Lobster Pot Pie and Lobster Mac & Cheese

I love seafood.  Lobster is one of my favourites, as you can see by recipes here, here, here and here.  So I was very lucky to be given the opportunity to try some Hancock Gourmet Lobster products recently.  

Above you can see the lobster pot pie.

The pies arrived frozen and I followed the instructions to thaw them in the fridge overnight before baking.  I love the little ceramic ramekins they came in!  I also love the adorable cut-out lobster on top.

Green Chili Mac & Cheese

This was a quick and easy dinner. Not the healthiest thing I’ve ever made but it sure was tasty!

Matt is not the world’s biggest fan of homemade macaroni and cheese. I can see his point; it can be clumpy, stringy and dry when baked. This is the first time I’ve tried making it with evaporated milk and it was super creamy and delicious. Definitely a winner. 

Adapted from a recipe on Serious Eats, you can add/subtract just about anything to this to suit your tastes. The original recipe called for chicken but I made it without and added some Rotel (diced, spiced tomatoes) and corn. 
Here’s what you need:

Chipotle Mac & Cheese

I try not to cook with cheese too often because it can be so bad for you, but it is SO delicious.  This is based on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine and doesn't use too much cheese but gets a creamy texture from a surprising ingredient - sweet potatoes.

First, roast two large sweet potatoes until soft, about an hour.

Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes into a bowl and mash.

Take a few chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  I used one too many for my tastes - this was super spicy - but it was perfect for my spice-loving husband.  

These can be kind of a mess to chop, they tend to stain the board, so I put them in a measuring cup with the milk for the sweet potato mash and used an immersion blender to chop them.  It worked perfectly!

I poured the milk and chipotles into the mashed sweet potatoes and mashed it all together until mostly smooth.  

Then add a few ounces of shredded monterey jack cheese. Not too much at all.  

Next, add the cooked (whole wheat) macaroni and mix together.

And spread it in a 9 by 13 casserole dish.  You can go ahead and serve this as a vegetarian entree, or...

... cook up some spicy sausage to top the macaroni.  You can use Mexican chorizo, or use spicy Italian sausage. 

Crumble and brown the sausage in a pan and then spread it over the top of the macaroni casserole.

Now broil it in the oven until the sausage is sizzling.  

Top with sliced scallions before serving.

The sweet potatoes make it so creamy and the chipotles really pack a punch. Next time I'd add less spice and probably skip the sausage for a lighter, milder meal.  But this was a big hit with the spice and meat loving contingent!