Southern Mac and Cheese

Southern Mac and Cheese

Gamer rating: table, lap, even in front of a monitor, if you're careful.
Prep-time: 15 minutes Total: 40 minutes (or slightly longer if you use one large casserole) Oven temp: 350 degrees

I can't take any credit for creating this recipe, but I've fed it to my table-top gamer group several times, and there is never anything left in the casserole at the end of the night!


The recipe doubles well if you're feeding a crowd - just adjust the baking time to suit a bigger casserole.


Ingredients


Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 tbsp butter, melted, plus more for ramekins/casserole

1/2 lb elbow macaroni

2 cups shredded cheddar (8 ounces)

2 large eggs

1 cup half-and-half

1 small garlic clove, minced

2 slices white sandwich bread, torn

1. Set a large pot of salted water to boil. Preheat oven to 350. Butter four 10-ounce ramekins (or one 1 1/2 quart casserole). Cook the pasta three minutes short of al dente; drain.



2. In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups cheddar, eggs, half-and-half, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp pepper. Add pasta and stit to combine; divide among ramekins (or casserole).



3. In a food processor, pulse bread and melted butter until coarse crumbs form; season with salt and pepper. Dividing evenly, top pasta mixture with the remaining cheddar and then with the breadcrumbs. Place ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet (or put casserole directly in the oven) and bake until cheese is golden and bubbling, about 20 minutes (25 - 30 minutes for a casserole). Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Other info (oven, food processor, vegetarian)

Credit: Everyday Food Magazine

Beef And Bacon Guinness Pie

Beef and Bacon Guinness Pie
Gamer rating: Anywhere! Put it in a bowl for maximum portability.
Prep-time: About 10 minutes for the crust, some chill time, then about 40 minutes or so for filling and assembly. Can be frozen and reheated in about 10 minutes.

Who doesn't love bacon? Not me! This pie recipe evolved from a basic pie crust I found on the internet. The filling is delicious, meaty and heavy, and it was originally made to feed me while I worked outside in the dead of a Canadian winter. Good thing it works just as well during raiding!

For Filling:

• About 2 pounds of ground beef
• 1/2 package smoked bacon
• either 1/2 cup beef broth or 1/3 cup water plus 1 teaspoon beef concentrate
• 1 can Guinness beer
  
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: 1 small onion, diced
• Optional: Cumin to taste

For Crust:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter, cut into cubes and chilled hard
• 1/2 cup cold water
  

1. First, combine flour and salt for crust in a large mixing bowl. Then cut in the butter until it looks like large crumbs.
2. Stir in the water about a teaspoon at a time until the mixture forms a ball with light pressure. Cover the dough ball with plastic wrap, refrigerate, and let sit for at least 4 hours.
3. When crust is ready to be worked, begin frying the bacon until very crisp. This filling will get to be pretty bulky, so use either a large pan with high sides or a wok. Remove from heat when done and set to cool on some paper towels. When they're cool enough to handle, chop the bacon into small pieces.
4. Fry the onion (if used) in the bacon fat until translucent, then add the ground beef to brown. Season with salt and pepper to taste, and add cumin (if used).
5. Once the beef is nice and brown, remove it from the pan or wok. Keep the fat in the pan. Add cornstarch to the drippings, and let cook until it bubbles up and changes colour.
   
6. Now, very slowly, add the beef broth, stirring constantly. Keep stirring this mixture until it gets very thick. Then, add the Guinness the same way, stirring constantly again. When this process is over, you should have a pan (or wok) full of very dark brown gravy.
7. Add the beef and onion mixture back into the gravy and let it simmer while the crusts get cut out. At this point, turn on the oven t0 350 degrees fahrenheit.
   
8. Pull the chilled dough ball out of your fridge. To make individual pies, I use a "Texas size" muffin tin, or small tinfoil dishes from the dollar store. This can be made into a large pie-size pie and eaten in common but it's VERY messy that way. Either way, cut smaller pieces of dough from your ball to fit your baking vessel of choice, roll it out, and drape it over the container. Push the crust into the corners of the container, then poke it with a fork all around the bottom. leave any extra crust hanging over the edge, to wrap up into a closed pie after filling.
9. Spoon filling into the pie, filling to just below the edge of the baking container. Wrap the crust edges over the top, leaving a steam hole but sealing the crust edges as much as possible.
10. Bake pies in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the crust on top is a golden brown.
    
11. These pies can be frozen, once cooled, and reheated in a microwave or toaster oven in about 5-10 minutes. If baked in the tinfoil containers, They can simply be eaten directly from the containers. If baked in a muffin tin, it's best to put them in a bowl.
    

Other info: requires a stove, a baking container of choice, a large pan with high sides or a wok, a rolling pin, and a fridge. This recipe is best made ahead of time.

Credit to Forresst!

Death by Melty Chocolate

Majiq's Melty Chocolate Cake
Gamer rating: It's a cake, lean away from your keyboard before taking a bite!
Prep time: About 10-15 minutes, plus 65-75 minutes baking time. (Preheat 350F)

Note from the Chef: This cake is so yummy all by itself - no frosting needed! Have a slice with strawberries or raspberries on top, or (my favorite) a big scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. NOM NOM NOM

• 1 box dark chocolate cake mix (I suggest Pilsbury Moist Supreme Dark Chocolate Cake mix
• 1 box instant chocolate pudding (large box
• 1 (12 oz.) bag semi-sweet chocolate chunks (or half milk chocolate, half semi-sweet - your choice)
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup black coffee, cooled to room temperature
• 1 (16 oz.) container of sour cream

1. Butter and flour a 10" bundt cake pan.
2. Preheat oven to 350°.
3. Mix together all ingredients except chocolate chunks, using either a hand mixer, or stand mixer. Mix until batter is thoroughly blended and fluffy.Fold in chocolate chunks.
4. Bake for 65-75 minutes, or until the cake springs back lightly when touched. cool in the pan on a wire rack. Once cooled, turn cake out onto a plate for serving.
5. To serve a piece, slice it and warm in the microwave for ~10 seconds. The chocolate chunks get all melty and sinful.

Definitely not a diet food, but who counts calories when eating CHOCOLATE?!?

Thank you Majiq, I'm sure this will cause a few heart racing moments... sugar + raid night = overworked heart. It'll be FINE!!

Submitted Recipe: Cheesy Nom-Nom Stars

Cheesy Nom-Nom Stars
Platform: Anywhere!
Prep-time: About 40 minutes. Pre-heat your oven to gas mark 7, or 425 F (220 C)

Scones are awesome, and when I found this recipe in my inbox, I had to try them right away. Scientific trial and all. These are delicious little scones, and while they do take a little bit longer to make than a pack of ramen noodles, this is time well-invested!

• 225g self-raising flour (which converts to about 2 cups)
  
• 40g butter (converts to 6 tablespoons, which is 3/8 of a cup), cold
  
• 150ml milk (1/4 pint)
• grated aged or mature cheddar cheese (poster's note: I used about a cup)
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons caster sugar
• pinch salt
• powdered mustard, black pepper and rosemary or sage to taste (PN: I used a half teaspoon of each)
  
• flour for rolling out

1. Pre-grease a baking sheet and set aside.
2. First of all, sift the flour into a bowl and rub the butter into it rapidly, using your fingertips. Next stir in the sugar and salt, then take a knife and use it to mix in the milk little by little. Now flour your hands a little and knead the mixture to a soft dough - adding a drop more milk if it feels at all dry.
3. Then turn the dough out onto a floured pastry board and roll it out to a thickness of not less than 3/4 inch (2 cm) using a lightly floured rolling pin. Take a 1 1/2 or 2 inch (4 or 5 cm) pastry cutter (either fluted or plain) and place it on the dough, then tap it sharply so that it goes straight through the dough - don't twist it or the scones will turn a peculiar shape! After you have cut out as many scone shapes as you can like that, knead the dough trimmings together again and repeat until you have used it all.
4. Then place the scones on the greased baking sheet, dust each one with a little extra flour and bake near the top of the oven for 12-15 minutes. When cooked the scones will have turned a crisp golden brown. Cool on a wire rack and eat them slightly warm, still crisp on the outside and soft and light inside.
   

This recipe does require an oven and a baking sheet, as well as a mixing bowl and a rolling surface. (PN: I just used my cutting board with some flour on it.) If you use vegetarian cheese, the scones count as vegetarian.

Much thanks to Cygninae of wow_ladies!

Jello Cookies

Jello Cookies
Gamer rating: Edible ANYWHERE.
Prep-time: 10-15 minutes (preheat oven to 350degrees)

Cookies are always awesome... but now you can have cookies that are vibrant colors and taste like jello! These cookies can be rolled out and cut with cookie cutters for neat shapes (if desired).

• 3/4 cup margarine or butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 (3 ounce) package Jello gelatin, any flavor
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Cream margarine, sugar, jello and eggs together in a medium to large bowl.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients.
3. Mix well.
4. Roll dough into little balls and place on a greased and floured cookie sheet.
5. Flatten each with a fork. Or... I use the bottom of a crystal brandy glass that leaves a star pattern on the cookie. Dip fork or whatever in flour to help with the sticking.
6. Bake 6-8 minutes at 350 degrees.

Yields 2 dozen cookies (more or less). Fun tips: Make two batches (or two half batches) with different flavors and let kids make playdo style cookies. They don't mix much when baking so you can get some really neat designs. You can also make a "roll" design and slice the cookies off the roll for matching decorative cookies.

Credit: Ruth

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