My family makes most everything from scratch. That means as a kid we never had Kraft macaroni and cheese. My dad would make a big batch of “manyghetti” — that is, all the leftover pasta shapes in the cabinet with sharp cheddar cheese, garlic, parsley, and maybe some parmesan. I’d top my mac with Tabasco sauce to ward off any little siblings who might want a bite.

To this day, manyghetti remains my favorite comfort food, but I also like to make my own version.

Since Stephen and I are going to do the South Beach Diet until Mexico next month, I wanted to say a big “GOODBYE PASTA” and make something cheesy, peppery and gosh darn delicious.

Ingredients:
About 1 pound of whatever pasta you have lying around. In this case, bowties, little O’s and elbows
about 1/2 cup milk
about 2 Tbs butter
about 1 cup of shredded sharp cheddar
1 clove of garlic, smashed
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
about 1-2 Tbs Wondra flour
salt and pepper
dash of Tabasco sauce

Directions:
In a salted pot of water, boil the pasta in order of longest to shortest cooking time. While pasta cooks, place the milk, garlic and butter in a big serving bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Mix in the flour and microwave another 30 seconds. If sauce is too thick, stir in a little more milk. If too thin, stir in a little more flour and microwave another 30 seconds. Stir in the dijon, salt, pepper, Tabasco and half the cheese. Drain the pasta. Add pasta to the bowl and combine. Stir in the rest of the cheese.

Fun and easy to make. And they’re mini!

Ingredients:
1 store bought refrigerated pie crust
1/2 onion, peeled and grated
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound ground pork
1 teaspoon fresh sage, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
dash of allspice (optional)
dash of cinnamon (optional)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs

Directions:
Remove 1 of the pie crusts from the box and leave out to warm up. Save the other crust for another time. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine all the ingredients but the dough, but reserve about a tablespoon of the egg. Grease a muffin tin with butter. Using a 4-inch biscuit cutter (or a mug with that diameter), cut out six rounds from the dough. Reroll the scraps. Using a slightly smaller biscuit cutter (around 2.5 in.), create 6 more rounds. Punch a hole in the middle of the smaller rounds using a straw. Place the bigger rounds in the muffin tin and shape them to the tin. Add about 1/4 cup of the filling to each pie. Take out the bottom crust after forming it to the tin, add the filling and then place the small crust on top and pinch the edges together all around. Place back into the tin. Use any excess dough and filling to create extra pies. Brush the tops of the pies with the remaining egg and bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Let cool about 10 minutes before eating. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

I am running low on groceries and I was hungry for something salty, sweet, spicy and tangy. I scoured the cabinets and here’s what I came up with.

Ingredients:
1 box of Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 5 oz. can of evaporated milk
2 eggs
About 1/2 cup sour cream
3 Tbs. melted butter
1 tsp.  Tabasco sauce
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
shredded cheddar and pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375. In a mixing bowl, combine the Jiffy mix, eggs, milk, sour cream and butter till well incorporated (there will be lumps). Add the Tabasco, green onions and pepper. Grease a casserole dish or muffin tin and add the batter. Top with cheese. Bake for about 30 minutes or until sides of cornbread are brown.
Now if only I had ingredients to make chili. If I had a fresh jalapeño and some frozen corn, I would have added those to this recipe.

No photo. Stew doesn’t look good in photos. I love a traditional beef stew with the carrots, potatoes, peas and whatnot. Several years ago I found a mediterranean lamb stew in a random cookbook and since lamb is extremely expensive up here I used beef instead. It has become a staple in our household and was adamantly requested for tonight’s meal.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs cooking oil
About 1 pound cubed stew meat
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup beef stock (or chicken stock)
3 Tbs Wondra flour, or regular flour
3 cloves garlic
6 anchovy filets
6 sprigs of fresh thyme, stems removed OR 2 Tbs dried thyme
salt and pepper

Coat a large frying pan with cooking oil and turn heat to med-high. Salt and pepper the meat and add to hot pan. Brown on all sides. Meanwhile, mince the anchovies and garlic together till they are somewhat of a paste. Include the fresh thyme in this step, if using. Mix together the stock, wine and flour.
When meat is browned, add the wine, stock, flour, thyme, garlic, and anchovies. Stir, cover, and turn down heat once simmering. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add frozen peas or beans to stew if desired and recover till veggies are cooked.
Serve with buttered egg noodles.