Roasted Asparagus With Grated Cheese

 

 

Dress up your asparagus by adding a little oil, salt and pepper and freshly grated Parmesan cheese!  There’s just something about roasting veggies that brings out a depth of flavor. And it’s so simple too! 

Roasted Asparagus With Grated Cheese

1 bunch of Asparagus, washed and ends trimmed 

olive oil 

kosher salt black pepper

freshly grated Parmesan cheese

fresh squeezed lemon juice

Place Asparagus on large baking sheet. 

 

 

 

 

Drizzle with olive oil and roll asparagus around in the oil. Sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper.  Place in a 400 degree oven and roast for 10 minutes.

 

 

 

 

Remove from oven and sprinkle with freshly ground Parmesan cheese. Return to the oven and roast for 5 more minutes until tender. Add lemon if desired.

 

 

Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

♥ Sweet Honey Glazed Carrots

So many of you are asking me to post the things I will make this Thanksgiving...the things I actually put on my table. Here is one of the sides I will serve. It's a copy cat recipe for Cracker Barrel's sweet baby carrots. I love these things. If you have never had them, this recipe is identical and so delicious. I cannot get enough of these!

Sweet Honey Glazed Carrots

2 pounds baby carrots, peeled and rinsed
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup honey

Place carrots in saucepan and add enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmering. Cover and continue cooking for about thirty minutes, or until they can be easily pierced with a fork. Pour off half of the water and add all other ingredients. Cover again with lid and bring to a boil once more, then reduce heat and simmer ten to fifteen minutes. Serve with melted butter on top. Delicious!

*** Photograph is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.

My Favorite Mac and Cheese

 

I have several recipes for Mac and cheese here at Welcome Home that are my go to recipes for most occasions. So why did I choose this one for this Thanksgiving? Because when you want a really cheesy and creamy mac and cheese dish, this is the one. Absolutely delicious!

My Favorite Mac and Cheese
 
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups half and half
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried mustard
Pinch of cayenne powder
1 (16 ounce) box of elbow or spiral macaroni
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup grated Cheddar cheese, divided
3/4 cup Fontina cheese, divided
3/4 cup Gruyere cheese, divided
 
In a medium saucepan melt 4 tablespoons of the butter over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the half and half a little at a time. Stir 3-5 minutes while sauce thickens. Remove from the heat, season with the salt, pepper, dried mustard, cayenne and 1/2 cup of the grated Parmesan. Stir until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Cover and set aside. 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add a generous amount of salt and then pasta. Cook for about 5 minutes, until pasta is just slightly under cooked. Drain in a colander and return the pasta to the pot you cooked it in. Add 2 tablespoons of the butter and stir until melted and pasta is coated. Set aside


















Grease a 3-quart baking dish with butter or non stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, mix the remaining cheeses and toss lightly to blend. Reserve about 1/2 cup of the mixed cheeses for the topping and set aside.

Place one third of the pasta in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Top with one-third of the mixed cheeses. Top with another third of the macaroni and another third of the cheese mixture. Repeat with the remaining macaroni and cheese mixture.  Sprinkle the reserved cheese on top.

Bake at 350 degrees on center rack of oven for about 45 minutes until cheese is hot and bubbly and topping is golden brown.
 
 





Photography is the property of and copyrighted to ©Welcome Home.

♥ Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

This is such a pretty cheese cake to make and absolutely delicious.  If you notice, I usually make smaller 6-7 inch cheesecakes here at Welcome Home instead of the larger 9 inch. I find the smaller ones are just the right size for sharing with a friend. This recipe makes a 9 inch cheesecake. 

I made a 7 inch cheesecake in the photo.  I took my leftover ingredients and made mini cheesecakes bites using a mini muffin tin. I have added the link for the small spring 6-7 inch form pans that I use at the bottom of the recipe in case you want to make the smaller ones.

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake

Crust
1 cup crushed graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cups crushed vanilla wafers
1/4 cup crushed pecans
2/3 cup of melted butter (or more if needed)

Cheesecake
4 (8 oz. packages) Cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup Libby's pumpkin puree in a can
1 and 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Crust:
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine the graham crackers, vanilla wafers and pecans in a food processor until finely crushed. Melt the butter and stir into the crumbs until they are moist enough to form a crust. Press the crumbs in a spring form pan, going up the sides of the pan and to the top. This is enough to make one 9 inch cheesecake. The one I show in the photo is only a small one.

Cheesecake:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese and only one cup of sugar until well blended. Add the vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix well. Then mix in one egg at a time until batter is smooth and well blended. Remove about half the batter to another bowl and set aside.

Add the pumpkin puree and the other 1/2 cup of sugar to your remaining batter and stir well. Pour the pumpkin batter over the crust and spread evenly with a rubber spatula . Then pour the plain batter that you set aside on top of the pumpkin batter.

With a knife, gently swirl back and forth so that you bring a little pumpkin batter to the top making a pattern. You can swirl as much as you want to make a marble effect. 

Place the spring form pan on a baking sheet and bake the for about 45 minutes or until the outside is set and the center is almost set (slightly jiggly). Remove from the oven and place the spring form pan on a cooling rack to allow the cheesecake to cool for about 1-2 hours. Then refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 2 hours or overnight. When ready to remove from the spring form pan, run a knife along the edge to loosen up the cheesecake. Decorate with piped whipped cream and enjoy! 

7 inch leak proof spring form pan:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000237FS0/ref=as_li_ss_sm_fb_us_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=213733&creative=399837&creativeASIN=B000237FS0&linkCode=shr&tag=welchome08-20&linkId=JNPOM4LW44EDZ55X&=kitchen&qid=1445526013&sr=1-2&keywords=6+inch+springform+pan

Photography is copyrighted and the property of ©Welcome Home.