Cheers to the New Year

Today is January 3rd and so far, I am doing great with my renewed desire to feed my family out of the box. Sunday my husband was out of town at a football game, which normally would mean I would feed the boys cereal or waffles or peanut butter sandwiches. But it was the start of a new year, the renewal of eating outside the box, so I made home made mac and cheese for my boys.

Ingredients

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni - I usually just use one small box and freeze the leftovers
• 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese - shred it yourself to save money!
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups milk- add more if you like your mac & cheese a little saucier
• 1/4 cup butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

           

Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. In a saucepan melt butter over medium heat and stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk slowly while continuing to stir. Stir in both cheeses and cook over low heat until all the cheese is melted and sauce is slightly thick. Place cooked macaroni in large casserole dish and pour sauce over- mix well.

Melt small amount of butter in saucepan and add breadcrumbs. Cook until brown. Spread over the casserole. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for at least 30 minutes.

oh my goodness so yummy!

 

 

 

The boys loved it and there was enough left over the freeze for school/daycare lunches.  And as always, I used fat free milk and lower calorie margarine, and it tasted just fine.  Yesterday we enjoyed home made sloppy joes, complete with veggies hidden inside so all of my boys, including my husband, were none the wiser.

We got a little off track last year with our eating. Who am I kidding- we got WAY off track. Spending each day fighting through adoption and bonding issues leaves little time or energy for planning, shopping, and cooking healthy. But those issues are all worked out, the family is back on a schedule and stronger than ever, and my commitment to feed myself and my boys outside the box has been renewed. I am totally psyched for this new year- bring it on!

 

Thankful for Corn on the Cob Cookies!

Thanksgiving brought beautiful sunny weather to Ohio and another foodie challenge to my kitchen- corn on the cob cookies. I made these beautiful creations for my son's preschool class and they were such a hit that I made them again for my husband's family Thanksgiving celebration, where there are lots of kids and cookie eating adults. Again, they were a huge hit at the family gathering as well, so score!

I used a basic sugar cookie recipe, true to my desire to cook outside the box. This recipe calls for a corn cob shaped sugar cookie as the base, so any type of sugar cookie dough would work. If you need to speed up the process or just don't like to bake then I would think that pre-made dough would work just fine. Just make sure the dough is cold enough to roll out. Because I don't own a corn cob shaped cookie cutter I used a sharp knife to cut out my cobs free hand style- they were each a little different in size but they looked just fine.

After baking and allowing the cookies to cool I frosted them very lightly with chocolate frosting and then covered each cob with fall colored M&M's, pushing them into each other so that they sat on the cookie like little kernels of corn. I then used green and yellow fruit leather to create the stalks, attaching the leather to the cookie with a tiny dab of frosting. Honestly, finding green and yellow fruit leather was the hardest part of the whole process! I ended up buying a bunch of boxes of mixed fruit leathers, which made my preschooler VERY happy, as he was able to then snack on the blue and red ones.

This cookie was easy to make, looked great, was fun for the little ones, and tasted great- total win! This is one I will definitely make again!