White Cheddar and Parmesan Macaroni and Cheese

 

My girls love Macaroni and Cheese.  They are true toddlers and they will eat any kind of pasta in a cheese sauce.  Who are we kidding…..most everybody will eat pasta in cheese sauce!!

I originally found a pin on Pinterest that read “White Cheddar and Parmesan Mac and Cheese”.  I thought that it sounded worth a try and the picture was very appetizing.  So, I clicked on the link and took a look at the recipe.  The recipe got rave reviews…..however, there was not one ounce of White Cheddar or Parmesan.  Odd!  So, I cut the recipe in half and made it the original way in one dish, and I tweaked the other dish to accurately portray the name.  Both are delicious.  You can find the original recipe HERE.

Look at that gorgeous dish of cheese noodles!  And the crispy, buttery topping!  OH YUM!

Both the original recipe and this alteration are amazing!  I will be making this plenty I am sure.

White Cheddar and Parmesan Macaroni and Cheese

16 oz macaroni pasta (or any shape you like)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup flour

3 1/2 cup milk, warmed

1/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 lb Velveeta cheese, cubed

1/2 lb white cheddar cheese, shredded

Topping:

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs

2 Tbsp butter, melted

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9X13 baking dish.

2. Cook pasta 3 minutes less than called for on package.  Drain and set aside.

3. Melt 1/2 cup butter and salt and pepper in a medium sauce pan.  Add in flour when butter is melted and stir until smooth.  Cook for 1 minute more.

4. Add milk and chicken broth lowly.  Bring to a boil while whisking.

5. Add white cheddar cheese and Velveeta cheese and stir until melted.

6. Pour over cooked pasta and add to greased baking dish.

7. Combine ingredients for topping and sprinkle over pasta.

8. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

 

I had some over-ripe bananas and I wasn’t really wanting just plain old banana bread.  So I went to Pinterest to find a good muffin recipe.  I love to wake up before my girls and whip up a breakfast treat to enjoy. 

These muffins come together very quickly and they were so good that I made them twice in one week.  The texture is perfect on these.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3 mashed over ripe bananas

2/3 cup chocolate chips

* Preheat oven to 350 degrees*

1. Cream together butter and sugar.  Add in eggs and mix well.

2. Mix in flour, baking soda and salt.  Mix well.  Stir in vanilla extract.

3. Fold in mashed bananas and chocolate chips.

4. Spoon in to greased muffin tin.  Each muffin slot should be about 2/3 full.

5. Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes.

Enjoy!!

* recipe adapted from Stick a Fork In It*

Cherry Pie Squares

 

I am back!  Thankfully my morning sickness is becoming less and less and I actually want to think about food again. 

Yesterday I had quite a hankering for my step-mom’s Cherry Pie Squares.  I change these a bit only in the fact that I like to use 2 cans of pie filling.  I LOVE cherries!

While making the crust from scratch may seem a bit tedious, it really is the only thing to making these.  You use canned cherry pie filling, so these take no time at all to whip up.

 

Look at these beauties!  I love to eat them warm fresh out of the oven when they are gooey.  And I also love them cold out of the fridge for a mid morning snack.

Photographing this little treat was tricky.  It was hard for several reasons.  I know that I should have photographed them cold so that they would hold their shape better and stack well, but I was not about to let them sit long enough before diving in.  Also, my family was smacking their lips just as I was…..they too were not about to wait.

I had to be VERY quick, thus the lack of really excellent shots.  They slid apart quickly.  But oh they tasted so so good!!

Cherry Pie Squares

2 1/2 cups flour

1 cup shortening

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

2/3 cup milk

2 cans Cherry Pie filling

Glaze:

pinch of salt

1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract

Powdered sugar

2 Tbsp butter, melted

2 Tbsp milk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a bar pan with parchment paper.

2. Mix flour, sugar, and salt.  Cut in shortening with a pastry blender until it resembles coarse crumbs.  Add egg and milk.  Mix well to form a dough.  Divide in to 2 balls. 

3. Roll one ball on a floured surface to the size of the bar pan.  Lay in pan as bottom crust. 

4. Spread Cherry Pie filling over bottom crust.

5. Roll out second ball of dough just like the first and lay on top of pie filling. 

6. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown on top and edges.

7. Make glaze using just enough powdered sugar to make a thin, spreadable glaze.  Put on while still warm.

8. Let cool 5 minutes and cut in to squares.  Store in air tight container in refrigerator. 

Enjoy!!

Surviving Morning Sickness {And feed your family}

 

I am celebrating being 9 weeks pregnant……and feeling it.  I seem to get morning sickness with all of my pregnancies.  The first go around, I didn’t have a family to feed.  My husband was very good at fending for himself while I ate a bowl of cereal.  With Nora, I was sick as a dog and I don’t even remember what I fed Clint and Verity.  I am sure that there were LOTS of days that Verity ate Easy Mac and snack packs.  This time, I am prepared.  I rarely ever buy prepared foods.  I like to have them after we get home from a trip or after a big holiday of cooking…..but this time I am just going with it.

A gal has got to do what a gal has got to do.  I made a trip to Costco and now my family has full meals to eat.  My “morning sickness” sets in about 11am and rages on through the night….so cooking does NOT happen often.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Frozen Pot Pie

Ravioli

Tortellini

Marinara Sauce

Panko crusted Cod

Applesauce

Pot Stickers

*the Easy Mac is hiding*

I know that these foods are not the most nutritious but it is better than telling the 4 year old to scope out the pantry and help herself…..that resulted in Oreos at 10am last week.

How do you survive morning sickness and still manage to feed your family?

Jolly Rancher Suckers and Lemonade are my go to queasy fix.