Eat mo' Mac!

Okay, I have to post this recipe, even though I don't have any pictures. I've served this quite a few times and people LOVE it. My husband loves it. My kids love it. 

I LOVE IT! 

I've also promised some people the recipe, and I can't remember if I gave it to them...

If that was you...I'm sorry.  

One thing you have to understand. If you use real cheddar cheese for macaroni and cheese, it will always be a little higher in calories. But this version is a more nutritious take on the old classic favorite. 

The thing that really makes this healthier is that it uses whole grain pasta and replaces the butter with cottage cheese. Yes, you heard right--cottage cheese and no butter. 

I found the original recipe at Eating Well. You should check it out, because that one is a bit different and you may like that better. The original recipe also gives different tips than I do. I'll explain the changes I made to fit it to our family. 

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons Panko breadcrumbs
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 
  
• 1 3/4 cups low-fat milk, divided
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups shredded extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
• 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
• A dash of Garlic powder (seriously, I never measure it. Just sprinkle some in)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 8 ounces (2 cups) whole-wheat elbow macaroni, or penne

Directions

1. Preheat oven: 450°F

1. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Preheat oven to. Coat an 8-inch-square (2-quart) baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix breadcrumbs, oil and paprika in a small bowl. 
3. Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a large heavy saucepan over medium-high heat until steaming. Whisk remaining 1/4 cup milk and flour in a small bowl until smooth; add to the hot milk and cook, whisking constantly, until the sauce simmers and thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Cheddar until melted. Stir in cottage cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
4. Cook pasta for 4 minutes, or until not quite tender. (It will continue to cook during baking.) Drain and add to the cheese sauce; mix well. Spread half the pasta mixture in the prepared baking dish. Spoon the spinach on top. Top with the remaining pasta; sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture.
5. Bake the casserole until bubbly and golden, 25 to 30 minutes.

Comparison with the Original recipe

1. Leaving out the spinach: My family does not really care much for cooked broccoli or spinach. So, instead of putting spinach in the middle of the casserole, I serve it with raw broccoli or a nice fresh spinach salad. This also increases the nutritional value of the meal. 

2. Panko breadcrumbs: I have tried the recipe with regular bread crumbs, crumbled crackers, and panko breadcrumbs. I like the Panko best. 

3. Nutmeg: The original recipe called for nutmeg. I will be honest, I have never made the recipe with nutmeg. Someday I might try it instead of the garlic, but my family really likes it with the garlic. So, for now we will leave it. 

Vacation in Maine

Let me just say, I LOVE MAINE....in June.

Maine in June is amazing. It could compare to anywhere on earth. The coast, the flowers, the subtle scent of salt on the air...*sigh.... 

But Maine in winter is...just....COLD. Freezing cold. Just look at all that snow! I could take it for a day, and then I'd miss my beautiful NC 50 degree weather with brown grass and leafless trees. 

My husband and I spent the first Christmas after we were married in Maine, and we decided that we would never go there in winter EVER AGAIN! Since then, it is Summer/Autumn only vacations in Maine. And we love it!  This year we spent a week in Maine with my family and best friend. It was a wonderful vacation.

(including the 20 hour drive both ways with 3 young children and a teenager in the car!) 

We stayed the first part of the week with my sister and her lovely family. 

 The kids had a LOT of fun swimming, playing, and visiting the sea shore with their cousins. 

Then we went and stayed with my best friend from high school. We always have a blast at her house! Well, at least I do, and I'm pretty sure MeMe did....hehe. Here she is having her shoes tied by Kristy's youngest daughter. Can we say future diva? 

We spent a LOT of time outside. At the park......

And, of course, at the shore side...

The younger girls all got a long really well, when Harmy wasn't tearing into everyone's toys...

That would be my husband, photo bombing an otherwise adorable picture!

These two got along so well. Made my heart sing to see them playing like old friends!

Little Man didn't care much for the water, but he LOVED the rocks! 

What? Huh? Who snuck that one in there?!!! hehehehe. Hubby and I were supposed to get a date night for our anniversary but it didn't work out. So we settled for some smooching on the beach while the kids played. 

The above picture is a sad story. Just a few moments later, my unofficial adopted daughter, Mina (in the green shorts) fell in the water and drowned her smart phone. I wasn't that shaken up about it. MWAHAHAHAHAHA!

And what better way to end a day of fun in the sun, but with the HUSBANDS getting supper ready and doing the dishes! WOOOHOO! Every wife's fantasy!

It was really a great trip, as always. Here I am with one of my best friends in the whole world. 

I love visiting my family and friends who have known me since I was a girl. But it was really nice to get home to what is familiar and comfortable. In the end, my favorite place is with the people I love most :-)  \

Coming soon: 

Little Man's first Birthday

and

Mom's Night Out!

A "new" addition

Okay, okay. So our "new" addition is almost 6 months old. I am a horrible blogger, but that doesn't really matter anymore. In fact, blogging and being read by the masses doesn't really seem to matter much anymore. I miss writing for fun, and that's what I want to do more of.

We actually have two new additions to our family. The first arrived back in June. My adorable Little Man. He is my last baby (well, last planned baby :-P ).  He's been having some trouble gaining weight, and I have to admit....I'm jealous!!!!! We had to start feeding that little bottomless pit all day every day and night to get him to gain weight! The doctor said he probably has a very high metabolism.

Go figure.

Our second new addition arrived in July. She is a 14 year old gal that goes to our church and needed a place to live. She has been such a blessing and we love her to death. So we went right from being a family of 5 to a family of 6! I'll admit, I was a little unsure at first. I mean, I wasn't planning on dealing with dress codes, curfew, dating, and teenage sized attitudes for another 9 years! It took some time, but we are settling in. Having 4 kids is exhausting, but so much fun.

While my Little Man is struggling to get enough calories to put on a few pounds, Mommy is packing them on like a newborn calf! Because he was not thriving on mother's milk he is on formula w/cereal and solid foods. Not nursing has forced my calorie burn down, and I've gained a lot of weight all of a sudden.

Do you know that feeling you get when you realize you have gained weight,  but you don't want to admit to yourself that you are backsliding. I weighed myself 3 times before I finally realized that I can't live off my past success. I have to start from scratch. That took me a while to sink in. I need to start from scratch. Reevaluate, write new goals, make a new plan. Up til now I have kind of been depending on that old resolve to kick in at some point, but I know that isn't going to happen. Just because I lost 40 pounds 3 years ago, doesn't mean I'm going to automatically pick it back up now. This has to be a new starting point. A new start weight. A new resolve.

So that's where I am. And this is my little man now. Hopefully as he grows big and strong, Mommy will shrink small and strong!

Sweet potato soup

Okay, it took me a little while to get this exactly how I like it. I've made sweet potato soup several times, but this time it came out the best, and I'm recording it here so I can remember it!

I do apologize, but I don't really measure. I do a lot of things on the fly and by sight/taste. So, that being said, you will need to play with your own measurements. These are just estimates, not exact.

If you need evidence that this is good, I served it for lunch today to a 4 year old and two 2 year olds, and they all asked for seconds!

Ingredients: 

Splash of olive oil
1 onion: finely chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic

1 Teaspoon ground ginger (could also use fresh, but I cut a lot of corners)
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar


*3-4 sweet potatoes: skinned and chopped in small blocks.
**5-6 cups of chicken broth
Salt to taste


Directions:
1. In a sauce pan, heat Olive oil. Add onions and garlic and saute until onions are just barely brown and soft.
2. Wisk in Ginger and Brown Sugar. Allow it to cook for a minute or less.
3. Toss Sweet potato in with onion mix and let it cook for a few minutes.
4. Poor the chicken broth into the pan. Stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.
5.*** When sweet potatoes are completely soft, remove them from the heat and allow them to cool down for a bit. Once cool enough, puree in a blender or food processor. (You can use a hand mixer or hand blender, but I don't have one).


Tips:


*The smaller you chop the potatoes, the quicker they cook! Amazing how that works, isn't it!?

**You can sub the chicken broth for 5-6 cups of water and a few blocks of chicken bouillon.  If you use bouillon, boil the water and allow the bouillon to disolve before you add it in. Do NOT add tdon't add any salt at the end. 

***You don't want the soup to be too hot when you put it in the blender, or you may end up getting burned! If you are using a hand blender, you can go ahead and puree the soup while it is still hot.