Ditch the box Mac and Cheese

I am home from vacation, I missed you all and this blog more than I expected! This is really becoming a part of my life now. I have an empty fridge. In fact, I may take time out from unpacking to give it a cleaning while I can. Tomorrow the kids are going with Grandma and Grandpa for a while, so food shopping can wait. Seems like a perfect chance to get to making and posting this recipe I have been thinking about. I have some friends who don't like to cook, I can't relate. But they do want to make their kids healthy meals. Over dinner we got to talking about Mac and Cheese and my friend Elaine (Hi Elaine!) asked me if I had a good recipe that came close to the box. This is it! You can make it healthier by using whole grain pasta (I like the yellow barilla box), skim milk and lowfat cheese. Or go full fat and white flour and just feel good about feeding you children something "homemade" and less-processed. I like to make this with some steamed broccoli (the steamers for the microwave are easy and yummy) and a can of reduced fat crescent rolls. Or maybe I will make those pop overs. Ok, let's not complicate this, it is fine by itself. Try it and please, tell me how it works out for you!


2 T salted Butter
1 lb cooked elbow macaroni
2 cups shredded yellow cheddar cheese (I prefer to shred it myself, but the bag of pre- shredded works fine.)
2 C milk
1 1/2 T corn starch

Add-ins
1/2 large sweet onion- grated
3 cloves of garlic- grated
As an alternative to the onion/ garlic- you can use some garlic powder and some onion powder.

Toppings
8 strips of bacon- cooked and chopped and some shredded Parmesan cheese
1 cup of bread crumbs mixed with a few T of melted butter

Basic recipe-
In a skillet, melt butter. (this is where you would add the onion and garlic and saute a few minutes) Mix milk and corn starch in a bowl and add to the skillet slowly. Add any spices you want. Salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Stir and cook until it comes to a boil (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat and add cheese, stir to melt cheese and combine. Add cooked elbows to the skillet, mix and serve.

Super easy.

If you add the bacon and parm or the bread crumbs, do it when you are done. You can prep this ahead of time and reheat in the oven, or serve right from the skillet.

A promise to my children

We all have bad parenting days, bad parenting moments, moments we wish we could take back. Lord knows, I have many.


But just for today, I will make the right choices. Today I am having a birthday party for Sophia, my social butterfly. She has invited 27 of her BFFs. (This is the daughter of a woman who just cut 100 facebook friends and still has 450, clearly.) So, 27 6 year old girls in my tiny living room, eating pizza and ice cream and doing crafts and watching chipmunk videos, in their pajamas and slippers. Giggles and messes and memories. It is exactly what my little angel wants, and I am going to provide it. I will do it at 5:30pm today. I will do it without spending the whole day yelling and loosing my patience. I will buy balloons, and hang streamers and fill the pinata, and set up more chairs than can really fit around the two tables I have. I will make it happen. I will remember that my children don't ask me to be perfect, they just need me to be present and loving and strong.

Just for today, I am going to succeed. Today, I am going to make a memory that she will talk about with her own children in 40 years with pride.

And tomorrow I will clean it all up, and vow to never ever do it again, until next time.

But first, I am going to take a shower.

Have a great day!

Wonder-Butt

I went out last night with girlfriends. It was a last minute choice to go. Paul has been working so hard, and has been so tired, that I had originally said no. But when he got home, it was just about 7pm, the kids were bathed and fed and homework was done. Paul gave his blessing, though I think he may have regretted it. So off I went to meet some friends at H2O, a wonderful Seafood restaurant in town. A glass of wine, yummy dinner, and laughing so much that, 24 hours later, my cheeks still hurt. It was almost worth it. Or maybe it was worth it.

Paul put the kids to bed. But Nathan, who is the ultimate Mama's boy, was none too pleased. He did finally sleep, but he was up at 2 and didn't sleep again till 5. From 2-4, I was mad. But around 4 am I realized that he just wanted me to hold him tight. How much longer will he want that? Now, we just got him to stop spending the second half of every night in our bed. We did this by putting a crib mattress on the floor next to me, and Just Saying No. So, I couldn't just pull him into bed, and my back hurt from lying on the floor next to him. So we went down to his room and I held him. I held him as tightly as I could, and eventually, after many tears and much tossing and turning, he slept. I smelled his sweaty head and felt his heart beat, and tried with all my might to push my fears of being exhausted out of my head, and do what??? Oh yes, count my blessings. Drink him in, the way he drinks me in.

So we were both tired today. But we muddled through. I picked them up from school, we went to Karate and then to Friendly's for dinner. The kids were surprisingly good. They enjoyed their ice cream and Sophia even did her Homework with Nathan's "help". She is such a great big sister.

Nathan got some new books at a book exchange for school, so I convinced them to let me read to them both together when we got home and I have them both asleep by 8pm. One of the books was about Robots and the main character was "wonderbot" We all giggled quite inappropriately at that one and I think my new nick name may be wonder- butt. But, I love when they make me laugh.

So now, I am drinking a glass of Yellow Tail Chardonnay, eating a Reece's Peanut Butter cup Sundae and going upstairs to watch my DVR'ed American Idol auditions. Some days are better than others, and I am not too tired to notice.

Healthy Pancakes, better days.

Thanks for all your kind words, here and on facebook about Recharging and about my Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day. I know we all have them. Two friends have told me that my blog made them feel inadequate. That is very much not my intent. I have a few good tips to share, maybe a cookbook for Child Friendly Meals in me to write, but I certainly shouldn't make any body else feel "less than". I struggle to make these things happen. I have lots of time to do it in, which really helps. Taking care of my family is my full time job, I have no other. Both women who shared those feeling with me, are working moms. Whole different ball game if you ask me. Not they they aren't wonderful mom's who cook and clean and nourish and protect their family, they are. They just wouldn't have the time to write about it like this and tie it up in a pretty little bow. But what they do is no less miraculous, wonderful, valuable, and challenging. Maybe it is they who should make me feel inadequate. But I don't want to go there, we all do our best. This is mine, and I hope you enjoy the ride. Oh and if you get some good recipes along the way, that would be wonderful! I mess up all the time (as evidenced by the Pot Pie Problem in my last entry.)

Here is one for your weekend, it is hard to mess it up.... and it is one of those recipe's that make you feel like Super Mom. Go ahead, you can do it!


Chocolate Chip Applesauce Pancakes
serves 4 children (or two for two days)

1 large egg
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (If you don't have this, go ahead and use all white this time)
3/4 cup skim milk
1 tbsp agave nectar (Sub with honey or even sugar if you don't have this on hand)
2 tbsp strawberry applesauce (this is what I had on hand, I would use unsweetened next time)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 or 2 tbsp mini chocolate chips

Whisk egg until it’s foamy. Add everything else except the chocolate chips and mix until just combined. Drop batter into prepared pan. I used Pam this time, with just a drop of crisco for the crispy edges. plop a few chips on each pancake, I usually do smiley faces. Cook until golden brown on both sides, flipping once. Nathan eats these with Syrup, Sophia eats them plain. I feel good watching them eat them knowing they are slightly healthier than my usual recipe.

Adapted from a recipe for Lightened Up Raspberry Applesauce Pancakes at http://sarahscucinabella.com (I think hers sound yummy too, but my children wouldn't go near anything with fruit in it. They are however eating oranges after their pancakes, as I type this.)

Rechargable Batteries?

How do you recharge? Re-energize? It's almost tax season here in CPA-wife land. This is a time when I frequently feel burned out. It's cold outside, my kids are busy, my husband is not home and when he is home, he needs soothing, loving, and stress relief, not to take over my burdens.

I should interject here that Paul is am amazing husband and father. He is super involved in his kids lives. He co-parents when he is here. He is present to them, and me, and his mother, and anyone else who needs him. During Tax Season, though, too many people need him. I try not to be one of them as much as possible. The best gift I can give him is to take care of things around here so he can relax when he is home. Something inevitably comes up, but we try.

So back to recharging. I usually use food. A cup of tea and a scone, warm from the oven. A few cookies and a glass of milk. Wine and cheese. You get the idea. But as you may or may not know, last March (I know, during tax season, oy) I got a lap band. I am down 60 pounds and going strong. So I need some new ideas.

1) tickling my son and listening to him giggle

2) blogging

3) a glass of cold water and an hour to read other people's blogs

4) a long hot shower

5) playing checkers with my daughter

How do you recharge? I need ideas. Those don't feel adequate.