homemade mac&cheese recipe

this was one of my FAVORITE dinners as a kid, although my mom now claims that she made it differently than the recipe she gave to me… I’ll try my best to make this recipe ‘usable’, but you’ll probably have to refer to my recipe disclaimer and accept my apologies, once again, for ambiguous measurements!

in case that won’t actually cut it for you, allow me to try and translate.

cook 2 cups of macaroni according to package directions. drain. put in 2.5 quart casserole dish or 9x13 pyrex dish. (I only use whole wheat pasta and actual elbow macaroni can be hard to find – although a friend recently alerted me that whole foods sells it. i use shells, rotini, bow ties, whatever the kids choose.)
in a separate bowl, combine 1 can of cream of something soup (I usually use celery), 1 can of milk (meaning you measure your milk in the soup can you just emptied), and several good shakes of the following spices: parsley, celery seed, onion powder, garlic powder, and basil. mix WELL with a whisk.
pour over cooked noodles.
cube cheese (I do this while the noodles are cooking). the amount of cheese is kind of hard to specify. i’ve been making this for years and I just kind of eyeball it. maybe about a cup? maybe a little more?
stir in cheese, making sure to get it well distributed throughout. this is also where I like to add some diced ham, if we’ve had it recently and have leftovers, but it’s just as good without it too.
sprinkle parmesan cheese and paprika over the top.
cover and bake at 350* for 30-40 minutes, until bubbly and all cheese is melted. remove cover for the last 5 minutes of baking.
allow to set for a few minutes before serving.

enjoy!

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week 47 in pictures

sunday: the MOMS club collected halloween candy to send off to deployed troops. we had to separate chocolate from non-chocolate candy and layla and micah were happy to help, especially since they got to skim a little off the top. monday: missing something? I opened the microwave and the vent cover came along with the door. tuesday:just a little wrestling before bed. wednesday: the atm gave me these totally weird $100 bills! thursday: book dominos. friday: ginger found a sun puddle in micah’s room. saturday: at ella’s birthday party. a couple of extras:

instafriday

it’s friday again!!! and that means: layla, still sick, but enjoying some brady bunch episodes in the recliner, with a cat, and a… tent? no idea. this warms my heart! checking out our family history via project life… circa 2007. LOVE! what I spent my sunday evening tackling: done! thank goodness. micah’s “hooked”! hahaha! a quick visit to the library. dinner: meatloaf, green beans, and very pretty roasted potatoes. I got this awesome little bundle at the store that had yukon golds, red, and purple potatoes. purple potatoes are SO fun! I tossed them with some olive oil, salt and pepper, thyme, oregano, a little rosemary, and a bunch of garlic! so yummy. the meatloaf was good, too! operation: pick out cheesy, cheapo valentines. yes, I live in yuppy-ville. if you call 1-888-dog-waste, you can PAY someone to scoop your dog poop for you.I wonder if shane knows about this… empty peanut butter jar = very happy dog. yes, that’s my 5 year old, excitedly tromping in to preschool with...

2017–week 14

sunday: i had some professional development classes to take for work, so i was chained to the computer for a good chunk of the day. this was my companion as i worked. monday: very odd day. there was a threat of violence at the high school, so pretty much most of the student body stayed home. shane was among those lobbying for a day at home, so to ensure it wasn’t just a day of fun and leisure, i made him a lengthy to-do list to keep him occupied. i think it worked out very well. ;) also monday: when i got home from work, i took bonez on the longest walk ever, because it was such a nice day. this is some of the awesome spring color we saw on our walk. wednesday: i was making white chicken chili for soup supper at church, and was tossing my cans into this bag for recycling. i seem to have attracted the local wildlife. saturday: school’s out for spring break, which means it’s time for my traditional school break to-do list. i make one for every break, and usually don’t get that much o...

meal plan monday

monday: chicken caesar salads; bread tuesday: bruschetta chicken ; salad wednesday: french dips; chips; carrot sticks thursday: hamburger helper; green beans friday: pizza and assorted other junk/health foods (for layla’s birthday party) saturday: this is layla’s birthday, and she mentioned wanting ribs, but since sunday is shane’s birthday, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to say ribs as well, we will have to figure out which one gets the ribs on their birthday… we may go out the other day, depending on what the birthday people decide. sunday: whatever we don’t do on saturday. it’s still in the 80’s and 90’s this week, so I’m trying to avoid stuff that requires the oven to be one for an hour in the evenings, and nobody wants to eat soup when it’s hot out (well, I would, but nobody else).

week 10 in pictures

monday: micah’s favorite food in the whole wide world… tuesday: his new favorite passtime… setting up soccer cones in ‘roads’ that he then ride through. thursday: earning their keep! actually, the just wanted to help me clean so I gave them rags and a bottle of windex. also thursday: at book club, ingrid telling her famous “making meatballs with the kids” story. friday: a sunny afternoon MOMS Club park playdate. micah got hungry and wanted to leave, so his friend was kind enough to offer him some of her lunch to keep him there a little while longer. also friday: layla at a pj party with the birthday girl. saturday: a dry, sunny saturday meant the first mow of the season followed by fertilizer application! just one skinny this week… micah was ‘on the ball’ at target. yes, that’s a plastic axe stuffed down the back of the shirt… pretty sure he’s a ninja. and some little squares I will collage to put in the book. book shots:

rachel's continued ramblings

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