Macaroni and Cheese with Caramelized Onions

Ooooo cheese, bacon, and caramelized onion? What more could you ask for? Well, a little more flavor is what we found we could ask for. Doug added some crushed red pepper and said it was a lot better after that (I would also add garlic). There wasn't a massive amount of flavor but still, we both went back for seconds so there must be something there!

• 4 strips bacon
• 1 large sweet onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups regular or multigrain dried elbow macaroni (6 oz)
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese (8 oz)
• 4 oz processed Gruyere cheese, shredded, or bleu cheese, crumbled
• 1 cup half and half or light cream
• 1/8 tsp black pepper

In a large skillet cook bacon on medium heat until crisp, turning once. Drain bacon on paper towels; crumble. Reserve bacon drippings in skillet. In a large saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cook onion in reserved bacon drippings over medium heat for 5-8 minutes, or until onion is tender and golden brown. Set aside. Drain pasta and return to saucepan. Stir in the crumbled bacon, onion, and 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, the Gruyere cheese, half and half, and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Spoon into 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Bake, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Stir gently. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake about 10 minutes more or until top of casserole is brown and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes. 

Serves 4

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Recipe from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

2026 Oscars Bingo

For those of you who like to watch the Academy Awards, here's my annual Bingo cards you can use with your friends. There are 40 unique pages. Have fun!

2026 Oscars Bingo

Rigatoni Amatriciana

You can't really go wrong with pasta, tomato, cheese, and pancetta. Fairly simple recipe, but a little elevated from your normal spaghetti and meatballs. The name "Amatriciana" is from a town in Italy called Amatrice. Here is a little history of the sauce I found online.

• 8 oz diced guanciale or pancetta
• 1 lb uncooked rigatoni pasta
• 1/2 cup (4 oz) dry white wine
• 1/8 to 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes, pureed in a blender
• 2 oz pecorino Romano cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• freshly ground black pepper

Place guanciale in a large skillet, and heat over medium. Cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and crispy, about 15 minutes. 

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook pasta in boiling water until just under al dente, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and drain water, reserving 1 cup pasta water.

Add wine to the guanciale in skillet; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until evaporated, 3-4 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and tomatoes; cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce starts to thicken, 3-4 minutes.

Transfer cooked pasta to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until pasta is warmed through, 3-4 minutes, adding up to 2/3 cup cooking water to reach desired consistency. Divide pasta among bowls; top with cheese and black pepper to taste.

NOTES: we used diced tomatoes because the cans of crushed tomatoes at WinCo were MASSIVE. We didn't want to use/waste that much.

Also, there was a lot of fat that cooked off the pancetta we used. We ended up pouring off about 1 Tbsp of oil/fat before adding the wine. We left about 1 Tbsp in the pan.

Serves 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from People Magazine

Fajita-Style Shrimp and Grits

We all know I'm white-girl spicy over here. This definitely could have been toned down for me. I think the only thing it could have been was the fajita seasoning (or I suppose it combined with the salsa?) so if I made this again, I'd do a smidgen less of the seasoning. Other than that, great flavor and easy to make. 

• 1 lb uncooked shrimp (16-20 per lb), peeled and deveined
• 2 Tbsp fajita seasoning mix
• 1 cup quick-cooking grits
• 4 cups boiling water
• 1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese
• 3 Tbsp 2% milk
• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 3 medium sweet peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 medium sweet onion, cut into 1-inch strips
• 1 jar (15.5-16 oz) medium chunky salsa
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup plus 1 Tbsp fresh cilantro leaves, divided

Sprinkle shrimp with fajita seasoning; toss to coat. Set aside.

Slowly stir grits into boiling water. Reduce heat to medium; cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in cheese until melted; stir in milk. Cover to keep warm.

In a large skillet, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add peppers and onion; cook and stir until tender and pepper edges are slightly charred. Add salsa, orange juice, and shrimp. Cook, stirring constantly, until shrimp turn pink, 4-6 minutes. Stir in 1/4 cup cilantro. remove from heat. 

Spoon grits into serving bowls; top with shrimp mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cilantro.

Serves 4

Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from Taste of Home

Chocolate Chip Scones

This was one of those recipes where I was figuring things out on the fly because the instructions were terrible. Left out ingredients, zero directions, etc. I did my best and will update this recipe based on what I figured out. No need for both of us to suffer. Also, no laughing at how bad mine look. 

• 2 cups flour
• 3 Tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable shortening
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut shortening in with pastry blender until the size of small peas. 

In a small bowl, combine milk, egg, and vanilla; add to dry ingredients along with chocolate chips. Mix with a fork until a soft dough forms. Knead gently 5-6 times and then split dough into 3 batches.

Roll or pat dough into a square about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into 3-4 wedges. Place scones 1" apart on baking sheet. Repeat with other 2 batches of dough. Pierce tops with tines of fork and bake 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 9-12

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Recipe from 30 Minutes or Less cookbook

Air Fryer Steak Bites

I think we could have done better with this one. Maybe our bites were too small, but they got overcooked in my opinion. I think the recipe is there, just needs some tweaking on timing or size of things.

• 1 lb sirloin steak, cubed
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper

Garlic Butter Sauce

• 2 Tbsp melted butter
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp parsley

In a large bowl or zip top bag, marinate the steak with all non-garlic butter sauce ingredients for 1 hour or more. Air fry at 390 degrees for 6-7 minutes, or until cooked through.

Combine garlic butter sauce ingredients in a small bowl and serve over or on the side of the steak bites. 

Serves 3

Prep Time: 5 minutes, plus marinating

Total Time: 15 minutes, plus marinating

Recipe from Instagram @FlavorsByFrangiPane

Biscotti Al Limone

As you know, I love lemon things. This was fairly easy to make and I love a dish I can make ahead (whether you consider this breakfast or snack). I think I made it for our coffeehouse at church, if I remember right. 

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• zest 2 lemons, divided
• pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup, plus 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 2 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, divided

Whisk together the flour, cornstarch, zest from 1 lemon, and salt in a medium bowl. In a large bowl, beat the butter and 1/2 cup powdered sugar until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add half the flour mixture and 3 Tbsp lemon juice and beat. Add remaining flour mixture and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix until combined.

Transfer dough to a large piece of parchment paper and, using the parchment paper, roll the dough into a log approximately 1 1/2 inches wide. The dough will be a little sticky. Wrap the dough in the parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and cut into 1/2 inch slices. Place the slices on a 10 x 14 inch baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 320 degrees.

Bake the cookies for 5-6 minutes, then raise the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 9-10 minutes. The cookies should be light gold in color. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them sit on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool.

Make the lemon glaze: combine 3 Tbsp lemon juice, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, and zest of 1 lemon in a medium bowl, whisking until smooth. Drizzle glaze over cooled cookies.

Serves 22

Prep Time: 20 minutes plus refrigeration

Total Time: 50 minutes plus refrigeration

Recipe from Authentic Italian Desserts by Rosemary Molloy