Comforting food

As in, it's nice to eat food that comforts you the day after you made food you didn't like.

And that's what brings us to mac 'n' cheese. But this isn't just any mac 'n' cheese. This is Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese. Who is Chuck? We may never know. But at least we know his favorite mac recipe.

Marie whipped this little number up from a recipe we stumbled upon at allrecipes.com. I think we each polished off two bowls of the stuff, possibly more because three-quarters of the pan is gone.

I added a dash of salt to mine.

THE RECIPE:

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
12 ounces cottage cheese
8 ounces sour cream
1/4 c. grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste
1 c. dry bread crumbs
1/4 c. melted butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In 9x13 baking dish, stir together noodles, cheeses, sour cream and salt and pepper. In small bowl, mix bread crumbs and butter. Sprinkle over noodle mixture. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, uncovered, or until top is golden.

A real patty pooper

"I don't know what I'm going to do with these patties," Marie says.

Geez. We have like 12 Lentil-Rice Patties left, meaning our first recipe for this blog was a flop. But that's why we're here: to warn you.

Don't bother with this recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

Our goal here was a noble one: to try something new, different from the norm. We thought it would be nice to incorporate lentils into our lives.

Our apologies to the Vegans out there, because we're pretty sure this is stuff you eat all the time.

THE RECIPE:

1 14-ounce can chicken broth
3/4 c. water
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/3 c. uncooked regular brown rice
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. brown lentils, rinsed and drained
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans
1 c. regular rolled oats
2 slightly beaten egg whites
1/4 c. snipped fresh basil or 2 tsp. dried basil, crushed
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts or almonds, toasted

In medium saucepan, combine broth, water, onion, rice, red pepper and garlic. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes. Stir in lentils. Simmer, covered, 25 minutes more. Remove from heat.

Add garbanzo beans. Use potato masher to mash mixture. Stir in oats and let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, combine egg whites, basil Worcestershire sauce and salt. Add to lentil mixture. Stir in nuts.

Coat skillet with nonstick spray. Heat to medium. Place 1/3 cup mixture onto hot skillet and flatten to a half-inch thick. Cook until light brown, turning once.

Serve patties with chopped tomatoes and sour cream if desired. (But why you would desire any of this we can't imagine. If you do desire, we have plenty of patties to go around.)