easy macaroni and cheese

My husband loves homemade macaroni and cheese and my son and I love kraft macaroni and cheese so I tried and tried until I created a recipe that we all really enjoy.

Ingredients
1 pound macaroni noodles
half a cup of shredded swiss cheese<br>
1 cup of shredded mild cheddar cheese
half a cup whipping cream
1 tablespoon of butter (optional)
Extra cheese for topping
Potato chips or bread crumbs for topping

Cook noodles according to the package instructions.  Put cheeses in a glass making dish that has been lightly greased.  Microwave whipping cream and butter until warm and poor over cheeses.  Stir until combined and cheeses are slightly melted.  Add noodles and combine well.  If you desire a cheesy topping you can have some extra cheese to top it with.  Crumble potato chips or bread crumbs on top of cheese.  Bake at 375° for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted.  My husband likes his really crusty so I cook it a little longer for him.

You can alter this recipe any way you want.  The cheese s especially are great to change up until you find the right combo for your family.  I like the cheddar and the swiss gives it a really nice bite.  Hope you enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup

Since it's so cold outside I thought I'd post this soup recipe which is one of my favs.

1 lb chicken (I cover with olive oil and S and P and bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees or until cooked through and then shred)
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
Egg noodles (I use abt 3/4 of the bag)
6 cups water
3 to 4 T chicken base

This recipe is defintely a judgement and whatever you like kind of recipe.  I begin by putting veges water and chicken base in a large stock pot.  You want the broth to have flavor but not be too salty because it will redue throughout cooking.  I usually fill the pot up with water and then add chicken base until I like the flavor.

Boil veges until they are tender then add your shredded chicken and noodles. You may need to add more water if yours has reduced too much...also dont forget you will need plenty of water for the noodles to absorb.  Make sure you taste broth to make sure it has lots of flavor.  Boil for about 15 minutes or until noodles are tender.  I serve with grilled cheese sandwiches.  This is a great way to get kids to eat their veges too.  The chicken base gives them a really nice taste.

sn: if youd like a thicker sauce right before serving mix a small amount of cold water with about 1to 2 T of cornstarch then add to soup and stir over medium heat until you reach the thickness you desire.

For the Kids

I regularly see things on pinterest that I try to pin but if I dont like everything on the link I wont pin it. So here are a few things that I saw and only wanted to remember 1 or 2 things:

Have you and your child gather soft outdoor items such as leaves, twigs, grass, and other things a bird might want to build its nest with. Put all the items in your backyard near a window so that you can bird watch to see what the birds pick. Over time the birds will use most of the items if you pick the right things. This would be a great time to get some pictures of birds too!

Create an outdoor scavenger hunt for your kids by drawing a picture or taking a picture or using the actual item on a sheet of paper and the kids have to hunt outside to find the item. I plan on doing this with my kids when its safe for them to be outdoors and get out of my sight. I want them to look for oak leaves, worms, pine cones, etc. Whatever is in the backyard. Even if you dont have a backyard this would work if you went to a park or nature trail as well so it works for everyone!

Cream Sauce for Pasta

This is my favorite way to make pasta and the possibilities are endless with the simple yet delicious cream sauce recipe. I hope it becomes a staple in your home as it has in mine.

Ingredients for sauce:
10 slices of bacon, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 cup chicken broth (I dilute 1 tablespoon of chicken base into a cup of water)
1 cup of heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed in a small amount of cool water

Additions at our home:
Seasoned Chicken, diced
Shrimp
Mushrooms
*you can add anything you'd like to make the meal your own
cooked pasta

Begin by frying bacon, once bacon is almost done add in onion and turn heat down to medium low and saute until onions are almost translucent (don't cook them all the way because they will continue to cook in the sauce) Drain mixture on a paper towel and throw out excess oil that was left in the pan.

At this point I cook whatever meat I will be using for my pasta recipe. I often use shrimp or chicken. (You can also marinate the chicken in any flavor you choose the McCormick grill mates marinades that come in the small packet that you add oil, vinegar and water to are my favorite. If you do this your sauce will also pick up the flavor that you marinated in. I like to use the chipotle pepper seasoning to make a spicy chicken pasta)

After I cook the chicken until almost done I always add in mushrooms (we love mushrooms at my house) then add in the bacon/onion mixture. Add in the chicken broth then the whipping cream then the Parmesan cheese. Bring mixture to a boil and then turn down to low and continue to cook on low. I always taste the sauce to make sure its exactly how I like it and you can add more cheese or whipping cream depending on what you like. The sauce should not be mild because the sauce is going over pasta so it will mellow out some then. Do not season with more salt because there is salt in the bacon and the chicken broth. You can season with pepper if you'd like. After about 5-7 minutes on a low boil add in the cornstarch and cook until the sauce thickens up about 2-3 minutes. Add this mixture over your favorite pasta for a Delicious meal.

The sauce itself will take on any flavor you want it to. I've added fresh herbs in the summertime such as basil, oregano, parsley to add a boost of flavor. You can adjust the seasonings however you'd like. This recipe feeds my family of 2 adults and 1 child (who eats a lot) and there is usually enough left over for us all a small lunch the next day. I also butter some barbecue bread and bake it to go along side of it. You can also add garlic if you like a garlic cream sauce. Basically this sauce is a chameleon and will be great with any additions you can think of. I haven't tried artichokes yet but I bet they would be great too!

Buffalo Chicken Taquitos

1-2 lbs chicken breast
1-2 T buffalo wing sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
10-20 egg roll wrappers
Oil for frying or a fry daddy
Small cup of cool water

Season chicken with salt and pepper and bake at 400 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and baked through. Let cool and shred.

Add buffalo wing sauce depending on how hot you'd like your taquitos to be. I added enough so that the taste was just spicy enough. But after they fry the taste mellows out so I recommend adding a little more.

Lay out one egg roll wrapper and and wet the edges with your fingers. Put some of the chicken mixture (about 2 T, don't make them too big because you don't want the filling coming out) in one corner of the egg roll wrapper. At this point you can add anything you want, I added about a tablespoon of mozzarella cheese. Other recipes I've seen added blue cheese, broccili slaw or cabbage. It was very delicious with the mozzarella cheese though...made me think of the chicken taquitos we get at the mexican restaurant (hence the name).

Making the egg roll wraps:
Begin by rolling up the corner until you have overlapped the chicken mixture completely (tuck the corner of the egg roll wrapper into itself over the chicken, then bring in the sides one at a time to make an envelope. More water may be needed to seal the seams. Then fold the top of the envelope down adding more water to seal if necessary. Repeat with the remaining egg roll wrappers, I used 14 wrappers, but you may need more or less depending on how large you make your taquitos.

I layed all my egg roll wraps on a baking sheet lined with paper towels so they could drain after frying. Another recipe I found baked them in the oven for 400 degrees F for about 10-15 minutes. In order to do this you will need a cooling rack inside a baking pan and you will also need to spray the wraps with oil to get a crispy texture on the outside. I haven't tried them this way but I doubt they will get as crispy as frying in oil.

Heat oil to 400 degrees F. Add 2-3 taquitos into the oil at a time, fry until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). Repeat until all taquitos are fried up. I also fried a plan chicken one for my son because I didnt think he would like the spicy sauce on his.

I served our Buffalo Chicken Taquitos along side a salad and it was a delicious dinner. Will definitely be making these again. They are also great dipped in ranch dressing as I'm sure they would be great with blue cheese dressing. They are also just good by themselves. These would be a great treat for a superbowl party or any party! Hope you enjoy!

This was a great way to change up the menu and I think I will be putting a lot more items into an egg roll wrapper!

Shrimp and Crab Salad

I know I promised I would blog about the rice krispies but they didn't turn out the way I'd like because they kept falling apart on me so I will tweak the recipe and hopefully next time it will work. But I did make a delicious meal tonight that I'd like to share with you.

Shrimp and Crab Salad

20 medium shrimp (8 ounces) tails removed and sliced in half

1 can crab meat

3 tablespoons mayo

1 small onion diced

1 celery stalk diced

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

3 splashes of Worcestershire sauce

3 splashes texas pete

Cajun Seasoning

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

Marinate shrimp with 1-2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning. (I left mine in the fridge for a few hours while the shrimp defrosted) Saute onion and celery in olive oil on medium heat (season with a little salt and pepper), add butter crab meat and marinated shrimp. Cook until warmed through. Put in a separate bowl and add mayo, Parmesan cheese, Worcestershire sauce and texas pete. We put this on hoagie rolls and broiled in oven until bread was toasted. I topped with tomato and Todd ate his plain. I think this would be a great appetizer served with crackers. You could also slice baguettes and top with the mixture. Endless possibilities! Hope you enjoy!

No pictures because we ate it all up so quickly!

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

Well, I can't take credit for this recipe as I found it on the internet while searching for a way to use up all the blueberries Todd brought home from the garden center. (Side note: They have some great blueberry bushes that are producing "boocoodles" of blueberries if you are in the market for a blueberry bush this summer...it would be well worth the cost for all the blueberry desserts you could make this summer!) I however am not a fan of fresh blueberries...I like them in smoothies, sometimes parfaits but best in blueberry pancakes I make at home! This dessert I think will soon be a favorite. It's quite simple, you take fresh blueberries, sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch and a boxed cake mix (who doesnt have one of those lying around the house?) and put it all together for a beautiful and delicious dessert. I just had my first piece and as I write this I keep glancing at my now empty plate debating if I will take a shower before or after I have my second piece (just a little one I promise). Before I give you this recipe I just want to make one confession...I have began walking with my two children...well pushing one in the stroller and holding the other in his now too small carrier (I have a hold him in order to get my workout since he walks super slow and tries to stop and play with everything...then of course we play on the playground and I get in some lunges and push ups). Anyways...back to my confession...If only I could stop eating desserts I would probably begin to lose some baby weight...excuse me make that "babies" weight since I didnt lose the weight from my first child before I got pregnant with the second. I love to bake and when one dessert gets gone at our house I have to decipher what I plan on making next. As some of you know I took cake decorating classes and enjoying making cakes and decorating them. I am partial to my chocolate cake with chocolate ganache filling and recently added toffee chips to the filling as well...hmmm. If I had the money I would love to open up a desserts shop that also made cakes for weddings, birthdays and such...but I dont know how it would do in roxboro and where in the world would I get the money to open up such a business. Nevertheless it is a dream of mine all because I love to bake and concoct new desserts to satisfy my ultimate sweet tooth. So back to the real reason for this blog Blueberry Upside Down Cake...again not my recipe...I found it on the internet!

Blueberry Upside Down Cake

3 c. fresh blueberries (or frozen, thawed & drained)

1 1/2 tbsp. tbsp. lemon juice

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. corn starch

2-3 tbsp. butter

1 yellow cake mix

Spread berries evenly in bottom of 9 x 13 inch greased cake pan. Sprinkle with lemon juice. Combine sugar and corn starch and pour over berries. Dot with butter.Top with prepared cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until done. Invert pan before cake gets cool. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

*I topped with fresh blueberries because I had some on hand and it was a great way to cut the sweetness of the dessert with a punch of tart blueberry!