Wild Mushroom Gravy on Mashed Potatoes with a Pork Tenderloin  

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So for my birthday I got a package of dried Bolete Mushrooms that my Uncle Jim picked from the forests of Central Arizona. I was directed to this website which has a few recipes. The Creamed Potatoes and Mushrooms were the inspiration for the gravy I made here. The rest of the recipe was just a simple Port Tenderloin (bought in the package pre-seasoned and ready to roast) and some frozen Broccoli. I will just focus on the preparation of the mushroom gravy and potatoes.

6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 milk
salt
pepper
1 cup dried boletes
1/2 cup cooking wine, (I mixed some red and white just for kicks)
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 Tbsp butter
1 package brown gravy mix

So I cooked up the potatoes, but just boiling the peeled and cubed potatoes until they were tender, draining them, then adding milk, butter, salt and pepper and mashing until smooth.

For the boletes, I sauteed them in a little butter for a few minutes, then added the cooking wine and chicken stock. The mushrooms had a lot of moisture to absorb so I covered them and let them simmer for about 10 minutes. I then opened them up and let the liquid reduce down for another 5 minutes. A few pieces were still a bit big so I spooned them all out onto a cutting board and started chopping until they were in small pieces. Meanwhile in the uncleaned pan, I made the gravy by following the directions on the package. After it just started to thicken, I added the mushrooms back and kept whisking until it was gravy.

The taste of the boletes wasn't at all like typical button or brown mushrooms. Instead they had a real nice sweet nutty flavor. Pretty rich as well. When I heated the left overs today for lunch, I put some on the pork and it was very nice. So if you ever find yourself in the possession, or even possessed by, bolete mushrooms this is a good recipe to make. Also, I have 1/2 a package left of the mushrooms so if you have a suggestion for what I should do with them, let me know.

Creamy Squash Lemon Pasta  

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So Jeremy and I were talking about how Mike needs to take his French Toast recipe and turn it into a Boston Cream Pie French Toast. Jeremy linked to a recipe that looked damn good on this blog. I looked over the site and found a recipe that would work with some stuff I had in my house and made this.
http://cakebatterandbowl.com/creamy-lemon-summer-squash-pasta.html
Though I did make some modifications and I'm posting my recipe here.

1 lbs whole wheat penne pasta
2 large yellow squashes, chopped
2 large zucchinis, chopped
1 package stir fry chicken
1 red onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
Juice and zest of 2 limes
6 oz greek yogurt
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
salt
pepper
olive oil

Cook the penne pasta like you know what you are doing.
Saute the squash and zucchini in olive oil and put aside until later.
In the same pan, saute the onions and in the last minute, add the garlic. Put these aside with the squash.
Cook up the chicken with a little more olive oil until brown.
About this time the pasta should be done. Drain it, and in the pot it was cooked in, add the chicken stock, yogurt, lime and basil. The original recipe said to add the cheese which I did and it just ended up get all clumpy and sticking to the spoon rather then getting creamy. I recommend adding the cheese at the very end to get good coverage. Instead you'll need to get the sauce creamy another way. You could make a roux and add that, or add the squash and zucchini and get some of the starch from them to help cream up the sauce.
Either way, mix the veggies and chicken and pasta all back together. Mix it up real good, and sprinkle on the cup of parmesan while stirring. I idea is to get the parmesean to stick on each piece of food rather then sticking to itself in one, maybe delicious, clump.

I added some more parmesan to my bowl to serve but it wouldn't have been necessary if the parmesan was creamy to start with.

I really enjoyed this pasta dish. I've had dishes similar with the veggies and cheese and creamy bits. But the addition of the lemon juice, or lime juice in my case, and the yogurt is really nice. It helped to bring out the saltiness of it all.
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Macaroni and Cheese  

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This is one of my favorite comfort foods. It's a recipe that my mom made often that I have modified a little. I think my mom's original recipe only had the macaroni and cheese, with a side of lil smokies and applesauce. I mix in the sausages, and added the veggies. I didn't for the picture, but I usually cover the top with applesauce. I know people think that is strange, but the sweet tang of applesauce goes great with the salty tang of cheese and sausage.

1 lbs macaroni
1 package beef cocktail sausages
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 small bag frozen peas
1 lbs medium to sharp cheddar, shredded
1 1/2 cup milk
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
salt
pepper
Applesauce (not pictured)

Start a large pot of water boiling and add a good amount of salt to help cook and season the pasta.

In another pot (or microwave safe dish) start to make a roux. Melt the butter, add the flour, cook for a minute or so for the flour to 'brown'. Add the milk and keep heating and stirring often until it makes a thick sauce. Add salt and pepper and slowly add the cheese while mixing until you have a good thick cheesy sauce.

Meanwhile, heat the little sausages in the microwave on medium high power for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until plump.

When the salt water is boiling add the pasta and cook. About a minute before the macaroni is done, add the broccoli and peas and let it come to a boil. Drain the water. Return the pasta to the pot, mix in the cheese sauce, and sausages. Mix it up real good.

Serve with a few spoonfuls of applesauce on top. Eat. Get fat.
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