I Bake Dinner: Mac'n'Cheese with Spinach Balls

My friend E-rock came over for dinner last week, for some home-baked goodness and some Apples to Apples. What started out as a calm, classy dinner turned into a rambunctious game of Apples to Apples which had our downstairs neighbor/landlord (who happens to bake as well, just in a different sense) complaining about the noise. Apparently, four people in one room, discussing the merits of Hellen Keller and golf-ball sized hail was a little too crazy for him.

However, blasting bad euro-tech music at 9am on a Sunday morning is completely acceptable. Apparently.

Back to dinner. E-rock is a vegetarian, which I also used to be back in my youthful days. Beef jerky was my downfall...delicious, delicious beef jerky. I wanted to bust out something delicious but meatless, so I resorted to that old standby: pasta. Many, many people have an intense love of Mac'n'Cheese. I appreciate it, it has always served me well coming home late at night after an evening out on the town (especially with hot dogs in it), but I have no love affair with it. That's not to say I don't want a killer M'n'C recipe that I can bust out and astound dinner guests with.

I didn't quite find said recipe. But I found one that was pretty damn good, and it tasted delicious with K-Patz's spinach balls recipe.

And so, may I present: Mac'n'Cheese, Spinach Balls, and E-Rock's delicious Beet Salad


Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese (submitted by MSRO, found on Allrecipes.com)

• 1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni
• 1 (8 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 (12 ounce) container small curd cottage cheese
• 1 (8 ounce) container sour cream
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs (I used a hot dog bun!)
  
• 1/4 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.
2. In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

Spinach Balls (submitted by Jen Vinyard, found on Allrecipes.com on suggestion of K-Patz)

• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 cups finely crushed herb-seasoned dry bread stuffing mix
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 3 eggs, beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl combine spinach, stuffing mix, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, black pepper, Italian seasoning, melted butter and eggs. Shape into walnut-sized balls and place on a baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until heated through and browned.

E-Rock's Delicious Beet Salad (as best as I can remember it)

• 2 beets, grated
• 1 head of cabbage, sliced
• 2-3 mandarin oranges, sectioned
• juice of 1 lime
• cumin powder
• Basalmic Vinaigrette dressing

I mean, come on. Look at that photo up there. Is that not a pretty dinner? Pretty AND delicious. The Mac'n'Cheese could have been a lot cheesier, next time I'm going to seek out a recipe that creates more of a sauce to pour over the noodles. The more artery-clogging deliciousness, the better! I also had this left over with cut up hot dogs in it, with ketchup (my personal fave with M'n'C) drizzled over the top. THAT was fantastic.

The spinach balls were fantastic, I think I may have overcooked them just a bit but they tasted great. Not sure how they would be with a saucier dish, but I think I might have to try that someday. Thanks K-Patz!

E-Rock's salad was glorious. And this is coming from someone that really doesn't care for beets. God bless cumin powder for being so fantastic.

And we followed this all up with some Chocolate Cake from my favorite recipe book, the Watkin's Cook Book. And we followed all THAT up with 2 hours of Apples to Apples, where we learned the importance of trump cards -- and awesome nights with good friends.


awwwwwww........