Stove Top Mac and Cheese

I've made this entree so many times and have never used a recipe but I thought I'd write it down for posterity :)  My mom taught me how to make a roux for gravy when I was younger.  And, in the end, a roux can be used for many different types of sauces including cheese sauce.  If you want baked mac and cheese, all you need to do with this recipe is put it into an oven safe pan and sprinkle with your favorite toppings - bread crumbs, more cheese, etc.  You could also add other flavorings to the stove top version like bacon, red peppers, onion, garlic, the list goes on.

Unfortunately, I do not know exact measurements for this recipe as I just make it by adding the ingredients, watching how it goes together and then tasting it.

Ingredients:
Cooked pasta
Milk
Butter
All purpose flour
Grated cheese
Worcestershire sauce

Directions:
Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in 2-3 tablespoons of flour.  Allow the flour to cook a few minutes in the butter.  Continue to whisk to ensure that the flour does not burn.  Add 1 cup of warmed milk to start.  Continue to whisk to keep the sauce from becoming lumpy.  If the sauce starts to thicken too much, add more milk.  The cheese will make the sauce thicker so make it a little thinner than you might think it should be.  Add the cheese and Worcestershire sauce to taste.  Once the sauce is to you liking, add to the cooked pasta.  Voila - you have stove top mac and cheese.

Beef and Veggie Potpie (About 45 minutes)

I made this one a few weeks back. Again, I got the idea from the www.myrecipes.com daily emails. But, as per usual, I didn't follow the recipe word for word. Here's what I made:

olive oil
3/4 pound ground sirloin
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped carrot
dried thyme, to taste
1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/4 cup tomato paste
Worcestershire sauce, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
7 oz fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Drain. Wipe drippings from pan with a paper towel. Heat more olive oil in pan. Add zucchini and next 5 ingredients (through garlic); sauté 7 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return beef to pan. Stir in wine, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, pepper, and broth. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl; stir with a fork to get rid of the lumps. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Bake a batch of homemade or canned biscuits while the beef mixture is cooking. Serve the beef mixture over one or two biscuits. It's an all in one meal with your meat and vegetable!