The Cheesecake Factory's Fried Mac and Cheese

So a few weeks ago, my husband and I went out to eat, and while waiting to be seated, they had a tv advertisement of different foods and cheesecakes there.  I saw the picture of the fried mac and cheese...  MMMMM!  I served a mission in Louisiana and love fried foods and I've always loved mac and cheese.  Anyways, one of the things I miss is getting fried mac and cheese bites from some restaurant (Jack in the Box or Arby's?) and enjoying how good it is.  Anyways, I asked my husband if he wanted to split the appetizer with me.  I asked the waitress about it as well and she said it was served with a creamy marinara sauce (my husband says it was more of a vodka sauce- but tasted like it had some sun-dried tomatoes in it or something too) and at first I was a little skeptical...  'Ruin fried mac and cheese with a creamy marinara sauce?' was what I was thinking.  It came and I took a bite- it was good all by itself, but then I took a forkful and swirled it in the sauce...  I was definitely a fan of the sauce with the mac and cheese.  The fried part wasn't too heavy, so if you sometimes react to things heavily breaded- this wasn't.  But it definitely gave me what I needed when I wanted something fried, cheesy and good.  (Amazing in my opinion- but maybe I was overdue).  Either way I would recommend them to anyone who likes fried food and cheese or mac and cheese.

Ginger-Caramelized Pineapple

I LOVE pineapple- really good, fresh pineapple, grilled pineapple and now this one.  We found the recipe and I decided to experiment with the vanilla.  It tasted really good- and I actually liked it better than the fresh pineapple. :)  Really easy.  We paired it with a maple-pecan pork dish that was also good. :)

PointsPlus: 3 pts for 2 pineapple spears and 1 teaspoon of syrup
Prep: 2 minutes  Cook: 9 minutes

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 (1 1/4 pound) cored fresh pineapple, cut vertically into 12 spears (for a really good pineapple look for a really good golden pineapple- the less green the better. Or see if you can pick out a leaf easily from the top)

2 tablespoons light butter, cut into pieces (I used yogurt butter)
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped crystallized ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
1. Heat a large skillet over high heat..  Coat pan with cooking spray; add pineapple.  Add butter pieces, and quickly tilt pan in all directions so butter covers pan with a thin film.
2. Cook pineapple 8 minutes or until browned, turning once. 
3. Add vanilla.  Add honey, ginger, and salt; cook 1 minute, tossing to coat with honey. 
YIELD: 6 servings

Fruit Salad

So, the following is a fruit salad I learned from a previous roommate.  It is relatively simple and I think it's pretty good- even though I have found other recipes I like as well. :)

You will need:
Fruit (things I've used before- grapes, strawberries, pineapple, mandarin oranges, apple slices and bananas)
a jar of Marshmallow Creme
a stick of cream cheese
a large bowl

One jar of Marshmallow Creme and one stick of cream cheese can go a long way, so unless you are making enough for 10+, you probably don't need to double it.  Especially if you use strawberries which adds fruit juice to the mixture and allows it to spread thinner and further.

Steps:
1. warm up Marshmallow Creme in the jar.  Take off the lid, stick in the microwave- I usually set it for a minute- but you HAVE to watch it.  What you're looking for is to wait til it starts puffing up over the rim and looks pretty rounded.  If you just forget about it in the microwave it might explode and let me tell you- it's a pain to clean up.
2. Scoop out Marshmallow Creme into a bowl (whatever you want to mix everything together in). And add the cream cheese (make sure it's soft enough that you can mix it).
3. Mix the Marshmallow Creme and cream cheese together.  My roommate used a hand mixer, but I've also done without it, with the aid of a fork- it takes much longer to get it smooth and fully mixed but still works if you don't have a hand mixer available.
4. start adding the fruit.  Make sure it's all sliced, if needed.  (Examples- pineapple needs to be sliced unless you bought them in chunks.  Bananas need to be sliced.  Strawberries I usually slice in half.  Grapes you can slice if you have extra time and want them sliced.  Apples should be sliced).
5. Enjoy!  My sister and I went on a road trip and this is what we wanted to bring.  Not the wisest idea with kids, it could end up all over your car, but my sister and I thoroughly enjoyed our snacks that trip. :)

Heart- stoppers

This recipe I learned while spending time in the South.  That was actually the beginnings of cooking for me really, before that time I was too preoccupied with recipes that cooking wasn't fun.  Most of my recipes no longer have exact recipes because I just experiment.  Tip that I learned in the South, if they smell good together uncooked, they usually work together when cooked.  So I just add things that sound good and/or smell good.  This recipe though is relatively simple.

Things you need:
Rolls (I guess you could make your own, but I just buy store bought ones, normal dinner rolls or Hawaiian sweet rolls are the favorite of my family.  I think the best are Pistolettes, but I haven't seen them in a store since being back from the South.  The only requirement for the rolls is they have to have a softer outer covering, not hard like a sourdough crust.)
And Butter!
And then a cookie sheet or cake pan, anything as long as it has a lip on it, a cookie sheet with no lip will NOT work.

Directions:  Melt butter (approximately one stick of butter for every 12 rolls you want to make)
Arrange the rolls in the pan and pour the butter over the tops.  I usually use a big spoon and spoon it over and do approximately 2 spoonfuls of butter per roll.
Stick them in the oven.  Do NOT broil.  I have never used a set temperature. 200 works, but I usually use these rolls as a side and if I've been cooking meat in the oven I often just keep it at that temperature.  You are basically putting the rolls in the oven to warm them up and allow the butter to crystallize on the top and soak into the rolls.
About half-way through (I know that may kill some people who like exact times but I've never timed it, but if you need a time, anywhere from 2-5 minutes into cooking them) pull them out and tilt the pan, use a spoon to spoon the melted butter that comes to the bottom and re-spoon it over the top of the rolls.

*If you want to get creative you can sprinkle Parmesan Cheese over the rolls before putting them in the oven, or a garlic powder of some sort, or Tony Chachere's (a Cajun seasoning that I LOVE to use).

Overall, if they don't taste good, chances are, you didn't put enough butter on them.

Side story:  My Mom used to make these amazing 'orange rolls' for Thanksgiving every year.  One year she was too tired and mine are much simpler and easier to make.  So we made mine.  A lot of family members will sneak into the kitchen and start eating various items before dinner officially starts, my Uncle happened to come in that year and picked up one of my rolls while I was watching.  He then picked up a knife and went to get some butter.  I opened my mouth and said, "Umm... that roll doesn't need more butter."  He looked at me and said, "There's no such thing as too much butter".  Then he spread the butter on his roll and walked out to enjoy his roll.  A short while later he came back in to steal another roll.  I watched him as he avoided the butter this time and I guess he felt my eyes on him.  He turned back to look at me and said simply, "You're right, it didn't need more butter."  They've become a favorite in my family, but if you're watching your carbs or fat I would advise only making them for special occasions and trying to get everyone else to eat them so you're only left with one or two to satisfy your craving.