Gettin’ Cheesy!

Who doesn’t love cheese? I know I do! So, even though I often talk about eating healthy and doing right by your body, I figured, “what the heck? I’m feeling a little cheesy!”. So, I went in search of the absolute cheesiest recipes I could find!

Wisconsin Five-Cheese Bake

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/103088/wisconsin-five-cheese-bake/

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounces) package elbow macaroni or ziti
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup shredded provolone cheese
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salted

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni, and cook until tender, 6 to 8 minutes. Drain.
2. In a large bowl, toss together the mozzarella cheese, Swiss cheese, Parmesan cheese, and Provolone cheese. Remove about 1/2 cup for topping and set aside. In a separate bowl, stir together the ricotta cheese, sour cream, and heavy cream. Season with parsley, Italian seasoning and garlic salt.
3. Pour the ricotta cheese mixture and drained macaroni into the bowl with the cheeses and toss lightly. Do not mix too thoroughly, it’s better left messy. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top.
4. Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted, about 10 minutes, then turn the oven to broil. Broil for about 5 minutes to brown the top.

Four Cheese White Pizza

https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/four-cheese-white-pizza-3667790

Ingredients

• One 1-pound ball prepared fresh pizza dough
• 1 large head garlic
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for the grill pan and salad
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 ounces whole-milk ricotta (about 1 cup)
• One 3-ounce wedge Parmesan, finely grated (about 1 cup)
• 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh oregano
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 8 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
• 4 cups baby kale
• 1/2 lemon

Instructions

1. Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
3. Break apart the head of garlic to expose the individual cloves (leaving their skins intact), about 10 cloves total. Put the cloves onto a small baking sheet and toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Bake, turning the cloves over halfway through the cooking time, until very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Allow cooling slightly.
4. Set a 2-burner cast-iron grill pan over medium-high heat.
5. Once cool enough to handle, remove the skins from the garlic cloves and use the back of a knife to mash the cloves on a cutting board. Transfer the mashed garlic to a large bowl and add the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, 4 tablespoons of olive oil and oregano. Stir to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reserve.
6. Divide the dough in half and lightly dust a clean work surface with flour. Stretch and/or roll each piece into an 8-by-13-inch rectangle, about 1/8 inch thick. Lightly oil the grill pan. Working with 1 rolled dough piece, grill the crust until it starts to puff and distinct grill marks appear, 2 to 4 minutes. Use a pair of tongs to flip the crust and brush the edges of the dough with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Grill until the dough is just cooked through and distinct grill marks appear on the second side, about 2 minutes. Remove to a baking sheet. Repeat.
7. Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F.
8. Evenly spread the ricotta cheese mixture between the 2 crusts. Sprinkle the mozzarella and fontina cheese on each pizza crust. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 10 minutes.

Dress the kale with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper and top the pizza. Cut each pizza into 8 pieces and serve immediately.