5. Stuffed Shells
by Laura
Stuffed shells are kind of like the grown-up fancy version of macaroni and cheese. If you were one of those weirdo kids who put ketchup on their mac’n’cheese, it’s even closer. Either way, they’re delicious and feed a million people. An important thing to know is that, even though they’re easy, they take an hour to bake so you should definitely plan ahead.
Ingredients:
1 box of jumbo shell pasta
1 jar of marinara sauce
2 eggs
2 (15 ounce) containers of ricotta cheese
4 cups (16 ounces) of grated mozzarella
1 and 1/2 cups of grated parmesan
1 tablespoon of dried parsley flakes
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Boil a humongous pot of water and cook the shells according to the directions on the box. If the package says something like “cook for 12-14 minutes,” go with the shorter amount of time because you don’t want these babies falling apart on you. When the shells are finished cooking, drain them and then line them up on the counter so the open side is facing up.
While you’re doing that, grease the bottom of a 15×20 baking dish with a bit of olive oil. Spread two cups of the sauce in the bottom of the pan.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Stir in the ricotta, 3 cups of the mozzarella, 1 cup of the parmesan, and the parsley. Fill each shell with the cheese mixture by taking the easy way out: scoop the cheese into a big plastic baggie, cut a hole in one corner, and pipe it into each shell icing-style.
Arrange the shells in the pan and top them with the remaining sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan. It’s important to cover the shells completely with sauce to keep the pasta from getting hard in the oven.
Cover the entire pan with aluminum foil and bake for about an hour. You’ll know it’s time when the top’s all bubbly. Take the foil off and let it cook for 5 more minutes so that the cheese melts. You’re done! Invite 7 or more friends over and eat until you want to explode.
6. The Perfect Sandwich
by Emily Choo
This sandwich is perfect.
Ingredients:
2 slices of bread
cheese (I like to use goat, cheddar, and jarlsberg)
tomato
onion
one egg
avocado (optional)
balsamic vinegar (optional)
Do whatever you do to prepare to fry an egg. For me this means olive oil, a pan, and a stove set to medium-ish heat. On the side somewhere, prepare your sandwich.
Fry your egg. Now this is an important part: I like my eggs over-easy with a runny yolk, but in this sandwich you can’t have a runny yolk because it’ll just be too messy. So I usually let the yolk harden (is that the right term?) so that when I put it in the sandwich and press down it doesn’t explode everywhere. I like to put salt, pepper and dried basil leaves on my egg.
Remove the egg from the pan and place it in your sandwich. I usually put a little bit of balsamic vinegar on the egg now.
Grill your sandwich until the cheese melts or you get too hungry.
Eat it!
7. Vegan Mac & Cheese
by Stef
My basic philosophy with a lot of vegan cooking is that the recipe shouldn’t differ too terribly much from what nonvegans were going to do anyway. My mac and cheese is a perfect comfort food for days when you cannot be bothered to eat healthy.
Ingredients
1 box elbow macaroni (a classic)
2 pkgs Follow Your Heart soy cheddar, or 20 oz or so of a a comparable and melty vegan cheese (Daiya, Teese, etc)
3 tbsp vegan margarine
2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast (Red Star brand preferred)
a dash of soy/almond/rice milk (UNFLAVORED)
First of all, boil water for your macaroni. You know how to make pasta, yeah? You’re gonna want to do that.
While your water is boiling, slice your soy cheese into small cubes and add to a large pan on medium low heat. I use a wok because I follow the traditional Asian art of mac and cheese. I threw in some leftover Daiya just to see what would happen (not much).
As the cheese melts, add margarine and soy milk. When mixture is smooth, add nutritional yeast. I like nutritional yeast because it adds a little of that baked cheesy flavor, and also because it’s so full of nutrients that I feel like I’m eating something healthy even if it is just pasta and fake cheese. Look at all that thiamin! If things start getting a little too thick, throw in a bit more margarine and/or soy milk to loosen the mixture up. You should end up with a smooth cheese sauce.
Cook your macaroni, following the instructions on the package. All the while, mix up your cheese sauce.
When your macaroni is cooked, strain it and then pour it into the cheese sauce. Stir generously. You will thank me.
Sometimes I garnish this dish with a little steamed broccoli or diced tomato. My ex used to add ground up Ritz cracker crumbs for a more homemade baked taste, which is nice. For this particular occasion, I added leftover asparagus cooked in truffle oil and lime, which was pretty damn delicious. This mac and cheese is also absolutely lovely when served plain.
Enjoy.
8. Vegan Mac & Cheese #2
by Rachel
Originally via VegWeb
Stef’s mac and cheese looks incredible, but not all of us live in the urban jungle of food options that is NYC. I am hard pressed to find any kind of vegan cheese worth eating, and so instead I go with this recipe, which doesn’t require anything you can’t find at even the quaintest small-town grocery store. Also, it’s fucking delicious.
Ingredients:
4 quarts water
1 tablespoon sea salt
8 ounces macaroni
4 slices of bread, torn into large pieces
2 tablespoons + 1/3 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
2 tablespoons shallots, peeled and chopped
1 cup red or yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon paprika
Cook the macaroni as one cooks macaroni. Drain in a colander and set aside.
Pulverize the bread in a food processor or blender, and then use a fork to blend in the 2 tablespoons margarine. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put the vegetables and 1 cup water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 15 minutes, or until vegetables are very soft. (It took me like a half hour.)
In the meantime, blend together the cashews, salt, garlic, 1/3 cup margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, and cayenne. Add the cooked vegetables with remaining water to the blender and process until perfectly smooth. The carrots will make this turn out surprisingly orange, like a pretty authentic Kraft-style cheese.
When the sauce is ready, put the pasta in a casserole dish (I used a 9×13 inch pan and it was pretty shallow; you can use an 8×8 or something if you want a deeper, gooier macaroni dish) and mix well with the sauce. Top with the breadcrumb mixture and a dusting of paprika and/or fresh herbs, and bake for 30 minutes.
Pages: 1 2See entire article on one page
In celebration of this post I will try and recreate these fancy delicious recipes with food I have in my apartment already!
Looks like I’m having an egg sandwich or Kraft Mac and Cheese (shit does that take milk? Maybe no Mac and Cheese)! Actually an egg sandwich would be really good right now….
P.S. I’m making Autostraddle my Valentine this year, kay?
This is amazing. I think I read every word, even if I’m not sure I’ll make every recipe. I’d like to, though! That bread pudding is going to haunt my dreams if I don’t make it.
I also liked the little side comments, har har. ;D
OMG sour cream biscuits. My little southern heart is a flutterin’. It’s true, don’t overwork the dough you guys. Never overwork the dough, it’s almost as bad as adding too much flour.
Also, gluten-free Get Baked! Seriously. I tried that naan from the Get Baked: Bread and it failed miserably, and I know that the biscuits would fail because GF biscuits never turn out good.
Yes! I second this: a Gluten-Free Get Baked would make my year!!!!
Ok, i want to eat everything that is on page 2. But i don’t have all those things you americans/people-who-have-food in-their-fridge have.
omg omg omg.
I want that sandwich right now.
Also, I have been craving baked mac and cheese since last night. (But I’m sorry, universe, I just love cheese too much not to eat it…So if I were able to make mac and cheese, it would have the real-deal-make-me-die-fat-and-happy stuff in it.)
Excuse me while I go prep my Night Cheese and weep over my lack of a real kitchen in which to cook things.
Dear Abby’s Mom, BCW, Laura and Emily,
Will you be my Valentines*?
Love always,
Mindy
(*and not tell my girlfriend.)
**Or Abby’s Dad ,if that be the case. Could be weird for many reasons.
I’m so glad you’re concerned about my feelings.
yeah sorry. My bad <3
tricky lesbians.
Our family is open minded as hell, so let it roll! Er, let it biscuit!!
NOM would have a field day with this.
“It should thicken up a fair bit that’s what she said.”
BEST SENTENCE EVER.
thank you all for this wonderful post bout deliciousness.
Dear Autostraddle: Be my Valentine. Because right now, looking at all this delicious food, I am feeling the love. And the urge to bake things.
Thank you for this. It inspired me to get creative with the contents of my fridge. However I was greeted with just cranberry juice and some lemon/lime sparkling water. Naturally I added this to Vodka. Tasted pretty good! Now, if I only had some of those Stuffed shells to go with it!
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
Hours away from the closest usable kitchen. Eek. If it could have emotions, my stomach would be sad.
YUM.
My girlfriend and I have, in our opinion, perfected an easy vegan mac and cheese that is doable with things that are almost entirely already found in your kitchen (or at least easily available at even the smallest of grocery stores).
We just kind of do it by feel, so I don’t know quantities, but essentially it is:
-cook macaroni
-heat melted vegan margarine or veg oil
-slowly whisk in flour until it’s thick but not chunky
-let mixture start to brown slightly, then mix in soy milk (or any non-dairy milk of your choosing) until it’s a little runnier than desired
-whisk the mixture continuously and balance it out with soy milk as it thickens until it’s a cheesy texture (although if you plan to top it and bake it in the oven, it’s better to err on the runnier side).
-add salt+pepper, powdered garlic, a little mustard powder and about a tsp of apple cider vinegar to taste until it’s a little tangy and cheesy.
-at this point, we sometimes mix in some cheddar daiya cheese if we have some around, or some nutritional yeast, but if we’re lazy or out of options it’s still good and cheesy as is.
-in a bowl, mix up some breadcrumbs and dried herbs (I use basil, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and pretty much whatever’s lying around)
-mix noodles with sauce and pour into casserole. top with breadcrumb mixture and bake at 350 for 45-60mins.
ENJOY!
I’m so excited to try that squash kibbeh though. I will eat anything that is laden with chickpeas! Yum!
This post is similar to a wet dream. Brb, got to change my pants.
fuck, you guys have no idea how much I love the Get Baked posts. This is one is similarly fantastic. Buuut I think you forgot to put the egg part in the ingredients for The Perfect Sandwich…other than that, amazing.
What other sauces work well with stuffed shells? They sound really good (and easy enough that I could probably make them), but I hate marinara sauce.
Like you hate all tomato sauces or just marinara sauce? Because I usually go for something thicker. If you’re no into that at all, maybe vodka sauce? But there might be tomato in that, I don’t actually know. Let me know if you find anything that works out!
I hate all tomato sauces, and really any form of cooked tomato, raw tomatoes are good though
crushed tomatoes with a little basil and garlic is pretty delicious, easy, uncooked and cheap.
i think you could do the runny egg if you grilled the whole thing and fried the egg at the same time, then opened it up really fast and snuck the egg in all that cheese. then, you’d have something to do while your sandwich is grilling, and you’d also have a runny egg which i feel is really essential.
another good fried egg sandwich that i made up while mildly lonely:
-fried egg, runny
-cheese (i used gouda but i also was in a place that only really had gouda)
-something like this sauce http://www.amazon.com/Huy-Fong-Sambal-Oelek-Sauce/dp/B001MGEU0W
(sriracha or something would probably work too)
-SLICED APPLE (make sure it isn’t too sour! pink lady, gala, etc. are perfect).
-super good bread
IT’S SO GOOD I SWEAR. and the range of textures is delightful.
I read that as ….(make sure it isn’t sour! pink LADY GAGA etc…..are perfect)
But that’s not what you said.
Yo, Imma let you finish…but the best fried egg sandwich of all time is wheat bread, a slightly runny fried egg, fried salami, lightly fried onion, and cheddar cheese.
S’truth.
…Damn now I want one.
Sambal – ground chilli paste! So get thee chilli sauce and you’ll be right :)
i picked the worst time to try and eat healthy. but yeah, i have to say those stuffed shells (everything) look damn delicious.
No one has pointed out how yonic the stuffed shells look. Am I the only one here with a 14-year-old boy’s brain?
GIRL U NASTY.
So, yonic youth?
doods I am allergic to garlic and onions. what is this. what is my life. even though I’ve been allergic to them for years, I still can’t get over it.
besides that, yesss vegan macaroni and cheese! particularly the second one because its a bit pricey to get soy cheese everywhere I’ve seen here. (also I’m lazy and don’t want to have to go tooo out of my way)
SHIT YES X-FILES! Special Agent Dana Scully, any day.
who needs wine glasses? fuck em all. laura’s mug wine is unpretentious and adorable
I made the most glorious stuffed shells for Valentine’s dinner thanks to this post. GLORIOUS, I tell you.
I made Rachels Mac n Cheese and it was AMAZING! (apart from I put a little too much lemon in) Thank you sooooooo much for this post. I am really not a fan of fake cheese and soya supplements in general so this was perfect! It really is delicious. Even my flat mate loved it and she is suspicious of anything animal produce free. Rachel you have made my February! Thank you. Right back to stuffing my face… NOM NOM
errrrrr so my full name appeared how is this????? This is why I am such a technophobe and hardly ever leave comments *slaps palm to face*
Taco Soup is the word! Totally worth the four NYC grocery stores it took me to find Hidden Valley Ranch packets. Finally found it at D’Ag, if anyone was wondering.
I just want to say I’ve had taco soup for dinner every night for the past week and a half, and I’m not tired of it. Thank you autostraddle.
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