Mac and Cheese-not quite like Noodles and Company

We love Noodles and Company's Wisconsin Mac and Cheese! It is creamy and has just the right amount of cheesy goodness :) Due to me not having a job and trying to save money to someday buy a house, we've been limiting going out to eat.  Last week I was craving mac and cheese, and the powdered cheese mix just couldn't cut it.  I googled Noodles and Company's Mac and Cheese recipe and I found some that claimed they were similar.  Trying to go off of memory and the recipes we found, we ended up with a slightly cheesier and thicker version but it still satisfied my craving. I have some ideas on how to adjust it to make it closer to the coveted Mac and Cheese from Noodles and Company, but until I feel the need to experiment this version will suffice :)

Close to but not quite-Noodles and Company's Mac and Cheese

• 1 1/3 Cups Elbow Macaroni
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup low-fat milk
• 3/4 cup canned vegetable broth
• 1 1/2 cups (packed) Colby Jack Cheese

Cook macaroni in medium saucepan of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain.

Melt butter in medium saucepan.  Add flour butter; whisk over medium heat 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and broth. Bring to boil, whisking constantly. Whisk 2 minutes longer. Remove from heat. Add cheese; stir until melted.   Mix macaroni with cheese sauce and serve

* I dumped the macaroni and cheese into a glass pie dish, and sprinkled bread crumbs on top.  Then placed it under the broiler until the crumbs were golden brown.  It added a little crunch to it.

~Bobbi

Timing-Pumpkin Patch

There is a season for everything!  I've heard that phrase or one like unto it over and over again.  I've applied it to my life numerous times, through the heartache of dating (yeah it sucked), the tedious amounts of school work, struggling to make financial obligations, the stifling heat of my kitchen and just wanting to PLAN my life.  Is it so wrong that I want to plan?  Well I've decided lately that I need to let some things go, but others I can plan away.  So as crazy as it may appear I'm not waiting for Fall to officially begin to start to decorate :)  This is one area where I can take CONTROL and put up pumpkins, witches hats, and SPOOKY letters wherever I please. 

Here's what I've made and put up this week:

 Now I wish I could take credit for this cuteness but like most things I get the idea from someone else and then modify it to fit my style.  Maria from You Craft Me Up is the creative genius that owns this one. Check out her blog for instructions on how you make your own.  I decided to stain mine and I lined the pumpkins up-mainly because they were made at the cabin and had to travel home with me and they were less likely to get damaged this way :)

Thanks ~ Bobbi

I'm linking up to these great parties:Metamorphosis Monday, Making Monday's Marvelous, Just Something I Whipped Up, Get Your Craft On, Tip Junkie, Home Stories A to Z

Creamy Lemon Soup

I know it sounds weird, I was skeptical at first too, but I decided what the heck I'll try it.  I had all of the ingredients and when I asked my husband what he wanted for lunch he said soup and a sandwich.  The sandwich part was easy, but I was stumped on the soup.  All I could come up with was something from a can and I really wanted something fresh, light and simple.  I browsed through some websites and I came to 50 soups from the Food Network.  I looked through the site and found only 1-2 that I had all of the ingredients for (I really need to go shopping), and since my husband loves anything with lemon I figured I'd be brave and try it out.  I'm so glad I did it was DELICIOUS and filling.  I never knew that eggs can make a soup light and creamy without giving it an eggy taste (is eggy a word?) plus a great way to add some protein.  This is my new 'go to' soup, whenever I need a quick easy meal.

Lemon-Egg Soup 

slightly adapted, originally from The Food Network

• 1/2 C Orzo pasta (recipe calls for Pastina-but I only had orzo)
• 6 C Water
• 6 Bouillon Cubes
• 3 TBSP Lemon Juice

Boil Water, Bouillon Cubes and Lemon Juice.  Add Orzo pasta and cook until done.

•  2 Eggs
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 3 TBSP Lemon Juice

While Orzo is cooking  beat eggs, egg yolks and 3 tablespoons lemon juice together. Whisk in a little hot broth, then stir the mixture into the soup. Cook over low heat until thick.   I added a little pepper to mine before eating, but my husband liked his plan.

Makes 5 servings and approximately 200 calories per serving.

Spoooooky!!!

I LOVE this time of year, and yes I may be a little over anxious but I have already started making fall/Halloween decorations.

Please excuse my pictures- my camera is on the fritz so I had to use my Iphone-I promise I'll add better ones soon!

I bought these letters and the eyes at a local store called The Wood Connection.  If you haven't checked out their blog-DO IT!  I went in there a few weeks ago and I just stared at all the fun projects they have.  I'm gonna need to find a job quick in order to pay for them :)  I'm working on a few more that I'll show within the next few weeks!

Thanks, Bobbi

Cheesy Italian-Style Meatloaf

I stopped by the Our Best Bites cooking blog today, and came across this recent post "Rockin' Italian-Style Meatloaf".  So excited because I've been craving meatloaf for a few weeks now.  I was further in love with this recipe when I realized it was adapted from the Next Food Network Star Contestant Mary Beth Albright.  My husband and I LOVE watching this show (I probably like it more than he does-but he's great to watch it with me) and I've been dying to try some of the recipes.  Since Our Best Bites loved this meatloaf, it was a hit on the Next Food Network Star and I had all the ingredients, I figured it was a match made in meatloaf heaven! 

I've adapted it a little to fit our tastes so check out Our Best Bites for their version and Mary Beth Albright's version here.

 Cheesy Italian-Inspired Meatloaf

Adapted from Mary Beth Albright and Our Best Bites

my additions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a sheet pan with tin foil.

Mix the following ingredients in a sauce pan over low heat. Stir occasionally

• 1 c. ketchup
• 1 c. barbecue sauce (Use your favorite)
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. mustard
• 1 TSP Worcestershire Sauce

Add 1 TBSP olive oil to sauce pan and add the onion and garlic.  Cook until translucent. Then add parsley, basil, tomato paste, salt and pepper.  Cook for approximately 1 minute, stirring constantly then remove from heat and set aside.

• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley
• 1/3 c. chopped fresh basil
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Mix and set aside

• 1 c. buttermilk
• 1/3 c. panko bread crumbs (I used Italian style bread crumbs)

 Mix beef with the onion, garlic, tomato paste and herb mixture. Once combined add Parmesan Cheese, and buttermilk mixture.

• 2 lbs  ground beef and/or pork (I like the taste of just beef, but you can add pork if desired)
• 1/2 C parmesan cheese

Dump meat mixture onto a clean surface and flatten out into a rectangle.  Layer cheese down the middle of the meat and then roll the meat into a loaf (the cheese should be on the inside of the loaf). Place the meatloaf on the prepared pan and top with 1/2 of the barbeque sauce mixture. 

Cook for approximately 45-50 minutes.  Once cooked remove from the oven and brush with the leftover glaze.  Let the meatloaf cool for 5 minutes then serve.  

I hope you all enjoy this cheesy version of Italian Meatloaf.

~Bobbi

Simple Baby Headband

Have you ever noticed that everything baby is SOOO much cuter?  Well I have and I know this is my second baby headband post, but when you have an adorable little niece like this- can you really blame me? She's making me a little baby hungry and since someday I'm hoping to have a cute little girl of my own, I figure there's nothing wrong with practicing bow making now!

I LOVE all the flowers and bows that little girls have in their hair, but my sister tends to like things a little more simpler. Plus this little miss has such an adorable face that it would be a shame to take away from that chubby cuteness with a big extravagant bows (don't get me wrong she does wear them and they look adorable but sometimes simple is better).   I had some elastic that I've been meaning to turn into headbands so I figured I would experiment and see if I could come up with a simple bow headband.  The turquoise bow you see in the picture above is what I came up with, and just because she is soooo cute here's another picture.

 Now I can't help you get a baby this cute, but I can show you how I made the headband.  You won't believe how easy it is.

Easy Bow Headband

What you need:

• Elastic (you can buy good headband elastic on etsy)
• Glue Gun
• Scissors
• Ruler

Step 1: Determine what size headband you need and draw a line on the elastic.  Here's a quick headband sizing guide

• Newborn ~ 12 inches
• 0-6 months~ 13 inches
• 6-12 months~14 inches
• 12-18 months ~15 inches
• 18-24 months ~16 inches

You can also measure the baby's head and then minus 1/2 inch.  I marked my elastic at 12.5 inches.  Once you've made a mark, add 4 inches and then cut.  For example my elastic totaled 16.5 inches long.  

Step 2: Now cut a 2 inch piece of elastic. 

Step 3: Heat up your hot glue gun.  With your long strip of elastic, find the mark you made for the actual headband size.  Mine was at 12.5 inches.  Put a small dot of glue onto the mark and then glue down the long end of the elastic, creating the actual headband.  My elastic had a shiny and a dull side, if this is the case make sure the shiny side is facing out.

Step 4:  Now that the headband portion is done, it is time to create the bow.  Create another circle with the extra four inches, by gluing the end of the elastic to the joint of the headband. Your headband should look like this.

Step 5: Apply a small dot of glue to the joint of the small loop and push the top middle of the loop into the glue to create the bow.

Step 6: Wrap the center of the bow with the 2 inch strip of elastic. To do this glue the center of the 2 inch elastic to the middle of the bow, wrap around to the back and glue both ends.

That's it- now you have a simple little bow to put on any cute chubby face.

I hope you enjoy this tutorial.  Let me know if you have any questions, or if my tutorial doesn't make sense:

Thanks~ Bobbi

I'm linking up to these great parties:Metamorphosis Monday, Making Monday's Marvelous, Just Something I Whipped Up, Get Your Craft On, Tip Junkie, Home Stories A to Z

Grilled Cheese and Caramelized Onion Sandwich

Fall is in the air and although I’m not quite ready to give up on summer yet, there is one thing I’m excited about-SOUP SEASON. When the air turns crisp and cool there is nothing better than to cuddle up with some freshly made soup. One of my favorites is Tomato Basil Soup, if you have a good recipe this is heaven on earth!  There is only one thing that could possible be better than tomato soup, tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  So in order to prepare for the upcoming season here is an easy and slightly grownup version of grilled cheese.

Grilled Cheese and Caramelized Onion Sandwich

• Sprouted Wheat Bread or whatever kind you have on hand
• Butter (approx 3 TBSP)
• Provolone Cheese (anykind works-you could get fancy with Gruyere or go original with Chedder)
• 1-2 Medium Sized Onions (Depends on how much you love onions, Nathan and I love them so we used about 1/2 an onion per sandwich)

Heat a skillet with approx. 2 TBSP of butter, over medium heat until butter is melted.  Thinly slice onions and add to the skillet. Stir often until golden brown (mmmm-my mouth is watering).  Remove from pan.

Butter the front and back of the bread. Add one slice of provolone to each slice then add the caramelized onions to one side.   Top the onions with a slice of bread and cheese.   

Then place the sandwich on the skillet (you can use the same skillet you made the onions in-you may need to add some cooking spray).  Cook until cheese is melted and bread toasted.  Now cut and look how pretty the golden onions look in all that melted goodness.  

All that is left to do is to enjoy with or without soup!  I'm still looking for the best Tomato Soup recipe if anyone has one and would like to share -it would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Labor Day!

~Bobbi   Linked up to these great parties Sassy Sites, I’m Lovin’ It, Frugal Friday,