Kid Friendly Friday - March 27 Macaroni & Cheese for Dinner

It's been an M and M sort of week for me.  That means a difficult week and I am treating it with chocolate in all forms.

My Hubby is out of town until tomorrow night, he's been gone since yesterday morning.  Not a long trip, but long enough when I would rather have him home. He was also gone Sunday, Monday and Tuesday evenings.  So he has not been here for dinners.  I do hate that!

I am glad I can say that I would rather have him home, it is another confirmation that my love for him is still strong.

Not that the above has anything to do with what I am now doing, I am going to change subjects.

I wanted to share what we did for dinner yesterday that may be tasty for you with younger children.

We made Macaroni and Cheese, a NEW recipe. (See photo from Jenny's site.  It tastes as good as it looks.  Thanks to Jenny for letting me use her photo.)

In our house when we say macaroni and cheese we mean Western Family boxed stuff.  (It is like Kraft but our regional brand, and I think it tastes better and it is less expensive.  But then I don't like boxed Mac and Cheese, so don't go by my opinion of it tasting better.  But my kids eat it without any qualms, and have been eating it for years and years.  Remember they are 11 and 13 yo.)

Anyway, our next is Grandmas Style.  "Hey, how about macaroni and cheese for dinner?" I ask.  "Grandmas style?" Angel replies.  And before I can answer her letting her know I have not decided what kind, I get, "no! not Grandmas style, regular please!" Pilot injects. 

'Grandmas style' is what I grew up on.  I love it, but it tends to make me sleepy and you will understand why if you continue to read.  We cook the macaroni and then drain it.  We put it back in the pan and pour milk over it to cover the macaroni.  Then we add grated cheese and stir.  Then we let it heat up until the cheese melts.  Then you bowl it up and it is more like a good warm running bowl of macaroni and cheese soup.

I guess the warm milk is the part that puts me to sleep.  So we don't make it often, for my sake.  It doesn't seem to help the kids get sleepy, though. Oh well, nothing helps teens and preteens get sleepy, except the sunlight in the morning-  "I'm too tired to get up! Give me 5 more minutes. I just so tired, etc." 

Now with this new recipe, we have a third option.  We are calling it Pirate Mac and Cheese.  I got the recipe from Jenny at  A Ship Full O'Pirates who has a Blog called Homemade and Wholesome, Our Family Cookbook.   The mac and cheese  turned out really good.  Although the little leftovers did not reheat well for me.  I ate it for breakfast this morning.

 This is what it looks like this morning after a night in the fridge! 

It really was good, It was full to the top of this casserole. 

It will be really good as a new casserole for dinner tonight or lunch tomorrow.

I have decided that if we do have leftovers next time, I will make a dinner casserole with it.  Like a tuna or chicken dish.  No problem, just add a can of meat, a can of cream of (mushroom, chicken or celery) soup, a can of green beans (unless you have precooked fresh) and heat that up.

Now, if I do have precooked chicken or pork, I would add that instead of a can of meat, unless I chose to do Tuna.  I don't usually make a batch of tuna for my freezer, I just go with cans for that.  But I do sometimes use mackerel instead of tuna, I think I heard it is healthier, can't remember.

Also, if I did not have so many cans of 'cream of ** soups', I would make my own 'cream of ** soup with veggies'.  That is easy, but I have not done it for a long time.  However, and Jenny will confirm, making your own is cheaper and far more healthy for your family.  Also watch the salt in the canned veggies.

I would also add fresh or a can of sliced mushrooms with juice and a can of green chiles, but I usually add these two things to almost everything I make, unless I am following a recipe!!  So after preparing this, I think know I will plan for leftovers in the future, so that I can make two different meals out of one.  That is simple, helpful and smart.

 So there you have it.  We now have 3 choices for Mac and Cheese.

1. Mac & Cheese from the box ~~~~  MOM ---- Yuck!   KIDS ----- Yum! (better with ketchup)
   
2. Grandmas Style~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ MOM ----- Yum!   KIDS ------ 1 Yum and 1 Yuck
3. Pirate Mac & Cheese ~~~~~~~~~ MOM ----  Yum    KIDS -------  Yum
   

 Dad pretty well eats everything and anything.  However, he has not been around for evening meal all that much over the last 3 years.  So maybe he will get a chance to input or better yet, maybe I will remember his input if he is around for more dinners.

Here is Jenny's recipe for  Home Made Macaroni and Cheese.



Have a great day!

Sharinskishe


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