We Artists Need to Stick Together

Eggs Benedict from Lobster by CheesePlusEverything

To cook this slowly doesn't take skill as much as patience and the knowledge that you'll be hungry in a few hours. My friends Geoff and Sara over at CheesePlusEverything are the talented ones. They really do some pretty classy things with cheese for a couple of university students in Ottawa. I want to try their spinach and goat cheese risotto, sounds real good. Worth checking out since you know you love cheese and their photos are really appetizing.

Ditching the Blue Box: Homeschooled Mac and Cheese

Finally a chance to try my all time favourite meal, macaroni and cheese! If I had to live on one meal my entire life, it would be mac and cheese with tuna. Some might cringe at the addition, as I did when I first heard the suggestion, but give it a shot and you'll never be able to go back to plain M+C. For the sake of experiment, we've actually made this batch straight up, and I found the most basic (and apparently surefire) recipe from A Year of Crockpotting which has proven to be an invaluable source of inspiration. I would suggest some slight alterations, but it is a pretty solid recipe and worth the try for a healthy tose of cheesy comfort goodness.

INGREDIENTS



500g uncooked elbow macaroni (uncooked, SWEET!)
4 cups of milk (other recipes call for evaporated milk, but I just used 1%)
2 eggs
4 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp dry mustard

VARIATIONS

And there are many! Again I strongly encourage the addition of a can or two of tuna (maybe two for this quantity). It would probably be added in just before the noodles are ready to be taken out, as the fish just needs to be heated through. Lots of other possibilities as well. We almost went with sausage, but we had a vegetarian around so opted out. Spicey sausages would be great. Concerning veggies, I think onions or brocolli would go really well. Onions could go in at the start, but brocolli probably later on to avoid getting too soggy. Minced garlic would be super tasty. Some crumbled saltines and a layer of parmesan would add some girth and make this a bit more of a casserole. Our own personal touch was a teaspoon of cayenne better to give it a bit of bite. Seasoning is really important in this recipe, and I would possibly have added more pepper to the mix. Run with it!

DIRECTIONS

Super simple, nice.

Grease your slow cooker well. I didn't do this and the mess is minimal, but I can imagine it could get pretty bad.
Beat together eggs and milk and mix in spices.
Combine pasta and cheese in slow cooker and mix well.
Pour liquid mix onto pasta, ours was almost completely covered.
Cooking times are a bit unspecific. My source says 2-4 hours on low, or 1-3 hours on high. Apparently it gets al dente after an hour and a half on high. We used the low setting since we were out of the house for a bit, and it was welldone after 3. After another hour on warm it was pretty mushy. This is a recipe worth keeping your eye on, especially if you like it al dente!

Slow Cooked Hangover Cure

I never figured that the slow cooker could be used for breakfast, but when this breakfast casserole recipe was posted on the facebook group SLOW COOKER RECIPES it opened my mind to a whole new world of slower cooking. My roommates and I love big breakfasts, especially on weekends when you have the time to make a big mess of eggs and bacon and hash browns. All the randoms who passed out on your couches/floor/bed if you’re lucky, can get together and talk about the debauchery of the night before. Unfortunately after a night out we’re often lacking the energy or motor skills to feed a whole group of hungover college students. This casserole is the perfect solution because it can feed as many people as you want, it’s ready for you when your cottonmouth and headache force you out from under the covers, and the slow cooker keeps it warm for any tardy wake ups. Best of all, it’s easy enough to make while pre-drinking the night before. I made this casserole for the first time on New Year’s Eve while doing shots of Jameson and it rescued us the next morning. I modified the recipe posted to feed more, as there were easily a dozen people crashing our apartment. Honestly the units are pretty variable and there are many possible variations.

INGREDIENTS

• 500g or 1lb frozen hash browns
• Half a package of bacon, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 45g or 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 6 eggs
• 120 ml or 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. flour
• salt and pepper to taste

VARIATIONS



For those who like some spice in their eggs and might want to sweat out the toxins, any sort of chili sauce works really well and can be mixed with the eggs or layered if you like it really hot. Jalapenos can be thrown in with the onions and peppers. I would like to try replacing the frozen hash browns with either left over potatoes or raw chunks. As far as seasoning, I’ve only listed salt and pepper but we often throw in some dried chives and cayenne or chili spices. For more formal breakfast meetings (like The Link's Board of Directors meeting) consider those who might follow a kosher diet and swap the pork.

DIRECTIONS

• This recipe is all about layering. Start with a strong potato base, break up a third of the hash browns so you don’t need to cut through them when serving.

• Follow with some of the bacon. I cut the strips in half to simplify serving serving.

• Mix up the onions and green pepper, the third layer. Get some colour in there!

• Top with loads of cheeses.
  

• Repeat this series of layers two or three times or until all your ingredients are used up.

• In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, milk and flour and give them a good beating.

• When you’re ready to start, pour the egg mix into the slow cooker so it seeps into the cracks. It should fill to the top layer.

• Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, perfect amount of time to crash and forget last nights mistakes, that is unless they’re joining you for breakfast!

THE TASTIES

A good crock pot breakfast casserole is enough to warrant sleep overs, these things are wicked. In fact, the promise of an amazing hot breakfast the next morning is easy bait to alluring members of the opposite sex. If you want a gooier omelet, I would let it go on low for maybe 8 hours? I would be interested to know if softer ones work out, because mine are always WELL BAKED!