Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

I went to dinner club tonight. The theme was comfort food and it was all so yummy. But, we all forgot our recipe's and decided our blog would be a great place to share. Thanks for the fun night out of the house. I made Martha Stewart's Macaroni and Cheese. It was very good, but not something I would make everyday. It was extremely filling and really expensive. OH, and it is a lot of work. Here we go

Macaroni and Cheese

8 T. butter
6 slices white bread, crusts removed, torn into 1/4 to 1/2" pieces
5 1/2 C milk
1/2 C flour
2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
4 1/2 C grated sharp white cheddar cheese
2 C grated Gruyere or 1 1/4 C grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb elbow macaroni

1. Heat the oven to 375. Butter a 3 qt. casserole dish and set aside. Place the bread pieces in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 T butter. Pour the butter in the bowl with the bread, and toss. Set the bread crumbs aside. Ina medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat the milk. Melt remaining 6 T butter in a high sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute. Man, Martha Stewart is wordy. The rest will be a condensed version

2. Pour the milk into the saucepan while whisking. Cook until mixture becomes thick.

3. Remove from heat and stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. 3 C cheddar
cheese, and 1 1/2 C gruyere cheese. Set cheese sauce aside

4. Cook macaroni according to pkg. instructions 2-3 minutes less. Until outside of pasta is cooked and inside is underdone. Rinse and drain well. Add to cheese mixture

5 Pour into a casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining cheddar and gruyere cheese. Scatter bread crumbs over the top. Bake about 30 minutes.

You Gotta Love It !!

Cooper always has something to say about everything, and he is never serious. Hey, that sounds just like Mark! Camden and Cooper decided that they were going to find a prize in the Cheerios box. They dumped out the cereal and found a coupon. Camden was bummed because it was a coupon. Cooper said " It's not a coupon--it's a ticket to Cheerio's Land where all your dreams come true!" If any of you know Cooper, it also ended with his crazy fake laugh. He definately is a character. Love ya Coop!

Camden lost another tooth!! Yeah for Camden!! Not so great for the tooth fairy. Camden lost his tooth on Valentine's Day at school. He came home with his tooth in a tooth necklace. When we got home we couldn't find the tooth. OH NO!! We were so sad. We thought maybe the tooth fairy would still bring Camden some money. Nope. Oh well. We found the tooth the next day and all was well. Camden put it under his pillow, so we thought all was safe. He went to check his tooth later that day to make sure it was still under his pillow and it was gone. He had opened his tooth necklace for the TF because he thought she was so small she wouldn't be able to get it open. He is so thoughtful. The tooth fell out of his necklace and fell under the bed. We could never find it. That has happened before- why didn't the tooth fairy leave any money? Maybe she had a very long weekend, maybe she kept forgetting. We weren't really sure what was going on? Finally Monday morning came and the Tooth Fairy gave Camden a whole dollar. Thank goodness, we were starting to worry she had lost her mind.
We are so glad they finally went to bed on time so the Tooth Fairy could leave money without anyone finding her. We were a lot happier too after a good night's sleep. :)

To My Husband

Mark I wanted you to know how much I admire you. I am so thankful that I have been able to spend my last ten years around you. I always tell you this, but I have to once again. Our family does not work without you. You keep us all together. Thank you for always making me laugh and for teaching me how to have real joy. I can't begin to explain how much more I love you today than the day we first met. I know that we have had some really difficult times, but we have managed to overcome everything. I can't wait for our next 10! Happy Valentine's Day

By the way-- you looked really good in your bow-tie!! I love you

Is It Good With Chopsticks?

Camden celebrated the Chinese New Year this past week at school. At snack time, they ate popcorn with chopsticks. Since then Camden has been eating everything with his chopsticks. He even ate a burrito with them after I cut them up in small pieces. Today he decided to eat grapes. I casually mentioned that we should eat some Chinese or Japanese food with them sometime soon. He thought that idea would be pretty cool, until I mentioned sushi. I asked him if he would try it for me. EWWW !! That was certainly expected, but his next response I will never forget. "Is it good with chopsticks?" You tell me-Do chopsticks make sushi taste better?

Today Riley and I were so lucky to be able to go to President Hinckley's funeral with my Mom and Dad. I was able to learn a little bit more about him today that reaffirmed to me how great a man he really is. I can't even begin to imagine the reunion in Heaven. When his daughter talked about his sorrow and grief he has felt with his wife's passing and his strength he has had to put on his shoes and go to work, made my life seem so easy. Funeral's are so exhausting, yet they are a beautiful time of reflection. I know I have vowed to make my life better from today on. I am so thankful for his wonderful example, his humor, and his testimony.