Despite all my efforts, my kids are just like all kids.  They could happily subside on hot dogs and macaroni and cheese forever.  When I make chicken nuggets from scratch, they eat them but complain most of the time that they like the “other kind” better.  While macaroni and cheese isn’t something I want to eat a ton of, sometimes it is nice to have a meal end with clean plates and full bellies.  I always serve this with some broccoli on the side and occasionally an extra salad or corn bread for the grown-ups.

Macaroni and Cheese

• 16 oz small shell pasta, or elbows or any other pasta shape you like
• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/4 cups low-fat milk
• 1 lb deli American cheese, grated
• salt

1. Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil.
2. Add a sprinkle of salt and your noodles.
3. Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet.
4. Sprinkle flour over, stir and cook for several minutes.
5. When butter and flour have cooked several minutes and the mixture is golden brown and bubbly, stir in milk.
6. Stir and cook until smooth and thick.  Season with salt to taste.  You can also add mustard, cayenne, Tabasco, lemon pepper, etc.. to taste at this point.
7. Stir in cheese until smooth and fully combined.
8. Drain cooked noodles, stir into hot sauce.  Serve.

American cheese is creamy and mild and melts wonderfully.  I buy a block of it from the deli which is the least processed version, I don’t recommend using sliced American cheese.  If you don’t have a source of good deli American cheese then I would recommend going with a mild cheddar.  Finally, I always have both 1% and whole milk in the house and I have made this with both and there is no difference between the two, so use what you like!

Thanksgiving dinner is always a balancing act between the turkey, the casseroles, the stuffing, and the rolls all vying for a place in the oven.  Why not relieve a bit of the stress and cook your turkey in the smoker?  This smoked turkey is delicious.  The breast meat is flavorful, the dark meat juicy, and it makes a fine turkey sandwich the next day-everything you could ask for in a Thanksgiving bird!

Honey Brined Smoked Turkey

• 1 gallon hot water
• 1 lb kosher salt
• 1 lb honey
• 2 quarts vegetable broth
• 1 bag of ice
• 1 fresh or thawed turkey, up to 20 pounds
• oil, for rubbing turkey skin

1. Twelve hours before you plan to smoke the turkey, heat a gallon of water until boiling.
2. In a large (54 quart) cooler, combine hot water and salt, stirring until salt is dissolved.
3. Stir in honey and vegetable broth until combined.
4. Add the ice, stir, and submerge the turkey breast side up in the brine.
5. Cover and allow to sit 12 hours.
6. When ready to cook, prepare smoker by bringing it to 250°F.
7. Remove turkey from the brine and pat it dry with paper towels.
8. Rub or brush the turkey all over with oil.
9. Smoke the turkey for approximately 20 minutes per pound keeping the temperature at 250°.
10. Remove the meat when the thickest part of the breast is 160°F.
11. Cover with foil and allow to rest one hour before carving.

Unlike most roasts, I won’t recommend saving this carcass for stock unless you have a need for smokey stock.

One of my absolute favorite fall treats is hot apple cider.  I love the cinnamon apple smell and the steamy mug.  Most store brand apple ciders are too sweet for me without any distinguishable cider spice.  I like to make apple cider from scratch, a tradition my kids look forward to as well since they do most of the work.  Like many homemade things it isn’t hard to do at all, just takes some time.  But when the snow and cold keep you inside for the day and your pile of orchard apples are past their prime, homemade apple cider is a wonderful activity that yields an even greater reward.  My recipe is here.

Another way we make apple cider, when we don’t feel like waiting for a pot of apples to simmer all day, is by keeping the adorable cider beetles you see above on hand.  Making them is a really fun activity which yields a dozen little beetles you can keep in the cupboard or give away to friends.  To make cider from a beetle you simple warm up a couple quarts of apple juice and drop in one of your pre-made cider beetles and simmer a few minutes.  The recipe for these cute treats is here.

Apple cider or hot chocolate?  Which one is your favorite chilly weather beverage?

Here’s a fun trick.  Combine a package of egg roll wrappers with your favorite pizza toppings and serve with warm pizza sauce on the side.  These are a great snack or party food-you make them ahead of time and simply reheat them in the oven when you want them.  You can stuff them with any flavors you like-supreme pizza with sausage, peppers, mushrooms, etc.. or even buffalo chicken dipped in blue cheese dressing.

Pizza Egg Rolls (or any flavor egg rolls)

• 1 package egg roll wrappers (usually refrigerated in the produce section of the grocery store)
• any combination of filling ingredients you like
• water
• a matching dip

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Lay egg roll wrapper on your workspace like a diamond.
3. Place about 1/3 cup of filling ingredients in the center.
4. Dip you index finger in water and wet the edges of the wrapper.
5. Fold the bottom corner up to make your diamond a triangle.
6. Fold the side corners in and roll the egg roll up to the top to seal.
7. Repeat for all remaining egg roll wrappers.
8. Spray a cookie sheet with oil and place egg rolls seam side down on the sheet and lightly mist the tops with oil.
9. Bake rolls 10-15 min, turning half way, or until golden brown on both sides.
10. Serve with dip or allow to cool, then place in freezer bags and freeze.
11. The reheat from frozen, bake for approximately 10 minutes at 400°F.

You can also deep fry them on step 9 at 375°F until golden brown but-between the oil, pepperoni and cheese-I found them way too greasy.  I am not usually afraid of a little grease but I felt like I needed a shower after eating a few of the fried ones.  The baked version is just as crispy on the outside and much more pleasant to eat.  You may have to experiment a little with the reheat time from frozen depending on your filling ingredients.  I made some with mushrooms, fresh basil, and cheese and they were a little cool in the center at 10 minutes.

And, yes, you can make these with the pizza sauce on the inside and they are very good but we really preferred dipping them into the sauce.