Tried It...Ate It...Loved It...: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

My second attempt at Mac and Cheese was to try to get a recipe that was “normal”.  Everyone really loved the Gouda Bacon Mac and Cheese but I figured I needed one that I could feed my kids friends and everyone like.  We were having 6 kids over for dinner coming up so I scoured recipes to see if I could find one that I liked.  This one ended up being great.

 I got this awesome recipe from allrecipe.com - my favorite recipe website

Mom's Favorite Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter 1/4 cup finely chopped onion 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 cups milk 3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese 1 (8 ounce) package processed American cheese, cut into strips

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.	Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion for 2 minutes. Stir in flour and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk, salt, mustard and pepper; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture boils and thickens.
3.	Meanwhile, bring a pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
4.	To the milk mixture add the Cheddar and American cheeses; stir until cheese melts. Combine macaroni and cheese sauce in a 2 quart baking dish; mix well.
5.	Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

**before I put it in the oven, I took out a servings worth and added truffle salt, cayenne, some Worcestershire and extra salt – it was divine but probably a little spicy for kids.

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Crafty Love: Personalized Texas Hat

I got a few of these hats Wal-Mart and love them because they fit your head so well.  I wanted to personalize them but my embroidery machine cannot monogram on hats.  I used heat transfer for one of them cutting it out with my Silhouette machine.  I then used the state of Texas with a monogram in the middle and used fabric glue to attach it to the hat.

Supplies

Blank Ball Cap

Fabric – I used a cute chevron

Thread

Embroidery Machine for the monogram (or heat transfer and cut out from Silhouette)

Fabric glue

I monogrammed the fabric and just cut around the shape with pinking shears.  I then used fabric glue to glue it to the hat.  I think it looks cute.

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Tried It...Ate It...Loved It: Gouda Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

I hate boxed mac and cheese. The smell of it makes me nauseous.   I think this is inherited from my mom as she is the same way. I do make it for the girls because I know how much they love it and it is a simple dish to make, however, I will not eat it at all.  I do love my girlfriend’s mac and cheese that she makes from scratch.  I decided that I should have a good recipe that I can make. My first attempt was a Gouda Bacon Mac and Cheese and it was AWESOME.

I got this awesome recipe from Shugary Sweets.

Gouda Bacon Macaroni and Cheese

Prep Time: 25 minutes            Cook Time: 25 minutes           Yield: serves 10-12

Ingredients

·  16oz elbow macaroni, cooked and drained ·  4 Tbsp butter ·  2 1/4 cup skim milk ·  1/2 cup flour ·  1 1/4 cup heavy cream ·  2 tsp kosher salt ·  1 tsp ground black pepper

·  1/2 tsp dry mustard ·  2 tsp Worcestershire ·  1lb smoked Gouda cheese, shredded ·  1/2 lb sharp cheddar cheese, shredded ·  5 slices bread (about 2cups crumbs) ·  3 Tbsp butter, melted ·  1/2 cup bacon, cooked and crumbled

1.       Prepare macaroni according to package directions. Set aside.

2.       In large pot, melt butter over medium high heat. Add skim milk and bring to near boiling. Reduce heat to medium and sprinkle in flour. Whisk vigorously over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Mixture should be thick and boiling. Slowly add cream, while whisking. Add in salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Reduce heat to low and continue to stir for about 5 minutes.

3.       In food processor, shred Gouda and Cheddar cheese. Add to pot, stir until thoroughly combined.

4.       Add cooked macaroni to cheese mixture. Pour into a 13x9 dish.

5.       In same food processor bowl (no need to wash it after shredding the cheese), process 5 slices of bread to a fine crumb. Add melted butter. Sprinkle over macaroni. Top with crumbled bacon.

6.       Bake uncovered in a 375 degree oven for 25-30 minutes.ENJOY!

Crafty Love: Pony-Os

I have been making the girl hairbows for quite some time.  I don’t do the real elaborate ones but I like having ones that match their outfits.  Some of the great tutorials are found on TheRibbon Retreat  and Girly Things 

My girls don’t wear bows as often but they do wear these pony tail holders.  I made a set for the soccer team and then also created some for their first day of Kindergarten.  So fun and simple.  Here are the instructions from the RibbonRetreat that I used:

Supplies & Tools

Ruler

Scissors

Lighter or Wood-Burning Tool

Pony O’s

Hi-Temp Glue Gun

Ribbon

Needle and thread (ready to go)

www.theribbonretreat.com is a great place to purchase ribbon. ☺

1.      Determine how many tails you want in your Pony O. Then you need to determine what sizes you’d like to use. Here I have used a 1 ½” ribbon, a 7/8” ribbon, and a 3/8” ribbon. You can have these be as long or as short as you’d like. For this demonstration, the pieces of ribbon are 20” each. You may also have them vary in size. For example, have one be 20”, one 19”, and one 18”.

2.      You can cut the tails any way you’d like, but for this example I’ve cut them in a “V” cut. Seal the ribbon ends.

3.      Put all the ribbons together.

4.      Fold the ribbon in half with the wrong sides of the ribbon touching.

5.      Take the top part of the fold in one of your hands and hold tightly together.

6.      Take your needle and thread through the underside of the ribbon – in between the fold.

7.      Take the needle all the way through and pull until the knot stops at the back.

8.      Unfold the ribbon and lay flat, with the right side face up. Hold tightly in the center with your fingers.

9.      With your LEFT hand (if you’re Right-Handed ☺), hold the ribbon tightly. With your RIGHT hand take the thread around the top of the ribbon and towards the back. Pull the thread tightly with your right hand.

10.   Take the thread all the way around and pull, cinching the ribbon tightly in the center. Take the thread around the center quite a few times until you feel comfortable that it is secure and there is no more “give” to the thread. You will become better at this the more you practice.

11.   Now you’ll need the Pony O. Use whatever color you’d like. Also, a lot of teams can’t use the Pony O’s with the metal on them. You can find “No Metal” Pony O’s at most department stores.

12.   Turn the ribbon over to the back and place the Pony O directly on top of the ribbon – directly over the thread. The “streamers” will be going towards the left and the right.

13.   Take the thread around the center of the “streamer” and the Pony O as shown. You won’t actually poke the needle through the center of the Pony O. Just take the thread around the center. If you run out of thread, just tie it off and re-load your needle with more thread.

14.   After you are comfortable with the tightness and feel like it is secure, take up a couple of stitches through the Pony O as shown. Then tie a knot and cut your thread.

15.   This is what it should look like so far from the back.

16.   Turn it over, and this is what the top should look like.

17.   Now take a piece of ribbon and cut it at 1 ½”. Seal the edges. This will be used to cover the stitching.

18.   Turn the Pony O over to the back and place a dab of glue on top of the thread.

19.   Take one end of the piece of ribbon and place down onto the glue.

20.   Wrap the ribbon around the center.

21.   Continue to the back.

22.   Place a dab of glue in the center. Take the remaining piece and place on top of the glue. 

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Favorite Things: Neato Vacuum

We have 2 big dogs.  Both shed a TON.  When we got our new puppy this summer, I honestly thought adding another dog would not increase the amount of hair that much.  With the new dog being a husky mix, the increase of hair has been exponential.  I used to have a Roomba a long time ago but it broke.  I decided to purchase a new robot vacuum and after reading reviews, decided to get a Neato.  I like the fact that is actually a vacuum that collects hair and dust vs the Roomba that is more of a Swiffer.  It is SUPER noisy but is my new love.  I turn it on 3 times a week and the hair “disappears”.  How Great!!!

I got mine at Costco and thought it was a good deal.

Neato Vacuum from Costco

Disclaimer:

I do not receive monetary compensation for my review of this product. It represents the opinion based on  personal use and results.  This product was purchased by me and not received free.  My opinion of a product will not change if I receive it for free or with a discount for reviewing it (but that would be awesome).

Tried It...Ate It...Loved It: Crepes

Do you have a birthday meal?  My mom makes our favorite meal every year on our birthday – even after all these years.  My meal is ham and cheese crepes and carrot cake.  Yum-O!!  My mom has been making them forever and I decided that I needed to try to make them at least once.  They turned out great.  They were time intensive but not necessarily hard.  As soon as you get used to the swirling motion of getting the batter all around the pan, it becomes pretty easy.

Basic Crepes from All Recipes 

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour 2 eggs 1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup water 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

1.	In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2.	Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3.	Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot. (I made a lot of them and put them between paper towels and then just heated them when I filled them)

I filled them with savory and sweet.  For savory, I used ham & cheese and pepperoni & cheese.  For sweet, I used Nutella and banana.  They were delicious.

Crafty Love: Big Girls Room

This fall we updated their room to be a big girl room since they were entering Kindergarten.  They got to pick the bedding and we added bright colors for their elementary times.  I typically don't buy Pottery Barn because it is a little pricey for kids who still destroy things but they were so cute that I buckled. Luckily, they still wanted to stay in the same room which means I still have my office and craft room.

We bought some storage beds from Target and positioned them against the wall so they would have more floor space.

We made a fun LOVE sign out of tulle and painted paisleys on the wall in the bright colors to match the bedding. To gather the tulle, I just used a needle and string through the center and pulled on it to gather it.  Then it is just hot glued into place to form the letters.  I had to cut some of them so the letters were more defined as the tulle was thicker than I needed.

 I had gone to Canton First Monday (my favorite place) and seen these cork boards and chalk boards with boas around it being sold for $15-$20.  I already had the chalkboard and corkboards so just went and got some cheap boas at Hobby Lobby and glued them around the frame.  So cute.

 They wanted to keep their dollhouse that they never play with.  The art on the wall is also from Hobby Lobby and I let them pick it out.

  

 I had some shelves sitting in my closet so I painted them white and was able to paint some frames and put some fun things on them.  I love the tissue balls and globes that I hung above each of their beds.  It adds a whimsical feel.







So with a lot of paint and things I already had, the room ended up not being as large of a project as I expected and I love how it turned out. The girls love showing it off to all of their friends and they tend to spend more time in it now.

Favorite Things: Skin Regimin

It seems like overnight I went from the person who used soap and water at night to someone who now spends 10 minutes slathering on various creams and lotions.  I don't know if I can see a difference buy  my skin does feel better than it has.

The first things I started (for the 100th time) was Retin-A.  I have tried this a few times but reaching 40, I asked the dermatologist the number 1 thing that I should do and he said this.  So here I go again.  I hate that I peel some when using it but I mix it with moisturizer and it isn't that bad.

Second was my eyes - I have horrible wrinkles under my eyes and I am sure I should have done some preventative measures but now I'm trying to minimize them (even if just the appearance).  In the morning I put on L'oreal Revitalift.  It has a cream of under the eye and the eyelid.

At night, I have been using Prevage.  For the cost, it better be working.

I also went to Sephora and got their brand concealer. I LOVE it.  It is light but doesn't come off easily.  I use it under my eyes and on blemishes.

I probably should have taken before and after pictures as most of these products claim to have results in a certain amount of days.  Not sure if I get all the hype but hopefully it will at least prevent future wrinkles.  BOTOX anyone???

Crafty Love: Sharpie Mugs

Okay, we have seen these EVERYWHERE.   Trying to think of an inexpensive craft to do with kids, this came up.  The VERDICT – if you hand wash them and do not scrub, the sharpie will stick.  If you have a lipstick stain over some of the marker and have to scrub it off, you will lose your art work.

Supplies:

-        Regular sharpies

-        White ceramic mug from dollar store

-        Baked at 425 for 30 minutes (kept the mug in for preheat and cool down)

However, if you are looking for an hour of entertainment for your kids and don’t really care about “needing” decorated mugs, this craft is so much fun.

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2 Day Juice Cleanse - Worth It?

I have done a few different cleanses before but never a straight juice cleanse.  I like to do a cleanse when I feel I have been eating really bad or drinking a lot of caffeine because I feel it "resets" my body's cravings and I can go back to eating well again.  I'm sure I can do it without the cleanse but it is a good way to kick start eating well.

A few people at work were talking about the Roots Cleanse and I thought I'd give it a try.  I convinced my husband to try it also.  2 Days, it can't be that bad.

http://rootspressedjuices.com/shop/detox-cleanse-5-days/

You can choose how many days you want along with the level of cleanse.  We chose the Level 1.  You are supposed to drink a juice every 2 hours. Here is my review.

Level 1 Roots Cleanse

Wake Up - Carrot, Apple, Ginger, Watermelon:  This one wasn't that bad.  I tasted the carrot a lot but it had some sweetness to it.
Hydrate - Cucumber, Lime, Mint, Apple, Ginger:  I really liked this one. It was sweet and refreshing.  I enjoy making cucumber water for myself so it was like that but more complicated.
Green Goddess - Kale, Apple, Spinach, Romaine, Celery, Cucumber.  This would have been fine if they left out the celery.  It was overpowering and ruined the whole drink.
Lean & Fit - Grapefruit, Mint:  If you like grapefruit, you will be fine with this.  It was very tart for me.
Liver Cleanse - Beets, Carrots, Apple, Aloe, Ginger:  I could barely stomach this one.  However, I also don't like beets so guess that could have something to do with it.
Health Nut Almond Milk - Almonds, Dates, Vanilla Bean, Sea Salt, Filtered Water:  This was one of the best ones.  Sweet and no weird taste.

Day 1:  Was I hungry - not really but I craved everything I saw.  I think that is part of the resetting is living without things for a while.  We did not work out during this.  I do not know how someone would have enough energy if they did.

Day 2:  The headache was horrible.  Of course, I am used to drinking coffee every morning and usually a glass of wine every night so was having major withdrawals.  I wasn't starving but my tummy rumbled quite a bit.

So, was it worth it??  If I had a lot to do those days, it would have been hard to get them done.  I think it was worth it as it was nice way to kick-off to healthy eating.  However, if I want to do it again, I would purchase a juicer as the price would end up evening out.


Disclaimer:

I do not receive monetary compensation for my review of this product. It represents the opinion based on  personal use and results.  This product was purchased by me and not received free.  My opinion of a product will not change if I receive it for free or with a discount for reviewing it (but that would be awesome - except for the Green Goddess drink).