I'm Paula Deen Y'all!

I am an awful cook. Okay, I'm maybe not the worst cook ever, but I am pretty bad. I have wanted to become a better cook for a while and thought today just might be the day to test my skills. Besides making a DISASTER of my kitchen and using every bowl, pan, and spatula I own, my creations turned out great! (And judging by my photoshopping above, I think I now know what I am going to look like when I am a grandma. I look way too much like Paula it's scary.)

Paula Deen was on Oprah the other day and it reminded me how much I love that woman! I figured that Paula's easy, southern, no fuss recipes would be a good place to start my culinary education. Since most of Paula's recipes could clog the arteries of a hippopotamus, I decided to make two of her son Bobby's "lighter" dishes. So, I chose to make Bobby's Lighter Cheesy Mac and Bobby's Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime. I altered the recipes slightly and they both turned out delicious!

Bobby's Lighter Cheesy Mac

Ingredients

4 cups cooked multigrain elbow macaroni, drained
2 1/2 cups reduced-fat shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup low fat (1%) milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten (I used egg whites)
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray.
After the macaroni has been boiled and drained, add cheese while macaroni is still hot. Combine the milk, eggs, sour cream, mustard, salt, and cayenne in a medium bowl. Add to macaroni mixture. Pour into casserole dish. Combine bread crumbs and oil in a small bowl until blended. Evenly sprinkle the crumb mixture over the macaroni and lightly spray with nonstick spray. Bake, until the filling is hot and the topping is golden, 35 – 40 minutes.

Bobby's Baked Chicken with Dijon and Lime

Ingredients

1 (3 1/2 lb) chicken, cut into 8 pieces (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)
3 Tbs Dijon Mustard
1 Tbs Mayo
1 Garlic Clove, minced
Finely grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of 1 Lime
3/4 Tsp pepper
Salt to taste
Chopped parsley to garnish

Preheat the oven to 400. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. In a bowl, whisk together the mustard, mayo, garlic, lime zest and juice and pepper. Season the chicken generously with salt. Pour the mustard-mayo mixture over the chicken, tossing well to coat. In a large baking pan, arrange the chicken in a single layer. Bake until it is cooked through; breasts take about 30 minutes and legs will need 5 to 10 minutes more. Serve the chicken with pan juices drizzled over top and garnished with chopped parsley.

Do you have any favorite Paula recipes? Let me know if you try these out! Happy cookin' y'all!