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Thanksgiving Week + Decadent Mac & Cheese

Let’s be real. Real time with Aunt Jen (it could be a weekly talk radio call-in show). I love Thanksgiving. Everyone I know loves Thanksgiving, no denying that. Everyone makes a big deal out of how thankful they are for everything they have and their family and friends and yada yada yada. I get that, and I’m really thankful too… but people REALLLLLLLY love Thanksgiving because of the awesome eats. If we didn’t have such great traditional foods associated with Thanksgiving then it wouldn’t be nearly as significant a date on the calendar.

When you think about Thanksgiving what immediately comes to mind is lots and lots of delicious turkey, dressing (stuffing for you non-southerners), cranberry sauce (it’s not Thanksgiving without it) and awesome sides dishes. This week on Saved by the Kale we’re going to go full-Thanksgiving with a different dish daily. First up is this totally decadent and delicious version of macaroni and cheese that Jim cooked up over the weekend at our little pre-Thanksgiving dinner.

Decadent Mac And Cheese

This is definitely cheese-overload, so it’s perfect for a splurge-occasion like Thanksgiving. It’s got 3 kinds of cheese, including a smoked gouda that adds a terrific smokiness. We also learned a little trick from Roy’s Hawaiian Fusion and added a little basil to the crust on top to put it over the top.

Decadent Mac & Cheese
Serves 4
Cheesy and decadent. Smokey and sharp and salty. Everything you could possibly want in mac and cheese. Quite literally the best side dish ever conceived.
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
25 min
Total Time
30 min
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
25 min
Total Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 6 oz smoked gouda, sliced
  2. 7 oz extra-sharp cheddar (white or yellow), sliced
  3. 1/2 C grated parmesan
  4. 5 basil leaves, finely chopped
  5. 6 oz pasta
  6. 1/2 pint cream
  7. 1/2 stick butter
  8. salt to taste
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. Cook pasta according to directions.
  3. While pasta is cooking start making the sauce. Over med-high heat, in a large pan melt butter and add cream. Add cheese and whisk constantly until incorporated and smooth. Check for seasoning and adjust as needed.
  4. Add pasta to sauce and stir to combine. Transfer to a baking dish if needed.
  5. Top with grated parmesan and basil. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Notes
  1. Any type of short pasta will work here. We opted for rigatoni.
  2. You can use any cheese that you want.
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What are your favorite Thanksgiving dishes? What do you immediately think of when someone mentions Thanksgiving?

Spicy Cajun Boiled Peanuts Recipe

Jim here with another one of my favorites – – boiled peanuts! A true Southern staple. In summer and early fall you see boiled peanuts everywhere. Pickup trucks setup on street corners with giant cookers boiling peanuts is a common sight all across the south. 

Boiled peanuts have definitely grown on me over the years. I went for years without touching them, then I would try them a couple times a year, and now I’ve started cooking them myself frequently. If you’ve never had a boiled peanut, it really is kind of liked a cooked pea (hence the nickname “goober peas”). They are soft and take on some of the flavoring that you add. 

Boiled peanuts

My recipe below is a great starting point. Nice and spicy with plenty of salt. However, you should feel free to experiment with the seasoning. Maybe try adding some jalapeños or beer (hint, hint).

The key is finding the freshest green peanuts that you can. They’ll cook quicker and taste better.

Spicy Cajun Boiled Peanuts
Boiled peanut perfection! Spicy and salty with that great boiled peanut flavor.
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Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Prep Time
5 min
Cook Time
2 hr
Ingredients
  1. 2 pounds green peanuts, picked over
  2. 1/4 C salt
  3. 1/4 C cajun seasoning
Instructions
  1. Place the peanuts in a large pot and cover with water.
  2. Add salt and cajun seasoning and boil (over high heat) until done. Hulls should be easy to open and peanuts should be soft, but not mushy. Cooking time depends largely on the freshness of the peanuts, but figure 2-4 hours.
  3. Keep adding water as necessary to keep peanuts submerged.
  4. Store in large plastic bags, with a little of the cooking liquid, in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in microwave.
Notes
  1. Experiment with your own seasonings and flavorings to make this recipe your own.
  2. IMPORTANT: Boiled peanuts will continue to absorb salt from the cooking liquid after you turn off the heat. If your peanuts need to be saltier, just let them sit. If they are salty enough already then don't let them sit in the liquid.
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How to Eat Boiled Peanuts

I like to put a bunch of boiled peanuts in a bowl and add a little extra cajun seasoning (or salt) on top. You’ll want to make sure some of the peanut cooking liquid is in the bowl too… it’s tasty. Crack open the peanuts and enjoy. Don’t eat the shells.

Cajun Boiled Peanuts recipe

 

Have you ever seen or tried boiled peanuts? Let me know in the comments!

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

We love carving a couple of pumpkins each year for Halloween and now that our girls are getting a little older they are enjoying it too. Well actually they both think it is disgusting reaching in to the pumpkin to pull out the seeds and the flesh. They are a little grossed out by it. Luckily Jim and I don’t mind. He scoops out the flesh and I work on separating the seeds so I can roast them up to have as delicious healthy snack! 

Really the most tedious part of the process is separating the seeds from the flesh, once you’ve done that it’s a piece of cake. You will want to rinse the seeds off, and then place them on a paper towel and blot them dry. What I do is leave mine on the paper towel on the counter overnight so they can dry out. 

PumpkinSeeds-4-2

The next day they are ready for roasting! I decided to do something a little different with mine this year. In the past I have made sweet ones using cinnamon and sugar. I’ve also made savory ones using different seasonings, and I have also made spicy ones. This year I decided on making Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds! I couldn’t wait for these to come out of the oven so I could taste test… they had the entire house smelling so good! 

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

They tasted even better than they smelled, I had to stop myself from eating them so I would have some left to photograph! These are sweet and savory at the same time. The best of both worlds. They are naturally sweetened with honey, so no refined sugars here! 

PumpkinSeeds-18-Edit

Why eat pumpkin seeds? Pumpkin seeds are incredibly good for you. They are packed with magnesium, zinc, and omega 3’s. They are rich in healthy fats, antioxidants, and fiber and they taste delicious! They are definitely the perfect fall snack.

Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Crunchy, sweet and savory! The perfect healthy fall snack!
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Cook Time
30 min
Cook Time
30 min
Ingredients
  1. 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds
  2. 2 tsp of honey
  3. 1 tsp of coconut oil (melted)
  4. 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
  1. Separate the pumpkin seeds from the flesh.
  2. Rinse seeds and put them on a paper towel and blot dry.
  3. Let them air dry overnight or for a few hours.
  4. Once they are dry, put them in a bowl.
  5. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
  6. Add honey, coconut oil, and salt to the bowl and stir all together.
  7. Line a baking sheet with non-stick foil.
  8. Pour the seeds onto the baking sheet.
  9. Bake in the oven for at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.
  10. Once they come out of the oven sprinkle with a little more sea salt, let them cool and then snack away!!!
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Best Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Happy November! I hope the weather is still nice where you live. It’s been absolutely gorgeous around here lately, especially for Halloween! We’ve eaten way to much candy lately, so it’s definitely time for something a little healthier….

Jim and I are going to start making a conscious effort to have more meatless meals. Jim’s a big-time “meat-a-tarian” (as he calls himself), so meatless meals are quite an adjustment for him. Most of the time he will say that he likes my meatless creations when we’re eating them only to say the exact opposite when I bring up the idea of making them again. I am perfectly fine eating several meatless meals a week… it’s not as big a deal to me.

So we’re working on coming up with a few meatless meals that we can keep start working into our busy weeknight schedules. We’re off to a good start… we made a roasted vegetable lasagna for dinner a couple of nights ago and it was a winner. Jim even suggested that we make it again next week!

Roasted vegetable lasagna recipe

It’s a meatless “lasagna”. There are plenty of veggie layers, but no lasagna noodles. So it’s gluten-free & grain-free. 

Roasted vegetable lasagna recipe

Lots of veggies here, including grilled eggplant, roasted yellow bell peppers, roasted mushrooms, and roasted shallots. You could actually taste every single veggie in there. The star here was definitely the eggplant (it wasn’t actually roasted, Jim cooked it up in his grill pan). 

Roasted veggie lasagna recipe

Best Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
Serves 2
Roasted veggies and grilled eggplant make this "lasagna" a winner. No carbs here!
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Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
1 hr
Prep Time
45 min
Cook Time
15 min
Total Time
1 hr
Ingredients
  1. 1/2 Eggplant, cut into thin rounds
  2. 1 large shallot, split in half
  3. 2 yellow bell peppers, sliced into quarters and seeded
  4. 1 C baby portabello mushrooms, sliced
  5. 1 C shredded mozzarella
  6. 1 C tomato sauce
  7. Olive Oil, Salt & Pepper as needed
  8. 1 Tsp dried basil
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 425F.
  2. Saute (or grill) eggplant with a bit of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
  3. Wrap shallot in foil with about 1 tsp of olive oil and season with salt. Cook for 20 minutes, or until soft.
  4. Place bell pepper on a baking pan lined with foil. Roast for 30 minutes, or until skin starts gets slightly blackened.
  5. Place mushrooms on a baking pan lined with foil. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, or until browned.
  6. Change oven temp to 350F.
  7. Remove the skin from the bell pepper as much as possible. Remove the skin from the shallot and chop roughly.
  8. In a baking dish, layer eggplant, bell pepper, mushrooms, and shallots. Spoon tomato sauce over veggies and then cover with cheese. Sprinkle basil on top.
  9. Bake for 15 minutes.
Notes
  1. There are a lot of veggies here, so there's a chance that this can get watery. Just spoon out any liquid that cooks out.
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 Roasted vegetable lasagna recipe

 What are your favorite meatless meals? Do you do Meatless Mondays? Tell us about it in the comments!