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.