Leftover Ideas: Mac And Cheese Muffins

We eat pasta a lot. Sometimes, there'll be a little bit of pasta left over, but not enough for another full meal. When that happens, I turn the pasta into mac and cheese muffins. I got the idea when I came across this recipe for mini French onion mac and cheese. I can't do justice to those pictures, but I can tell you what I did.

This particular recipe is very simple. You just need to keep in mind the 1:1 ratio for the roux, and stir while you're adding in the milk. It's actually one of the least complicated recipes I've made for mac and cheese. If you're using leftover pasta, you need at least one cup's worth of pasta.

Once you've mastered it, you can experiment with the flavors. At first I just kept the French onion theme - using onions and Gruyere, because that's what I had. Once I ran out of those, I changed up the type of pasta - from macaroni to rotini, and yesterday I made them with cheddar cheese and frozen peas. (I cooked up the peas first.)

It's simple and a total crowd-pleaser. If you're serving it to your kids, you might want to consider feeding them their vegetables first.

Public Service Announcement: 9-1-1 Service No Longer A Requirement For California

Yesterday, while trying to figure out how to eliminate some bills to cut down on costs, I had the bright idea of turning off my landline. I called AT&T and asked them to cancel my service. "By the way, will I still be able to dial 9-1-1 even without service?" "No, if we disconnect your line, it's totally disconnected. You can call 9-1-1 from your cell phone if you have one."

That didn't sound right to me, so I tried to Google it, and found California Public Utilities Code Section 2883, which does list the requirement for carriers to provide a "soft" dial tone so that non-subscribers can call 9-1-1 in case of emergency. I called AT&T back with this information, but for my pains, was told that the requirement was no longer in place as of 2012.

In conclusion, if you are worried about access to 9-1-1 service in the event that your cell phone service is disabled in an emergency, you might want to retain a landline.

Cooking Failure: Brussels Sprouts Chips

Today I had brussels sprouts from the farmers' market. Usually I roast them in the oven, and that's plenty good for me, but I wanted to check out some alternative recipes. I found this brussels sprouts chips recipe, which promises to convert brussels sprouts haters. It was also attractive because it was simple.

I actually did roast my brussels sprouts, but since I had to remove a lot of the outer leaves anyway, I decided to test out the recipe with those discarded leaves. After dinner, I salted and peppered them, and added olive oil. I stuck them in the oven and waited 10 minutes, as instructed on the recipe. That was my mistake. 

By the time I checked on them, most of the leaves were burnt. I tasted an unburnt one, and was unimpressed. I had added too much salt, and the leaf didn't taste much different than a regular brussels sprout. It wasn't crispy like a chip, and if you were a brussels sprouts hater already, well, you would still be a brussels sprouts hater. Still, I think I will try this recipe again, with a few changes.

Lessons learned:

1. Easy on the salt.
2. If it's the first time with the recipe, check the oven frequently.