Macaroni & cheese is one of those foods that takes me back to my childhood.  I love that it hasn’t lost its charm after all of these years.  There is something incredibly comforting about a bowl of mac & cheese, laughing at dinner, and talking about our days.

A few months ago, however, I had a huge mac & cheese mess up.  I bought cheap shredded cheese, because I thought it would work.  It didn’t, and it was quite possibly the most disgusting dinner I’ve made.  We ended up throwing it out and eating sandwiches.  I thought Nathan would ban me from ever putting mac & cheese on the table again {lest it be from a certain iconic blue box}, but I convinced him to let me take another swing at it.  Armed with a new recipe and better cheese, I just knew I could pull it off.

I did.

We all know that I aspire to be Martha Stewart {minus the jail time}, so it is only natural I would turn to her website to find the recipe that would make my prior mac & cheese sins forgiven.  This recipe is awesome.

Stovetop Macaroni & Cheese {from MarthaStewart.com}

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• Coarse salt
• 4 cups whole milk {don’t skimp on this…go for the whole.  It is going to make a difference}
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 pound small shell pasta or elbow macaroni
• 4 cups coarsely grated sharp yellow cheddar (3/4 pound)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium.
2. Chop the onion and add it to the butter.  Cook until softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Add flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is pale golden, has a slightly nutty aroma, and is the texture of cooked oatmeal, about 5 minutes.
4. Whisking constantly, pour in 2 cups milk; add 2 more cups milk and cayenne and whisk until smooth.
5. Cook mixture, stirring constantly along bottom of pan, until boiling, 6 to 7 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens and does not feel grainy when a small amount is rubbed between two fingers, about 10 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until al dente; drain thoroughly and put in a bowl.
7. Remove sauce from heat and let cool 10 minutes. Quickly whisk in cheese, mustard, and Worcestershire. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir to coat.
   

Grade: A

Comments: At first I was worried that I had screwed up my cheese sauce, because the consistency didn’t seem right.  However, it was perfect!  This was SO good.  The recipe says it is for 6 servings, but it made almost 10 {at least for us}.  This would be so good with hot dogs or at a picnic.  The cheese flavor isn’t too super strong, but it is just enough to be absolutely delicious.  I definitely recommend not skimping on the milk and cheese to go for lower fat – just accept that this recipe isn’t healthy and move on.

This is one of those recipes that sounded really good, it was just okay, but I would make it again if I needed something easy & fast.  Nathan liked it more than I did – not that I thought it was bad…it just felt very Sandra Lee-ish, and I am not a fan of her.

Anyway, like I said it isn’t bad…and I’m posting it because it worked great for how busy we ended up on Tuesday.  We didn’t get to eat until after 8:00 PM, so anything that took longer than 15 minutes was out of the question.

Corn Chowder {from RealSimple.com}

Ingredients:

• 4 slices Oscar Meyer Ready to Serve Bacon
• 1 10 3/4-ounce can condensed Cream of Potato soup
• 1 cup low-fat or whole milk
• 1 11-ounce can corn niblets

Directions:

1. Heat the bacon for 20 to 30 seconds in the microwave; set aside.
2. Pour the cream of potato soup into a saucepan. Add the milk and corn. Break up the cooked bacon into small pieces, then stir it into the saucepan. Heat for 5 minutes or until the soup reaches a simmer.

Grade: C+

Comments: It tastes like condensed soup with corn in it.  I wasn’t impressed, but it wasn’t really bad.  Like I said in the beginning it was simple, quick, and it got dinner on the table on a night when we were running around like chickens with our heads cut off.  I could see this being a good meal if you had one kid who had baseball practice, another who had dance class, and you had a book club meeting.  I’ll probably make it again, but only on a night when we’re really busy.

Cucumber salad is one of my favorite summer picnic dishes.  Oddly, I’ve never made it myself.  This week, Nathan is out of town for work, so I decided to try it out.  It was a great decision.  After indulging a “pregnancy craving” for a Burger King Cupcake Milkshake yesterday, I didn’t need much so I ditched the baked potato and ate the cucumber salad alone around 8:30 PM.

Cucumber Salad {from Allrecipes.com}

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers
• 1/2 white onion {recipe calls for a red onion}
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar {recipe calls for rice wine vinegar}
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1/4 tsp seasoning salt

Directions:

1. Peel cucumbers and cut into thin pieces.  Cut onion into small, thin pieces.
2. Combine cucumbers and red onion in a salad bowl.
3. In a small bowl, stir together water, rice wine vinegar, sugar, and seasoned salt. Pour over vegetables. Chill for 1 hour. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Grade: B

Comments: This was good, but it was really basic.  Next time I am going to add tomatoes and maybe some peppers.  Since I was already pretty full, it was just enough food.  It was so easy, and other than having to put it in the fridge for an hour, it took less than 10 minutes.  Definitely an easy recipe if you are having people over for a picnic or summer dinner.

{This week’s menu is posted.}

Things have been way crazier these past few days than I could have predicted.  I didn’t even attempt the Vegetable Enchiladas I had planned on making.  School work has me completely stressed, so I’ve been pretty glued to my desk rather than the stove.

However, last night I had to eat something other than salad and cheese quesadillas {this would be my major pregnancy craving}.  Mostly because I was out of salad dressing and tortillas.

After rummaging through the kitchen, because I didn’t even make it to the grocery for my weekly trip, I found a bag of frozen spinach in the freezer I had planned on using for the enchiladas.  I also had some cheese left that had been meant for the enchiladas as well.  This dish is the result of my search.

Spinach with Cheese and Egg

Ingredients:

• 3 cups frozen spinach, cooked
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup shredded cheese {I used Sharp Cheese}

Directions:

1. Start eggs in a frying pan on medium-high heat.
2. When eggs are about halfway done dump in spinach.  Mix thoroughly.
3. When the eggs and spinach are almost completely done mix in the cheese.

Grade: B

Comments: This is way more spinach than egg.  I really threw the egg in there solely to add some protein.  It was a good quick dinner that I could make and eat in between corporate tax problems, but I knew I was going to require a snack later in the night {and I was right}.  You could easily add more vegetables if you wanted more of a veggie scramble.  You could also add more eggs and make it more like an omelet.  Either way, I can definitely see myself whipping it up again when I am in a hurry.  It would probably also make a great breakfast.

Nathan is officially gone for a few days, so I am enjoying those meals that he doesn’t like.  First off are these sweet potato sticks.  He is not a huge sweet potato fan, so I hardly ever use them if he is in town.

These are deceptively filling.  This is all I ate for dinner, and I was plenty full.

Baked Sweet Potato Sticks

Ingredients:

• 1 sweet potato
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs chili powder

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Peel sweet potato and cut into french fries size pieces.
3. In a medium bowl mix olive oil and chili powder.  Add in sweet potatoes and toss using hands.
4. Place the sweet potato sticks on the parchment paper.  Cook for approximately 40 minutes.

Grade: B+

Comments: These were really good, but they definitely are meant to be a side dish.  If I had been hungrier I probably would have made a grilled cheese too.  I ate them with ketchup which seemed to be a great idea.  All in all they were very easy to make, and like I said already they were so filling.

First, it was 33 degrees yesterday around 5:00.  UNACCEPTABLE.  I moved to Atlanta to get away from the cold.  Clearly I did not move far enough South!  Hopefully it warms up soon.

Thankfully, I had planned on a very wintery meal for last night.  It is a good thing, because we went for a 45 minute walk, and I was freezing when we got home!

I am always willing to try new things, and this was one of those recipes where I decided to just see “what happens.”  The sugar was a last minute decision when I remembered I had seen Paula Deen do it in a soup she made!

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 2 cans diced tomatoes {do not drain}
• 2 tbs basil
• 2 tbs minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbs sugar
• dash of black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Chop onion.  In a saucepan mix onion, garlic, basil, sugar, salt, and pepper.  Cook on medium-high for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, empty the two cans of tomatoes into a glass baking dish.  Do not drain the tomatoes!
4. Once the onion mixture is finished, add it to the tomatoes.  Cook in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes.
5. Once it is done in the oven, puree in a blender until very thick.

Grilled Cheese Tip: Instead of using butter to cook the grilled cheese, spray the indoor grill {or pan} with olive oil.  It is healthier and adds a little extra flavor to the sandwich!

Grade: A-

Comments: This soup is delicious!  I’ve always wanted to try roasted soup, and I am glad I did it with tomato soup.  The flavors were very strong, and it was incredibly filling.  The recipe only makes 2 servings {I just needed it for Nathan and I} so if you need to make more, be aware you’ll have to multiply the ingredients.  You could easily add tons of vegetables if you wanted to do roasted mixed vegetable soup!

I love asparagus, and I am always looking for a way to incorporate more of it into my diet.  With Nathan out of town this weekend, I decided I would indulge my asparagus craving.

Balsamic Asparagus & Red Peppers

Ingredients:

• 10 asapargus stalks
• 1/2 red pepper, sliced & cut in halves
• 1 garlic clove, chopped
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 tbs balsamic vinaigrette dressing
• 1 tsp Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Coat non-stick skillet with 2 tbs olive oil.  Turn heat on medium.
2. Cut 1/2 red pepper into slices then cut in halves.
3. Trim asparagus.
4. Add red peppers & asparagus into skillet.  Cover for 2 minutes.
5. Lift lid and add in garlic.  Mix and recover for 3 minutes.
6. Lift lid and mix one final time.  Cover for 3-4 minutes.
7. Remove skillet from heat.  Put vegetables on plate.
8. Top with 1 tbs of balsamic vinaigrette and Parmesan cheese.  Serve.