the REAL DEAL mac and cheese

Hi Friends!!!

1) Hope you all had a fab Thanksgiving.  Kate, I forgot to tell you: I'm thankful for you.  I don't know what I'd do in this life without you!!!

2) So sorry we have neglected our sweet little blog.  Please forgive us.

3) Remember that "creamy" mac and cheese I posted a few weeks back?  FUH-GET-ABOUT-IT.  I mean, yes, it's tasty, but ya'll.  YA'LL.  You have GOT to- I mean GOT TO- make this right here make and cheese.  Here's what Kate and I analyzed after we both made the last kind: mac and cheese is just one of those things that was meant to be unhealthy.  So while there are some perfectly yummy recipes that are "healthy" versions of mac and cheese, those recipes do not yield the rich creaminess that this recipe yields.  It's a replica of the mac and cheese at Panera and if you've ever had their mac and cheese, well then, you know creamy.  I promise you, after trying this version, you WON'T GO BACK.  I was SHOCKED to be making a bechemel sauce in the microwave- but I don't know that I'll ever go back to the stove after how creamy and perfect this bechemel turned out.  Here were the changes I made to the recipe:

-used 2 cups whole milk instead of whatever he said
-omitted the American cheese
-added parmesan

Your husband, kids, wife, uncle, grandpa, grandmother, second cousin, best friend, aquiantence, WHOEVER, will thank you.

M

Friends and Fennel Seed

Last Sunday morning I had breakfast with my dear friend, Brynn, and her sweet husband, Tom. Brynn and I went to college together and were in the same sorority. Now she lives an hour and half away so I get to see her occasionally. Last weekend, Anthony and I were at a retreat and Brynn babysat my darling dogs (for that I am forever grateful). I'm afraid my ill-behaved pets may have had a bad influence on her new puppy, because she says that Waffles thinks he's a "wild dog" now.

Now, something you should know about Brynn: she has impeccable taste. She served me french-press coffee out of her beautiful blue china tea cups and toasted dill bread that she made herself.

Coffee, blue china, dill bread, and beloved friends.... You probably have stuff like that in Heaven.

I loved the bread so much that I came home and made it the next day. I substituted the dill seed for fennel seed to give it a little international flare. I also used half whole-wheat flour and half all-purpose flour, because I'm a health freak. The bread is kept moist by creamy, delicious cottage cheese and is a bit of a time commitment, as most good breads are. Let me tell you, it is well-worth the wait.

It's the Pioneer Woman's recipe. You can find it here. Make it and share with friends that you love and miss.

A weeknight fav.

Guys, Kate and I were just discussing today how we have yet to post one of the easiest, most delicious recipes we keep in our repertoire of recipes.  It's this broccoli and peanut stir fry.  Most people have peanut butter laying around and peanuts from something or the other (or maybe you buy mixed nuts but eat AROUND the peanuts so now you have a bunch of peanuts left over- or is that just me?).  Well if that's the case, then you're half way there.  Change up the vegetables if you don't have broccoli or you don't care for red pepper.  Either way, try this dish- you won't be sorry because it's cheap, easy, and DELICIOUS.  All you college kids out there (Hi Mal, Robin, Julia and Elle!), THIS is what you want to be making!

M and K

homemade laundry soap

My friend Jenni has introduced me to all kinds of wonderful new things (she's the one I accredit the homemade yogurt to) and one of these new wonderful things is homemade laundry soap.  Did I mention that all of the wonderful new things Jenni has taught me are all incredibly cost effective?  I just spent the last 20 minutes doing the math on this.  It is quite literally the most revolutionary thing ever.  EVER.  You can do the math on your own because me trying to explain it will send your mind into stress.  It sent mine into stress, but basically here's what you need to know: It will cost you about $8 to buy all the products you need and it will yield you 192 loads- 192 PEOPLE!  So, if you do 3 loads a week, you'll have 64 weeks of laundry soap!  ALL FOR UNDER $10!!!!  Have your minds registered with this fact: that's over a YEAR'S worth of laundry soap!!! for around $8!!!! 

I just can't contain my excitement.  Scott Mayo, I am saving us SO much money!  If a regular detergent that yields 64 loads is around $5, you might buy detergents once a month, so that's $60 over a year for laundry detergent- and that's if you are doing a minimal amount of laundry!  This recipe saves you at LEAST $50 and MORE if you are doing lots of laundry!


here is the recipe for homemade laundry soap.

This is someone else's website and ingeniousness- Jenni introduced me to the site she uses- this is not her original idea!  

Grammy and JoJo, I realize that this method has been around for a long time, but apparently it's the new trend to do things the old school way :)  And for those of you on a budget like myself, old school is budget school!

M

here's what I've learned

....since this blog is supposed to be dedicated to life lessons, as well.

When it comes to baking (my secondary skill to cooking although this lesson CERTAINLY applies to some of my cooking), it normally takes me at least 2 times to make something before I have perfected it.  I should remember this before I make NEW desserts when going to someone's house!!!  This is NOT the first time it has happened.  I need to stick with making a dessert that is FOOL proof and is always delicious.  Where is this coming from?  Oh I'll tell you.  I am making Salted Caramel Shortbread and I was doing an EXCELLENT job of keeping an eye on the caramel, stirring it constantly (because if you'll remember back to a couple months ago, I didn't do that on my several attempts to make that Wolfgang Puck caramel and it ended up black as asphalt in the sink) yet STILL- there are suddenly brown specks I see in my beautiful caramel.  That dadgom sugar had "crystalized" (so I'm calling it) at the bottom of the pot because I didn't incorporate the ingredients properly before putting it over the heat.  So, now I've got a lovely caramel with a slight burned flavor because of those minor burned pieces.  Fabulous.

Ya live and learn, people, ya live and learn.

M

creamy and tangy tomato basil soup

 ...and "life changing" apparently, according to my friend in whose honor I am posting this recipe, Melissa Gunter. 

Serves approximately 4

You'll need:

-1-2 tablespoons of olive oil
-1 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes (I used 'Contadina' but would have used San Marzanos if I had them)
-4-5 cloves of garlic
-1 yellow onion (medium sized) chopped
-fresh parsley (a small bunch)
-fresh thyme (" ")
-1 bay leaf
-1 teaspoon of dried oregano (I'm pretty sure I used this- if not, it won't hurt anything to add to your version)
-handful of beautiful, fresh basil (I used the last batch of my potted stuff- It wasn't uber abundant but still made a delicious soup so just use what you have.  Melissa, go to the store in the fresh produce area to accumulate all of these fresh herbs. They've gotta be fresh)
-3 tablespoons (or so) of freshly grated parmesan
-red wine (if you have it, if not just omit)
-1/2 cup chicken stock (or more if needed- I'm just estimating here)
-1/2 cup milk or use however much you want until you achieve the desired pink-ish color (I had some evaporated milk left over with some 1%....I feel like the evaporated milk added to the creaminess of the soup, but I could be making that up)
-special need: kitchen twine.  the butcher can hook you up with this but some big grocery stores sell this

What you do:
-heat your olive oil in a stock pot over medium heat and sautee your onions and garlic, adding a pinch of salt
-using kitchen twine, tie your parsley, thyme, and bay leaf together and add to the stock pot
-sprinkle in your oregano (if using)
-once you have some color on your onions and they are translucent, de-glaze your pot with a splash of red wine
-allow that to reduce down for a couple minutes (again, skip this step if you don't have red wine)
-add your can of tomatoes, and another big pinch of salt (according to Ina, tomatoes take in A LOT of salt)
-add your chicken or vegetable stock and bring this up to a boil, then turn it back down to a simmer
-I probably let it simmer for close to 30 minutes or so, but you could go longer if you put the heat on reallll low
-grate your parm into the soup and stir, then taste for seasonings
-put your soup in a blender and add the basil
-heat your milk up in the microwave for 30 seconds to get it to room temp (my dear friend Jenni reminded me of this VERY important step so that the milk doesn't curdle! Or any dairy products you cook with, for that matter)
-add the milk to the soup in the blender and blend away, adding the amount of milk you want until the soup looks like the color you want it to (could that have been a longer sentence?)

***some notes: you could add so much variation to this soup, such as sauteeing carrots with the garlic and onion, adding red pepper flakes, using white wine, or even balsamic vinegar to deglaze....etc.  

(Sorry friends, by the time I remembered to take a photo, I had eaten half of it.  It was so tangy and scrumptious I'm surprised I even remembered to take a pic!)

You're gonna need to make a grilled cheese with this to dip.  It's actually mandatory.

on a side note, the next soup I will be making I had last night at my friend Megan's house- she made Giada's white bean soup (I think that's what it's called?) and HOLY AMAZING was it good.  I never thought white bean soup could taste so good.  And Megan had it PERFECTLY, I mean PERFECTLY, seasoned...so much so that I secretly envied her perfect seasoning skills (as my hand has been a little heavy with salt lately...trying to work on it).  Also, she made another Giada dish (didn't catch the name) but it was packed with delicious things and good things FOR you (lots of great veg!)- it was the perfect "having guests" menu. Thanks again for having me, Megan!!!