proof i'm cooking

last week i took a couple of the recipes i had made before--baked mac n'cheese and turkey meatballs--and tried to improve them. when i made the mac n'cheese in the past i had combined it with some instant kraft mac that i wanted to use (please don't judge me). this time i made a bechamel sauce (my first!), added cheese (shredded colby) and then mixed it with my noodles (cavatappi--you could use anything, but i really like saying "cavatappi" aka corkscrew).

unfortunately, i didn't have my camera during the bechamel sauce process, so here's what the finished product looked like: i channeled my inner paula deen and made sure butter and cheese were plentiful. make sure you grease your pan before you put the mac in to bake--even with a non-stick pan i like to take extra precautions. i baked my mac at about 325 for 25 mins. as you can see (maybe, i hope) i topped the mac with extra cheese and i also put alil (okay a lot) of thinly sliced butter on the top with some bread crumbs mixed in (that's from my girl giada de laurentiis--although i find the bread crumbs really don't do anything. i'll chalk that up to user error).

i noticed my bechamel was very bland; i get nervous about adding too much salt. to compensate, i used salted butter on the top--i think i should have used salted butter in the bechamel sauce, versus unsalted. yet another thing to try later on.

on to the meatballs (that's what she said; in my unemployment i've fallen in love with the office, please excuse the immature humor courtesy of michael scott).

i used about 1.5 lbs of ground turkey (there was a sale on a 3lb pack so i picked it up...). i have learned that you don't want to over-mix your turkey because it will become difficult to mold. in a large bowl i combined my seasonings first--salt, pepper, dried oregano, 2-3 cloves minced garlic, 1 small onion finely chopped, bread crumbs and 3 tablespoons of ketchup (a giada thing, but i think it worked out well).

i added the ground turkey in and mixed everything together "just enough". i hate that phrase, i see/hear it in cook books/shows and i never know what it means. my definition is this: blend ingredients to the point that everything seems about evenly spread out. like i said, if you play with the turkey too much, it won't hold together.

in a large skillet, heat olive oil (i put enough to coat the entire pan, but not so much that it splatters all over when heated--another cooking faux pas of mine :/). i formed mini meatballs with a teaspoon (i'm bad with measurements, so i have no idea how much that is--an inch? quarter of an inch?). just make sure you don't make them too big. 1.5lbs of turkey made me about 30 meatballs (i made the first few too big). cook them until they are browned on all sides. i like to taste test the first one because it tells me if everything's been cooked through and i like eating :)

here's the finished project (again i am sorry i forgot to take pictures while cooking):





i am having such a difficult time adding in pictures. someone help me! i want to add pictures into the middle of my post, but every time it uploads, they end up at the top. oh well. i will have to continue this post later (i want to show off my dessert pictures)...i am making pulled pork and i need to run and take some pictures before i forget...again.