Ask Doug: City Tile helped me find all the flooring and tile I needed to create my dream kitchen. The remodeling will be completed this fall and I want to thank everyone there for their help by whipping up some of their favorite fall foods in my new kitchen. What do you like?
First of all, thanks for getting the tile and flooring from City Tile. Our designers and sales staff enjoy helping our customers make their dream kitchens come true.
Second, the other thing we all love to do here is to eat. So we appreciate your offer.
I am going to mix my answer up with a few hot kitchen design trends and a couple of recipes ideas we found on-line.
Hot Backsplash Trends: Black tiles, glass tiles (especially subway tiles), laying tiles in unique patterns like hounds tooth.
Favorite Fall Foods: We admit that we are big MTSU Football supporters, which means tailgating. This recipe from about.com combines our love of beer and fall comfort food.
BEER AND MACARONI AND CHEESE CASSEROLE
Prep Time: 15 minutes Cook Time: 35 minutes Total Time: 50 minutes
Yield: Serves 6 INGREDIENTS
• 8 ounces elbow macaroni
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/2 cup beer or stout
• 8 ounces (2 cups) shredded Cheddar cheese
***Topping*** 1 cup crushed pretzels tossed with 2 tablespoons butter
NOTES: Guinness stout stands out in the cheese sauce, but a lighter beer can be used as well. Or, cut the Guinness back to 1/4 cup and use 1 3/4 cups of milk.
PREPARATION Heat the oven to 375°. Lightly grease a 2-quart baking dish.
Cook the macaroni following package directions. Drain and rinse under hot water.
Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, salt, garlic powder, dry mustard, and pepper. Cook, stirring, until smooth.
Add the milk and beer. Cook, stirring, until thickened and simmering. Stir in the shredded Cheddar cheese and cook, stirring, until cheese is melted.
Combine the sauce and the drained macaroni.
Spoon the macaroni mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the buttery pretzel crumbs over the casserole. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serves 6.
Hot Fall Floor Trends: Wood is still the hottest thing, but wide boards are gaining in interest over the thinner boards in hardwoods, engineered hardwoods, and laminates. Tile and luxury vinyl are still top choices for kitchens, too.
Favorite Fall Desserts: We found this recipe on a site called White Lights on Wednesday. All we were really trying to do was combine our love of fall fruits and bacon.
APPLE BACON CRUMB BARS
Adapted from The Savvy Kitchen Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 40 minutes
Yield: 16 bars INGREDIENTS
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup applesauce
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 4 strips bacon, cooked crispy and chopped
PREPARATION Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and nutmeg. Add melted butter and stir until crumb mixture is evenly moistened. Reserve 1 cup crumb mixture. Pour remaining crumb mixture into prepared baking dish. Firmly press crumb mixture around to form crust for bars.
Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven.
Spread applesauce evenly over crust. Sprinkle applesauce with nuts and bacon.
Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.
Bake bars for an additional 12 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool bars completely. Cut into bars.
NOTES: Cut the bars after cooling for about 15 minutes or they come out gummy.
We look forward to seeing pictures of your new kitchen, and tasting whatever you want to bring us.
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4 mins
