roux.
Stir the roux over medium heat 2-3 minutes
(At this point I add some flavoring. Freshly Grated Nutmeg and a pinch of Cayenne Pepper are my favorite)
Slowly Whisk in 3 cups of Milk. Continue whisking until it's incorporated. Stir until sauce thickens (5 minutes usually does it)
This is where I add my Kosher Salt. Coupla Pinches.
Add 2.5 Cups Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, a little at a time, stirring to incorporate each handful.
Add 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese and stir to incorporate.
Sauce should be thick but not stiff.
Return Par-Boiled Pasta to Cheese Saucepan and Mix Well.
Crumble Bacon into smaller pieces, sprinkle them over the Macaroni and Cheese and Mix to Incorporate.
***The Cheese Sauce will look like it's "Too Much" for the Pasta. It isn't. That's the key to this dish. The pasta should look "over sauced" at this point!***
Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, in casserole or Pyrex dish. (I usually put it beside the squash for the last half of cooking)
Remove Baked Macaroni from oven and set on cooktop.
Remove Squash from oven, drain water and return to Pyrex.
Top each half with generous, heaping portion of Macaroni and Cheese.
Sprinkle with Cheddar and return to oven for 10 minutes, to meld and melt.

Yum. (No, seriously. YUM. This stuff ROCKS!)

The Infamous Lasagna

So, it's pretty much world famous. Well. U.S. Famous. Well. All my family and friends love it. So that's pretty close...

Lots N Lots of Ingredients
Sauce
Sausage, Out of Casings, Sweet or Hot (Your Preference)
Ground Beef One Pound (Chuck)
1 Onion, diced
Crushed Garlic (2-3 cloves)
Red Wine (I use Cabernet. Half a bottle or more.)
Crushed, strained tomatoes (I like Pomi Brand. In a carton in the Tomato Aisle.)
Oregano
Basil
Salt
Pepper
Sugar

Preheat large saucepan over medium high heat. Add sausage, break up with wooden spoon, and brown on one side. Turn to brown other side and break up more. Add ground beef and brown on one side, crumbling together with sausage. Add onions and brown in the meat drippings. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Add half bottle of red wine (or more) and simmer over medium heat till reduced and thickened. (The point here is to infuse the meats with the red wine. If it looks too dry, add more wine.) Add crushed strained tomatoes and stir. Add dried spices here. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered but vented. Stir often, tomatoes will scald and stick to bottom of pan. The sauce should simmer gently, adjust your stove accordingly. Simmer for at least 3 hours and up to all day. (all day on low, keep it barely simmering)

Pasta
Lasagne Noodles. 12 of them, plus one or two extra in case any break.
Par-Boil as directed on Box. Toss with small amount of Olive Oil to prevent sticking.

Cheesey Goodness Filling
16 ounces ricotta
1/3 cup grated parmesan-reggianato cheese
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella
salt
pepper
freshly grated nutmeg (to highlight flavor, a pinch.)
1 egg, beaten.
In medium bowl, mix ricotta, parmesan, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste. Add shredded mozzarella and then mix beaten egg into the cheese mixture.

Extras
Shredded Mozzarella for 1 layer of sprinkling and for topping
Preheat oven to 350 Faerenheit. (I know I spelled that wrong. I don't care.)

Assembly
In a 9x13 Pyrex dish, spread a small amount of sauce on the bottom to prevent noodles from sticking. Line pan with 3 lasagna noodles, and spread half the ricotta mixture evenly over them. Top with 3 more noodles. Add a layer of the meat sauce. Sprinkle sauce layer with shredded mozarella. Top with 3 more noodles, an then the remaining ricotta mixture, evenly. Top with last 3 noodles, pushing down to evenly distribute ricotta mixture. Top with more of the meat sauce, covering noodles completely. Cover Pyrex with tin foil, and bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Remove tin foil, and sprinkle top of lasagna with shredded mozzarella. Turn oven to broil and allow to slightly brown cheese as it melts. WATCH CAREFULLY! Don't burn the cheese!!
When cheese is bubbly and light brown, remove lasagna from oven. Allow to sit for 20 minutes. (If you skip this step, the cheesey goodness will ooze and schmooze. And that's not Good Eats. Oh wait, I'm not Alton Brown.)

After 20 minutes, slice lasagna into manageable sized pieces, and serve with some garlic bread yumminess, and some mixed greens with balsamic or a nice caesar salad. Or just chow down, baby. Your call.

This stuff's GOOOOOOOD!

Shredded Chicken Burrito... Thingy.

Recipe:

Ingredient List...
Shredded Chicken from One Whole Roaster Chicken
1 thinly sliced Onion and Garlic (Equal to 2 cloves, crushed.)
1 Roasted Poblano pepper, seeded and chopped. (Either pre-roasted or from a jar.)
Lime
Cilantro
Olive Oil
Cheddar Cheese (Shredded)
Sour Cream
Water
Heinz Chili Sauce
"Spanish Rice" (Make your own recipe.. Mine has red and green peppers, spices, and a tomatoey-sauce base... And in THIS case came right out of a Lipton/Knorr's envelope. But I added more tomatoey goodness in the form of chili sauce)
Flour Tortillas, Soft Taco Size
Spices: Paprika, Chili Powder, Kosher Salt, Pepper, Cayenne, Cumin

Directions:

Preheat Oven to 350

Step One: Roast your own Chicken.
I'm totally kidding. Go buy someone else's roasted chicken. Costco actually makes a good one, as does Kroger's and Publix.
Shred the chicken meat and set it in a bowl. Squeeze a lemon over the chicken meat and let it permeate.

Heat a large sauce pan on medium high heat. Swirl in about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the sliced onion and toss to coat. Add spices (to your taste) It is important to add spices like Cumin and Paprika at this step, because these spices are "aromated" by the cooking in the olive oil.
Saute the onions until slightly browned. Add garlic and toss.
Add the chicken to the pot and stir into the onions.
Add a cup of hot water, stir to combine, and adjust the spices.
Add the Poblano Pepper and stir.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer to merge the flavors, stirring occasionally. If the liquid runs low, add more.
Simmer for 20 minutes...ish. Add a dash (to taste, of course) of the Heinz Chili Sauce, and stir.

Meanwhile, make your Spanish Rice and spread it in the bottom of a 9x11 Pyrex dish. The Rice should be tomato-ey / sauc-ey.

Squeeze the other half of the lime's juice onto the chicken simmering in the pot.
Add fresh chopped cilantro (I usually use about 1/3 cup.)
Turn off heat, and stir in 1/3 cup (ish) of Sour Cream.


Assembly and Bake-age:

In the Soft Taco Flour Tortilla, sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese down the center, and top with 1/4th (ish) of the shredded chicken mixture. Leave enough room to fold over the tortilla and place SEAM SIDE DOWN on the Spanish Rice in your Pyrex. They should fit the 'short' way, allowing room for four Burritos in the pan. Repeat with 3 more Tortillas. MAKE SURE THEY ARE SEAM SIDE DOWN.

SEAM SIDE DOWN.

Uh yeah.

Cover with Aluminum Foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove cover and sprinkle with cheddar cheese, bake or broil until melted.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

Slice and serve with Guacamole Salad


Also serve sour cream as a garnish. I mix my sour cream with chopped fresh cilantro, crushed garlic, and sea salt.