Macaroni and Cheese

I've been naughty. I let a small craving turn into something of a full blown GIVE IT TO ME NOW AND NOBODY GETS HURT yesterday. Phew. Ok. I'm better now that I was able to fulfill the urge yesterday.

Homemade macaroni and cheese is much different from the stuff you get in a box. It takes a few more minutes to make than just ripping open the orange cheese packet and dumping it on the noodles with some milk and butter. I'm also not talking about the cut up some processed cheese log into chunks and melt with some milk and noodles and call that macaroni and cheese. (lots of "ands" being thrown around today!)

My version of mac n cheese is a base roux with milk, shredded cheese, salt, pepper, and noodles. I tend to use a Mexican cheese blend of cheeses that are found in the bagged cheese aisle of your store. Feel free to use cheddar or really, any type of cheese that melts well.

Note: as in all my recipes I use real butter. I have no clue how a margarine would hold up.


Macaroni and Cheese

2 tabl butter
1/4 cup of flour
2 cups shredded cheese
2 cups milk
1/2lb cooked noodles
salt, pepper


Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and whisk to a smooth paste. Cook for a minute or two over the heat. Whisking constantly with one hand, pour in the milk in a slow steady stream so that no lumps form. It will start to thicken pretty much immediately on the heat. If it gets really thick add more milk 1/4 cup at a time to thin it out a little. You want a nice thick mix. Think a little thinner than yogurt but not as thick as sour cream. Taste the sauce for seasoning. Turn off the heat and then stir in the cheese. Sitr well to melt.

Add in the noodles and you can either eat from here or if you choose to, bake at 425 till the tops is golden brown. Whatever way makes you happy.

Peppermint Mocha's

I bet ya'll thought I wasn't going to post today seeing as it's ohhhhh 8pm and everything. Oh what forgoing dishes in the sink, the mopping of the floors, and putting away the laundry that has been patiently waiting since yesterday night for sitting on the couch with the husband, a drink, and a cute sleeping baby will do to a person. Be lazy? What? Noooo not at all!

Anywho there are two ways to make these; the alcoholic way or the non alcoholic way. I suggest if you want to do it the alcoholic way you get a bottle of peppermint schnapps. If you want to go the non alcoholic way then I would buy a bottle of peppermint syrup. Which, ironically, can be easily found at Liquor Barn here in town. (ha!)

I can't give you recipe specifics as there are about 15 different size coffee mugs out there so I will tell you how to eyeball this.

1.) Brew some STRONG coffee. Like I'm talking 1.5 scoops to every cup. Don't use cheap coffee either, I mean you could if you wanted to.. but the end result is not going to be as delicious. I love Larry's Beans coffee, but I know it s a little pricey. Use what you want :)

2.) In a saucepan heat up some milk. This works with all but skim, skim doesn't have enough milk fat to foam correctly. With a whisk or a pair of beaters OR a whisk attachment for your beaters, beat the milk until it foams.

3.) In your coffee mug pour in enough chocolate syrup to coat the bottom of the cup.

4.) On top of this pour 1-1.5 oz of peppermint syrup of your choice

5.) Fill 3/4's of the way with coffee

6.) Pour in the milk

Now sip and enjoy this delicious treat.

Pumpkin Muffins

I have a goal to update this every day this week. Lofty and huge I know, but I will attempt and try to do my best.

I really wanted some pumpkin something for breakfast yesterday and started searching. I came across this recipe and decided that with all the good reviews it got that it might be worth a try. This recipe has been cross posted all over different blogs and here it is again on mine.

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2012/09/07/pumpkin-doughnuts-baked-to-perfection/

1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups pumpkin purée (canned pumpkin)
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, or 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon plus a heaping 1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg and ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

Just mix it all up in a bowl and then since I made these into muffins, they fit into a standard 12 cup muffin pan. Baked for 30 minutes at 350F.

Once done, I made a glaze to go over them, figured, hell, its a donut kinda right?

2 cups powdered sugar
1 tabl butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teas vanilla

Just mix it all up in a bowl and make sure its thick and then spoon over warm muffins. Will set in about 15 minutes or so. 

Enjoy!