Double Cheddar Macaroni

This delicious macaroni and cheese has a secret ingredient - white cheddar popcorn seasoning.  WHAT?!?  Trust me - it works!  It can be served as a side or even as a meal.  This recipe can get extremely messy, so you'll want to use the Full Round Pan since it will be easier to clean out.  Or you could try lining your Base Unit with foil for this dish, but be careful of tearing the foil when stirring.  Another note to keep things cleaner - I put a cookie sheet or a cutting board under the unit when I make this macaroni.  It has on occasion, bubbled out a bit.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon plain bread crumbs
• 1/2 tablespoon grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon parsley
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk
• 1 tablespoon white cheddar powder (popcorn seasoning)
• 1/2 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 5 tablespoons shredded mild cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4 milk
• 1/2 cup boiling water

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan

Servings:  1-2

Directions:
1.  Spray grill generously with nonstick spray and preheat.
2.  In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, Parmesan, parsley, and olive oil.  Set aside for later.

3.  In a medium bowl, place the flour, dry milk, white cheddar powder, macaroni, and butter.

4.  To the bowl, add the milk and boiling water; stir well to get rid of lumps and melt the butter a bit.
5.  Add 3 tablespoons of the mild cheddar to the bowl and stir.

6.  Very carefully pour the mixture into the cooking well, close lid, and cook for about 15 minutes.
7.  Open the unit, carefully and slowly stir the contents, and cook for an additonal 10 minutes.
8.  Open unit again, stir contents a second time, this time carefully adding the last 2 tablespoons of mild cheddar to the mixture.
9.  Sprinkle crumb mixture on top of macaroni, close lid, and cook an additional 5 minutes or so.
10.  Remove from grill, stir, and let cool a few minutes before serving.

Irish Soda Bread with Herbs

I was inspired yesterday by the yummy Italian-style garlic bread, and decided to post another bread-related recipe today.  This time, it's a take on an herb-laden Irish soda bread.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons buttermilk
• 1 & 1/2 tablespoons beaten egg
• 1 tablespoon salted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme (or dillweed)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

Pan Insert to Use:  Ovals Pan or Divider Pan

Servings:  2-4

Directions:
1.  Spray grill with nonstick spray and preheat.
2.  Mix wet ingredients together in a small bowl (buttermilk, egg, and butter).
3.  Place dry ingredients in a medium bowl and add wet ingredients; mix.  Batter will be slightly lumpy.

4.  Pour the batter into the cooking wells, close the lid, and cook for about 10-15 minutes or until done (test with a toothpick).

5.  Slice in half and serve with additional butter if desired.

Effortless Garlic Bread

I love Italian dishes.  I love the breads, the pastas, the sauces, the salads.  I love it all.  And it's not just because I have Italian blood running through my veins.  Italian food is delicious, no matter who you are.  Or at least, it's delicious to most people (I think).  When you serve an Italian dish, it's almost expected that you'll be serving some kind of garlic bread along with it.  That's why I came up with this little recipe.  It tastes much better than those loaves that thaw out in the oven (in my opinion, anyway).   Also unlike those large loaves, you can control your portion size and create less waste with this recipe.  It's incredibly simple, and the herbed butter can be used for a butter substitute in any other of your Italian dishes.

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/16 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 hot dog bun
• Grated Parmesan-Romano cheese, to taste

Pan Insert to Use:  Base Unit

Servings:  2

Directions:
1.  Preheat grill.
2.  Mix the softened butter with the parsley, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper.

3.  Cut the hot dog bun in half and spread some of the butter mixture over the open (white) sides.  Reserve leftover herbed butter for future use.

4.  Place the bun halves in the grill, open sides facing down.

5.  Close lid and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until desired doneness.

6.  Remove garlic bread from grill and sprinkle with desired amount of Parmesan-Romano cheese.

Full Round Pan for Cakes

After using my Redi-Set-Go for a few weeks, I soon longed for a way to remove the bottom of the grill pan (to make pouring contents easier and way less messy).  So, I decided to invest in the "Full Round Pan" from Xpress.  It was probably the best investment I've made when it comes to my Redi-Set-Go.  It enabled me to make awesome little "mini cakes."  For examples, see Cinnamon Apple Cake and Peanut Butter & Jelly Cake.

But what if you don't have a full round pan?  Can you still make those cool little cakes?  You betcha!  You can simply use your Divider Pan.  Bake the cake as the instructions say (filling both Divider pan wells), and when the cakes have cooked and cooled, just push the 2 halves together to form a circle.  Frosting will hide the seam.  :) 

But why can't you just use the base unit since it's a full circle?  I guess you could try if you're feeling adventurous, but there are a couple reasons that the base unit has never worked for me when baking cakes or cookies: (1) the outside cooks too fast, and the inside never seems done enough (the full round pan is raised ever-so-slightly so you don't get the "full heat" of the base unit), and (2) the cake is hard to remove and prone to breaking (the full round pan allows you to easily flip the cake onto a plate without ever having to use utensils).

Cakes are not the only dish that the Full Round Pan makes easier, though.  It's also ideal for soups, stews, sauces, gravies, or any dish that requires a bit of liquid for cooking.  You can simply remove the pan, and pour the contents neatly onto a plate or into a bowl.

So, where can you get a Full Round Pan?  The pan sells for $12.95 (plus S&H) right from the Xpress website (see the bottom of the page for the Full Round Pan).  If you're diligent and patient, you may even be able to find them used on Ebay for a lower price.  But for the record, they usually sell for around $19 (new) on Ebay.

Surface Wearing or Scratched On Your Grill?

After you use your Redi-Set-Go grill for so long, the non-stick surface will begin to wear.  It's inevitable.  It happens to all non-stick surfaces after regular use.  There is no "cure," but there is a temporary fix so you can keep using your grill until your new one arrives.  You can cover the surface with aluminum foil.

This fix will keep the "teflon" from wearing off onto your food, but there are a few things you should know before using this method:

• The foil will be hot - even if the foil is outside of the cooking well, so be very careful!
• The cooking time will most likely need to be adjusted (by adding a minute or few) because the heat will be dispersed throughout the entire area the foil covers - the less foil you use, the less time you'll have to add to cooking
• The foil should be replaced after each use
• The foil rips easily, so be careful when using utensils
• Always use nonstick spray with the foil

And remember, this fix is only temporary.  I really do suggest investing in another unit.  Of course, if you've ordered the Redi-Set-Go recently, you probably were able to take advantage of their "2nd Grill Free" offer and received 2 grill units with your order!  Lucky you!  :)

Seasoned Mashed Potatoes

Instant mashed potatoes are brilliant.  They're very easy and exceptionally fast.  The only issues I have ever had with them is that the texture is too smooth (I like a lumpier potato, myself) and the taste is rather bland.  This recipe solves both of those problems.  The additional ingredients add tons of flavor and add a little bit of texture, too.  But don't think that you must use instant mashed potatoes for this recipe.  You could also add the seasoning to "real" mashed potatoes (or leftovers) to kick them up a notch.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 tablespoon salted butter
• 2/3 cup mashed potato flakes
• 1 tablespoon Ranch dressing mix (reserve leftover for another use)
• 1 heaping tablespoon cooked, crumbled bacon
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried chives (depending on taste preference)

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan or Base Unit

Servings:  1-2

Directions:
1.  Spray grill with nonstick spray and preheat.
2.  Combine the water and milk and slowly pour into cooking well; add the pad of butter.
3.  Close lid and cook for about 5 minutes.

4.  While liquid is cooking, mix the dry ingredients together (potato flakes, dressing mix, bacon, and chives).

5.  When liquid is thoroughly heated and butter is melted, slowly add the dry ingredients to the cooking well.  Stir very slowly and very carefully until all ingredients are thoroughly mixed.

6.  Close lid and cook an additional 2 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.

Caesar Dog

It's beginning to look like "hot dog week" at our house.  :)  We love Caesar salads here, so it's only natural that eventually we would have combined our favorite salad with a hot dog.  I present to you: The Caesar Dog.

Ingredients:

• 1 hot dog
• 1 hot dog bun
• 1/4 cup shredded lettuce
• 1 teaspoon creamy Caesar dressing
• 1 teaspoon shredded Parmesan cheese

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round or Base Unit

Servings:  1

Directions:
1.  Spray grill with non-stick spray and preheat.
2.  Poke holes in hot dog with a fork.

3.  Place in grill, close lid, and cook for 5-15 minutes (depending on preference), rotating occasionally.

4.  While hot dog is cooking, mix shredded lettuce with Caesar dressing.

5.  Place hot dog on bun and top with shredded lettuce and shredded Parmesan cheese.

Nacho Dog

It's been a warm week here, and we've been living on hot dogs.  They're easy, they're cheap, and there's a ton of ways to prepare them.  So, here's another fun hot dog recipe.  I wanted to find a way to "spruce up" our average hot dogs, and came up with this little concoction.  It seems a bit unusual, but if you like nacho cheese, you'll love this dog!

Ingredients:

• 1 hot dog
• 1 hot dog bun
• 2 tablespoons nacho cheese
• 1-3 tortilla chips (depending on size)

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan or Base Unit

Servings:  1

Directions:
1.  Spray grill with nonstick spray and preheat.
2.  Poke holes in hot dog with a fork.

3.  Place in grill, close lid, and cook for 5-15 minutes (depending on preference), rotating occasionally.

4.  While hot dog is cooking, warm nacho cheese (if desired) and crush tortilla chips.

5.  Place hot dog on bun and top with nacho cheese and crushed tortilla chips.

Simple Slaw Dog

Whenever our family goes swimming, we love to picnic on hot dogs and brats afterwards.  My husband mans the grill, and I get to kick back and enjoy it.  With the Redi-Set-Go, I can "grill" hot dogs anytime for my little one (or myself) without ever firing up the outdoor grill.  My personal favorite topping for hot dogs is simply cole slaw.  I believe adding cole slaw to hot dogs is something done regularly in the South (I could be wrong, though); either way, I can't take credit for this combination.  I heard of this idea as a very young child when my parents took me to a small restaurant in Amherst, Ohio called "Hot Dog Heaven."  One day, I'd like to take my own child(ren?) there.

Ingredients:

• 1 hot dog
• 1 hot dog bun
• prepared cole slaw

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan or Base Unit

Servings:  1

Directions:
1.  Spray grill with nonstick spray and preheat.
2.  Poke holes in hot dog with a fork.

3.  Place in grill, close lid, and cook for 5-15 minutes (depending on preference), rotating occasionally.

4.  Place hot dog on bun and top with desired amount of cole slaw.  Eat it up!

Irish Cream Pineapples on Ice Cream

There's no time for ice cream like the summer.  Some people can eat it all through the year, but in my opinion, summer will always be the best time to savor this chilly treat.  Today you'll see a "grown-up" version of ice cream that uses Bailey's Irish Cream.  I used graham crackers as garnish, but nilla wafers would also be delish!  For a "peaches and cream" type flavor, use a snack pack of diced peaches in lieu of the pineapple chunks.

Ingredients:

• 1 snack pack pineapple chunks (4 oz size)
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons Irish cream (I prefer Bailey's)
• 2 tablespoons water
• vanilla ice cream
• graham crackers, for garnish

Pan Insert to Use:  Full Round Pan or Base Unit

Servings:  2 - 4

Directions: 
1.  Spray grill and preheat.
2.  Drain pineapple chunks, and then place on paper towels to soak up all excess liquid.

3.  Combine pineapple chunks, brown sugar, Irish cream, and water in a small bowl; mix.

4.  Place in grill, close lid, and cook for about 5 minutes (or until bubbly).
5.  Remove pineapple chunks from grill and let cool for about 10 minutes.

6.  Scoop ice cream into a cup or bowl and top with pineapple chunks.  Garnish with graham crackers.