Swedish Apple Pie

This pie is delicious and a wonderful dessert to make when you are craving some apple pie but don't have the time to make a crust.  However, please don't think it's some sort of second-rate apple pie in a pinch.  It's so tasty I make it even when I *do* have the time for an old fashioned apple pie.  It's in a class all by itself.  :)  Oh my gravy it's good! 

5-6 medium apples, sliced
 OR use your apple slices from your food storage (I buy mine in bulk from the LDS Home Storage Center, everyone is welcome - find one near you here)
I use 2.5 - 3 cups dried apples, rehydrate for 5 minutes in 4 cups boiling water - drain excess

1 T sugar
1 T cinnamon
3/4 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped nuts
small splash of vanilla

Fill pie plate 2/3 full of apples.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  In a medium bowl, stir the rest of the ingredients until combined.  Pour over apples.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes or until lightly browned.

Food Storage:  I *always* make this with my dehydrated apples so everything in the recipe comes from items I have on hand.  Remember you can substitute shortening for butter or margarine, and use your powdered eggs and then all the ingredients are shelf stable.   A fresh tasting dessert without much effort and no runs to the store for ingredients!

Taco Rice/Spanish Rice

TACO RICE MIX
In a quart-sized ziplock bag combine the following ingredients:

1 cup long grain brown rice or white rice
2 teaspoons chili powder (wimpy white girl halves this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each oregano & cumin & garlic powder
2 tablespoons dry onion
Dash red pepper flakes (and you know I omit this)


Seal & Label the bag. Store on the pantry shelf.

To Prepare:
1 package of Taco Rice Mix
1 or 2 tablespoons oil
8 oz can reduced sodium tomato sauce or 1 cup chopped fresh or canned tomatoes
2 cups water

Get out a 2-quart saucepan. Heat the oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the contents of the Taco Rice Mix. Sauté the rice and seasonings in the hot oil until the rice is toasty and slightly opaque. Add the tomato sauce and water. Stir it up and bring it to a boil. When it starts to boil, cover the pan with a good lid and reduce the heat to very low. Brown rice will cook in 45 minutes. White rice will cook in 20 minutes. Serve topped with cheese for a main dish, or just like it is as a side dish. This recipe doubles easily. Cook it in a 3-quart saucepan if you double it.

Makes 4 servings.

Variations

To make Taco Style Beans & Rice add a 15 oz can of kidney or pinto or black beans (1-1/2 cups cooked beans) well drained and rinsed, along with the tomato sauce and water. Cook as directed.

To make Taco TVP & Rice Mix add 1 cup of plain TVP and 2 bouillon cubes to the rice mixture. Use the flavor of bouillon that you prefer. When you prepare the dish, increase the water to 2-3/4 cups. Otherwise, proceed as directed. This is a great main dish mix to keep on hand for busy days.

Note: I keep the bag of Taco Rice Mix in a small brown paper bag along with the canned tomato sauce, and sometimes a can of kidney beans too. This keeps the items together in one spot so I don't have to hunt all over the kitchen for that "can of tomato sauce that I know is around here somewhere". You may be more organized than me and always know where that extra can of tomato sauce is, but in case you're not this tip will save some work. Be sure to label and date the paper bag so you know what it is when you see it sitting there on the shelf.

Cheese Enchiladas

This recipe comes from Spark People's recipe site sparkrecipes.com.

I quadrupled the recipe so I could use the whole container of ricotta.  I bagged the rest and froze three additional meals for later.  I placed the sauce, olives and cheese mixture in three separate baggies (quart and snack-size) and then placed all three baggies in one gallon bag so the whole meal was together.  

Sorry about the picture.  We had almost finished eating before I remembered to take a picture!  So here is my son's plate - sour cream and all!

I served this with the Hillbilly Housewife's Taco Rice.  Scrumptious!  I loved this meal!

No Guilt Cheese Enchiladas

12 8-inch Corn Tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican four cheese blend
1/2 cup fat-free cottage cheese
3/4 cup chopped white onions
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta
1 can (19 ounces) enchilada sauce
2 Tbsp diced green chilies
3 Tbsp sliced black olives

Pour the enchilada sauce in a skillet and heat. Or make your own - check out the link above!  Dip each tortilla in the hot sauce, coating each side, for a few seconds. Shake off and place on microwavable platter, 3 or 4 at a time, making sure that they do not overlap. Microwave for 20-40 seconds, until soft. (Time will vary according to your microwave oven.) Set aside to cool. I skipped the microwaving and just dipped the tortillas in the skillet that I made my enchilada sauce in.

In a bowl, mix 3/4 cup finely chopped onion (about 1/2 a large onion) I used rehydrated dry onion, ricotta, cottage cheese, green chiles (mild or hot, to taste), and salt and pepper to taste. Add half the shredded cheese (1/2 cup.) Mix with fork until ingredients are blended.

Spray a rectangular casserole dish with non-stick spray.
Place approximately 1/12th of the cheese mixture (about 1/4 cup) on a tortilla and loosely roll. Place seam side down in casserole dish. Repeat until all tortillas are filled. I did this dish as a casserole to save on mess and time.  I placed a layer of dipped tortillas on the bottom of the pan, topped with spoonfulls of the cheese mixture (about 2 1/4 cups total) and topped with more dipped tortillas.  Spread remaining enchilada sauce evenly over the enchiladas.

Bake for 15 minutes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. After 15 minutes, remove and evenly spread the remaining cheese and the black olives on top. Return to oven for 10 more minutes.

Serve hot.

Number of Servings: 6

Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

I found these cupcakes here after searching for a recipe online that a gal had made and nicely let me sample. I think these would be easy to add whole wheat flour to from food storage.

the Cupcakes...

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine, melted

1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (abt 4 medium bananas)

2 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

the Frosting...

2 sticks (1 cup) margarine, softened

12 oz cream cheese

6 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp cinnamon

To make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350 F. In a medium bowl mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Make a well in center of dry ingredients and add butter, banana, eggs and vanilla. Stir but do not overmix! This is the secret to yummy muffins! Spoon into prepared muffin pan. This made 12 regular muffins for me as well as a full mini-muffin pan. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

The frosting: Beat butter and cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add the powdered sugar until combined. Add vanilla and cinnamon. Ice the cupcakes.

I topped with Skor bits - chopped nuts are also yummy!

Quiche

Absolutely one of my favorite dishes! I usually make it when I've made veggies and had leftovers sitting in the fridge for a couple of days that need to be used up.

Of course there are more traditional quiche recipes - quiche Lorraine or a yummy spinach quiche - I love them all! When I make one of those quiches I use the recipes from my Better Homes and Gardens cook book with great success! I actually combined those traditional recipes to make this quiche. I love that I have a yummy way to get some more veggies in our diet and use up the leftovers in the fridge.

1 single pie crust (here is a good quick one - I use it often for quiche when I don't really care about getting the perfect flaky crust. I use my food processor and overmix to my heart's content. If I have a recipe where the crust takes a more prominent roll in the dish I use another recipe that takes a bit more prep)

6 beaten eggs (4 is OK too - especially if you have more veggies and don't want your filling to spill over with the increased volume)

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup milk

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp white pepper

dash ground nutmeg

1 cup cooked veggies

2 tsp dried onion flakes

1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1 Tb all-purpose flour

Line unpricked pastry shell with double thickness of foil and bake at 450F for 8 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 4-5 minutes until pastry is dry. Remove from oven. Reduce oven temp to 325F.

Whisk together eggs, milk and sour cream till well combined. Add rest of ingredients and mix well. I always cover the crust to prevent over-browning. Pour filling into hot pastry shell and bake until done. Check at 40 minutes, could take up to an hour.

Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Hot Cocoa

I found this recipe at the Hillbilly Housewife. Here it is adjusted to use my non-instant powdered milk. We love having this convenient mix at home! Everyone has loved the taste and we love the convenience of mixing up huge batches with little trouble or cost. Yummy!

2 cups non-instant dry milk

1 1/2 cups sugar (if you like a sweeter drink, more kid-friendly, use 2 cups)

1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer

2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix all the ingredients in a clean, dry bowl. Use a whisk to mix everything together, squishing out any clumps. Store in a sealed canister. Add 1/4 cup cocoa mix to 8oz hot water and stir. You can add more mix if you like.

I triple this recipe and use a gallon size Rubbermaid square food storage container from Wal-Mart.

The original recipe has some other optional add-ins: small box of instant chocolate or vanilla pudding, 1/4 cup of instant coffee for a mocha flavor.

Damper

In colonial Australia, stockmen developed the technique of making damper out of necessity. Often away from home for weeks, with just a camp fire to cook on and only sacks of flour as provisions, a basic staple bread evolved. It was originally made with flour and water and a good pinch of salt, kneaded, shaped into a round, and baked in the ashes of the campfire or open fireplace. It was eaten with pieces of fried dried meat, sometimes spread with golden syrup, but always with billy tea or maybe a swig of rum.

description from aussie-info.com

Damper is a traditional Australian bread - popular at BBQs and super easy to make! Because of the limited supplies available out on the range it is not at all difficult to make. There is no yeast and little kneading so there is not much you can mess up here! This is the first real recipe that I ever made entirely on my own. In fact I made this for my 6th grade class (demonstrated in the classroom!) and it came out beautifully. (And - so they said - deliciously!) I love to make this hearty bread with soup.

3 cups all-purpose flour

2 Tb baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 oz butter

½ cup milk
½ cup water
extra flour

1. Sift dry ingredients into bowl, cut in butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, fairly even in size.
2. Make a well in center of dry ingredients, add combined water and milk all at once; mix lightly with sharp knife in cutting motion. Turn out on to lightly floured surface; knead lightly.
3. Knead dough into round, place on greased oven tray. Pat dough out to a 6 inch circle. With sharp knife, cut two slits across dough like a cross, approximately half an inch deep. Brush top of dough with milk, sift a little extra flour over dough. Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes or until golden brown, reduce heat to 350°F, cook a further 15 minutes.

Chicken Curry Casserole

adapted from Kim's recipe

For a meatless meal - this is delicious w/o the chicken!

For a food storage meal - use canned chicken and veggies

2 cups brown rice (uncooked)

16oz broccoli florets (or use one pkg of frozen broccoli)

2/3 cup SOS mix (or use 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and omit water)

2 1/2 cups water

1 cup mayo

2 Tbs curry powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp seasoned salt

2 cups cooked chicken (or 1/2 of a quart jar of canned chicken)

1/2 cup to 1 cup shredded cheddar or cheddar mix

Cook rice and steam broccoli. In a small saucepan, add SOS mix and whisk in water water a little at a time to prevent lumps. Heat mixture to boiling, cook 2 minutes and then take off heat. Mix together cooked rice, cooked broccoli, soup/SOS sauce, mayo, seasonings and chicken. Pour into 9x13" dish, sprinkle cheese on top and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This is easily doubled (then you can use the full quart jar of chicken) and frozen in either a gallon freezer bag or in a 9x13" pan covered with 2 layers of foil. Make sure you label it!

Take out the night before to thaw, pour into pan and cook as usual. You can even thaw in the microwave for a last minute dinner.

Crash Hot Potatoes

First off - Best Name Ever! Having family in Aussie land I knew right away that the recipe must have originally come from there as well. I laughed when I saw it! Wondering what it means? "Crash Hot" is like "super". My mom always uses the phrase "crash hot keen" as in "I'm just not crash hot keen on the idea of you getting a tattoo." :)

I found the original recipe at Pioneer Woman and it is truly heavenly! Click here to find the original recipe.

Here's what I did:

Baking potatoes (however many)

Olive Oil

Salt

Nuke those taters until done. I placed them around the edge of the turntable and cooked for 5 minutes on high. Cook until tender - you may need to adjust the time depending on how many potatoes and how hot your microwave cooks.

Brush olive oil on a baking sheet and place your potatoes on the sheet - evenly spaced. Take the potatoes and smoosh them with a potato masher. Don't smash them all the way down. Leave a bit of height (at least an inch) so they still stick together as a unit and don't fall apart when you lift them to serve.

Now brush the tops with more oil. Season to your taste. Rosemary, S&P, parmesan, whatever you like.

Bake at 450 for 20 minutes or so or until they are golden, crunchy and delicious!

Chocolate Pudding

3 cups milk (see note)

1/3 cup cornstarch

1/3 c unsweetened cocoa or carob powder

2/3 cup sugar

Good dash salt

3 tablespoons margarine

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a two quart sauce pan combine the cornstarch, cocoa, sugar and salt. Mix it very well. Gradually add the milk, whisking it in until the mixture is smooth. Heat the pan over medium heat, stirring constantly. Bring the pudding to a full rolling boil. Boil and stir for one minute. Remove from heat. Stir in the margarine and vanilla. The pudding will thicken as it cools. You can pour the pudding into a pretty serving dish, or small individual cups. I pour it into small individual cups with lids and send it in the children’s lunch boxes. Store it in the fridge either way. Makes 6 servings.

Note: Feel free to use powdered milk! I mix my dry milk in with the other dry ingredients and then add the appropriate amount of water. For 3 cups of milk I use 9 Tbs (1/2 cup plus 1 Tb) of non-instant powdered milk (this is the kind you buy at the LDS Cannery and the kind I use). If you are buying your dry milk from the grocery store follow the directions on the box.

I frequently forget to add the margarine and it still is delicious!

For another variation - I sometimes use Magic Mix to make pudding. If you follow the link you will find the recipe I use. I recently found another Magic Mix recipe from Washington State University that doesn't involve any fat that I'm going to try. It uses corn starch to thicken the sauce and since I use that trick myself to cut fat I'm eager to see how it goes!

Oatmeal Bars

This is a recipe I found that was originally from www.makeandtakes.com. These bars are one of the snack foods that I make weekly for lunches for my kiddos. They can be for sack & at-home lunches or after-school snacks. They freeze very nicely if you prefer to do that.

As a side-note - making snacks and getting everything ready on Sunday for the upcoming week is a great way to save time and money. Other easy snacks that you can find us assembling on Sunday: jello, homemade chocolate pudding, pretzels, veggies like carrots/baby tomatoes/celery, cookies (for lunches I like to pretend they are healthy so I make things like oatmeal-raisin and I alway use wheat flour). I love the inexpensive multi-colored baby snack cups with lids that you find at Wal-Mart to package up the treats!

2 1/2 cups oats (I use whatever I have - quick or regular)

1/2 cup Rice Krispies

1/4 cup coconut

1 cup M&Ms or chocolate chips

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup margarine, soft

1/4 cup honey (spray your cup with Pam so the honey doesn't stick)

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter

Mix all ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Press into in 9x13 pan and smooth out the top. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then score the bars into the size you'd like (don't cut all the way through). Let the bars set completely and then cut into bars and store in a sealed container.

Whole Wheat Bread

adapted from myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com

Makes 2 loaves (for the original recipe which makes 4 loaves and calls for instant yeast go here).

I love this recipe because I don't need a Bosch to make whole wheat bread. I tried about half a dozen other recipes (one of which resulted in the untimely demise of my Kitchenaid - which they replaced, whew!) and all of them didn't work out for me. This dough is soft enough to not strain my 4.5 qt Kitchenaid Mixer (I have the Artisian) when I knead it for 10 minutes and the dough is so easily handled I never need any flour when I roll out my dough. I have started baking my own bread exclusively and I bake a couple of loaves about every 5-6 days. They have kept beautifully! If you don't go through bread quickly or you want to make extra and freeze them, use the sugar instead of the honey - it tastes better after the loaf is thawed I think. I also measure out extra sets of the dry ingredients when I make this and place those extra mixes in labeled ziploc bags so they are ready the next time I need to bake.

Ok, so here you go!

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/2 Tb yeast

Proof in your mixing bowl until bubbly.

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/3 cup vital wheat gluten

Add, mix 1 min on "stir" or 2 at the fastest. Cover and let rest 10 min.

1 Tb salt

1/3 cup oil

1/3 cup honey (use the cup the oil was in and it slides right out!) or 1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/4 Tb lemon juice

Add and beat together 1 min.

2 1/2 cups wheat flour

Add one cup at a time, beating after each addition. Beat for 6-10 minutes. The longer you let it knead the more gluten you'll develop in your loaf and the better it will be! Feel free to substitute some white flour if you prefer. I do when I use the hard read wheat to make my flour - it has a stronger taste than my family prefers. I think hard white wheat makes a better tasting flour and doesn't need to be mixed with all-purpose flour - just my opinion!

Turn oven on for 1 minute and then turn off. Cover dough and let rise until doubles - this usually takes me 45 minutes, sometimes less.

Divide dough into two even halves. Knead 5-10 times by hand to smooth out dough and then shape into an oval. I use a pastry mat instead of my counter - but if your counter is clean go for it! Roll each into a rectangle - about the same size as a 9x13" pan. Roll up dough tightly jelly-roll style starting on a short side. Pinch and smooth seam. Pinch ends of loaf and tuck underneath to smooth the look of your ends. Place each loaf into a greased bread pan and let rise in warm oven till doubled. Then bake for 20 minutes at 350F. When done, bread should be browned and sound hollow when you tap the top. Cool in pans for 10 minutes and then cool on wire racks.

Eclair Cake

from my roomie Wendy at WSU

1 8oz tub Cool Whip

2 small boxes vanilla pudding

1 box graham crackers

1 tub chocolate icing

Prepare pudding as directed. Mix in Cool Whip. Layer graham crackers in 9x13" dish. Pour half of pudding mixture on top of crackers in dish. Put another layer of crackers on top of the pudding. Layer again with the rest of the pudding mixture and a final layer of graham crackers. Warm icing in microwave for one minute or until easy to spread/pour. Spread icing atop the top layer of graham crackers and refrigerate overnight.

Gingerbread Whole Wheat Pancakes and Syrup!

Oh my these are so fantastic! A fresh twist to the blender pancake and another way to use your wheat!

from everydayfoodstorage.net

1 cup milk (I, of course, use powdered)

1 cup wheat kernels, whole and uncooked

2 eggs (2T powdered eggs and 1/4 cup water)

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 Tb oil

2 Tb honey or sugar

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ginger
Put milk and wheat in blender. If using food storage ingredients then add the wheat and 1 1/4 cup water (the water for the dry milk and dry eggs). Then blend on highest speed until smooth (this could take 5 minutes). Add the rest of your ingredients and blend on low until well mixed. Cook and serve.

Hot Homemade Buttermilk Syrup

1/2 Cup buttermilk or 1/2 Cup milk with 1/2 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice

2 Cups Sugar

1/2 Cup Butter

2 Tbs. Corn Syrup (not essential but it will help your syrup keep longer without going grainy)

2 t. baking soda

1 tsp. Vanilla (do not add until after removing from heat)

Mix ingredients in a pot and boil for 3 minutes, the sauce will turn to the caramel color towards the end of boiling. (Essential Tip: mix in a pot one size larger than you think you will need. The syrup will be frothy in the beginning and it is awful cleaning up a burnt sugary mess on your stove…trust me!)

Stir in vanilla when syrup is finished cooking.

Makes enough sauce for 2 recipes of pancakes.

Yellow Squash Puree Macaroni and Cheese

Ah yes, another Mac and Cheese recipe. This really is tasty! You would never guess it has squash in it. We cook and puree the squash from our garden and freeze it in ice cube trays. Since we are still in the baby stage in our family I am planning to use this for baby food in a few months. But it is also convenient to use in this recipe - I just microwave 8 or so cubes of squash to get the 1 cup of puree called for.

This is from one of my favorite Food Storage sites: everydayfoodstorage.net

2 C. Elbow Macaroni

1/3 C. Magic Mix
1/2 C. Water
1 C. Yellow Squash Puree
1-1/2 C. Cheddar Cheese, grated
4 oz. Cream Cheese (can be reduced fat or non-fat)
1/2 t. Salt
1/8 t. Paprika
1/2 t. PepperDirections:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the macaroni and cook accodring to package directions until al dente. Drain in a colander.

While the macaroni is cooking, combine Magic Mix and water in a saucepan. Stir rapidly (I use a wire wisk) over medium heat until it starts to bubble and thicken.

Add the squash puree, Cheddar, cream cheese, and seasonings, and stir until the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.

Stir in the macaroni and serve warm. (Personally, I chop up a tomato and stir it in. I really like the taste of tomatoes and cheese but that is optional. I also garnish with a little paprika and grated cheese.)

Kaiserschmarren - German Apple Puff Pancake

1/2 c flour

5 T sugar

1/2 t salt

1 c milk

5 eggs - separated

1 cup chopped apples

2 T butter

Powdered sugar to top

Sift together dry ingredients (who are we kidding - mix it up in a bowl!). Add milk gradually (I use dry milk to the dry ingredients and add the appropriate amount of water). Add egg yolks one at a time, beating after each addition. Add fruit to batter. Beat egg whites till stiff then add and fold in 1/2 at a time to batter. Melt butter in a skillet and dump in batter. Cook batter until firm. Flip and cook other side. Tear up into pieces and serve with powdered sugar.

I always double for our family (2 adults, 3ish kids) and cook in our huge electric skillet. Flipping is impossible so I cut the pancake into 6 pieces after I've cooked the first side and flip each section individually.

Crockpot Macaroni and Cheese

8 oz macaroni, cooked and drained (2 cups dry)

13 oz can evaporated milk

3 c shredded cheese

1/4 c melted butter

Mix all ingredients together and put in freezer bag. Freeze flat. When time to serve, thaw and put in crock pot 2-4 hours on low.

This is a cinch to double (so you use the whole box of pasta) and have an extra.

Penne with Spinach Sauce

from Leia

1 lb whole wheat penne

3 garlic cloves

2 oz goat cheese (I buy it at Costco and freeze in 2 oz portions)

1 oz reduced-fat cream cheese

3/4 t salt

1/2 t pepper

6 oz spinach leaves (I'm very generous with this)

2 T grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook till tender but still firm.

Mince garlic in food processor. Add goat cheese, cream cheese, salt and pepper, and 1/2 of spinach. (I usually do ALL the spinach). Blend till creamy. Set aside.

Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid. Spoon pasta atop spinach in a bowl. Scrape sauce over pasta, toss to coat. Add enough liquid to moisten. Season with salt and pepper and top with Parmesan.

Classic Mac & Cheese

from America's Test Kitchen

Bread Crumb Topping

6 slices sandwich bread (I use the cheap store bread - .99 or so on sale - that I've frozen and don't bother to thaw)

3 T butter

Pasta and Cheese

1 lb elbow macaroni

1 T salt

5 T butter

6 T flour

1 1/2 t mustard powder

5 c milk

8 oz Jack, shredded (2 c)

8 oz Sharp Cheddar, shredded (2 c)

1 t salt

For crumbs: pulse bread and butter 10-15 1 second pulses in food processor.

Pasta:

Boil 4 qt water, add pasta and 1T salt. Cook till tender (1-2 minutes less than package directions). Drain and set aside.

In pot you used for pasta, heat butter over med-hi heat till foaming. Add flour and mustard whisking well to combine. Continue till fragrant and deepened in color ~1 minute. Whisk in milk; bring to boil; whisk constantly. FULL BOIL. Reduce to medium heat and continue stirring till thick ~5 minutes.

Add pasta and warm through ~6 minutes.

Pour into 9x13 pan, sprinkling crumbs on top. Broil 3-5 minutes on lower middle rack - watch carefully! - until nicely golden.

Macaroni Salad

from the Polynesian Kitchen

1 lb elbow macaroni

1/2 medium yellow onion, minced

1/2 medium celery stalk, minced

1 medium carrot, shredded

1 small can of sliced olives

1 c. mayo

2 dashes curry powder (or 1/2 t)

season to taste with 1/2 - 1 t of pepper, garlic salt, celery salt, celery seed

Cook macaroni and drain. Mix all ingredients, adding more mayo if needed. Cover and chill 2 hours or overnight.