Moving On

April is supposed to bring flowers BUT it started off with another snow event! The ground was covered. Today is it still cold. 11am and 24°!  

Last night while watching Life Below Zero° Next Generation, the fellow on the Brooks Range section said, "Life is movement. When you stop moving, you're dead!"

I try to keep moving. I push the Mister to keep moving. He is doing it with the walker and that is a very good  thing. I prefer to create in the kitchen and, believe me as I've aged, it's not simple now. However it does keep me moving! I have a hard time believing that, in the past, after coming home from a full day's work, I could throw together a macaroni-cheese casserole and have it ready to serve at 6pm. Yesterday I grated the two blocks of cheese and lined the pan with foil in the morning. Did the dishes. Early evening I cooked the macaroni and put together the dish and baked it for supper. Did the dishes. After the meal was thoroughly enjoyed, especially by the Mister, I packed up the remainder of the meal in 5 containers and stored it in the big freezer. Did the dishes. Let me tell you, this may be the last time I make this meal. The good news? Now we have an ample supply ready for a few more main entrees of dinners.

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Well, I haven't baked cookies for a while and the guilt is setting in. I already have chopped walnuts, golden raisins and oatmeal, brown sugar, eggs, butter - - What do you think?

 

Picture Story

Last night as it was snowing.

 Mac Cheese!

This Morning...

Except for the cold,

he enjoys his snow-blowing activity!

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MAC CHEESE SPECIAL

I posted the recipe for the way I make this just recently — in fact on January 14, 2018! Well here we go again! REALLY GOOD STUFF! The link with the recipe is at the bottom of this page. The pictures below are from last night. Yes, we do love our mac cheese dinners. Left overs are stored in three one-meal-for-two containers and frozen for another time.

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LINK to my recipe

Mac Cheese Special

Recipe first - Not as hard as it looks! I DO NOT make a cheese roux.

Old Fashioned Baked Macaroni & Cheese

You Will Need:

9 inch X 13 inch Pan

Heavy Duty Foil

Pam No-Stick Cooking Spray

1 - 10 oz. block EXTRA Sharp Yellow Cheddar Cheese 

1 - 10 oz. block EXTRA Sharp White Cheddar Cheese

(Preferably Helluva Good Cheese Brand or Cracker Barrel or Cooper)

1 - Box (16 oz.) Elbow Macaroni (Preferably Mueller’s or Barilla Brand)

1/2 Stick BUTTER (Preferably Keller’s Brand)

1 Cup Italian Style Bread Crumbs (Preferably Progresso Brand)

Parmesan & Romano 100% Grated Cheese (Preferably Kraft Brand)

Black Pepper (Preferably McCormick Brand)

5 Cups WHOLE Milk

Line pan with foil and spray with Pam. “Release” brand foil may be used instead of Pam (double lined pan).

Hand grate yellow cheese into bowl and put in freezer until ready to use. (Or use food processor to grate, more cleanup, though.)

Hand grate white cheese into another bowl and put in freezer too.

(Put a dash of canola oil in the water before cooking)

Cook macaroni at full rolling boil for 11 minutes. Do not salt. Drain.

Dump 1/2 of the macaroni into pan and spread around evenly.

With hand, sprinkle yellow cheese over macaroni.

Dump remainder of the macaroni evenly over the yellow cheese.

With hand, sprinkle white cheese over macaroni.

Generously sprinkle black pepper over all.

Evenly cover all with bread crumbs.

Generously sprinkle Parmesan & Romano cheese over all.

Cut butter into pats and place pats in two rows over top of all.

VERY GENTLY - pour 4 cups of milk along sides of pan.

Tilt pan forward and backward and left to right to make milk flow inside macaroni

Preheat oven to 350º

Bake one hour at 350º. After 1/2 hour do the “tilt” procedure again.

If dry, pour one cup milk over all.

It is done (approximately another 1/2 hour) when no milk can be seen as liquid.

Cool about 10 minutes before serving. Leftovers may be frozen.

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Do you know that baking is a national pastime? I read that somewhere.