What's For Lunch????

Good Evening Internet Friends!

It is that time of year when I start to dread lunches, and my son starts to open the lunch containers and look into them with trepidation.  On Friday I got the stink eye look at the sandwich in the container.

Time to take it up a notch then I guess.  Yesterday evening I decided that I would make macaroni and cheese for him for lunch today.  Now of course before there are any gasps about me losing my senses, no I am not referring to the kind from a box.  I am talking about:

So YUMMY!!!

How did I make this you ask????   Well, let me tell you:

1 lb of dried macaroni cooked until Al dente 

While cooking the pasta get a second sauce pan out and cook together:

1/4 cup non hydrogenated margarine and 

1/4 cup flour

Once a paste has formed carefully add:

1 can evaporated milk

1 cup milk

1 can cheddar cheese soup

3 - 4 cups of grated cheddar cheeses (I used what was in the bottom of my refrigerator)

1 tsp mustard powder

1 tsp garlic powder

Mix until all smooth over low heat then stir in Al dente pasta.

Pour into a lightly buttered baking dish and top with 1'4 bag of crushed cheese crackers.

Bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Good Friday

Good Evening Internet Friends.

I hope that everyone had a Good Friday.  Today of course was a stay at home day since it is a holiday.  

Yesterday my son and I went to Crock a Doodle and while en route there we went through a blowing snow across the highway kind of storm and then had hail on the way home!  I went to yoga yesterday evening and when I was leaving this was the parking lot:

More SNOW!!!!

My craft for today is actually a card that I made for my student RN.  Last Friday was her last day with me as she moves on to her final practicum.  It was a pleasure to have her and so along with a scarf I knit for her as well I made a quick card from one of the Paper Pumpkin kits that I have sitting in my craft room:

Part of my plan over Spring Break was to get caught up on some of these kits.  However, I found out yesterday that I am all out of glue runner!!!!

  Not sure how that happened, but since I recently had to place my end of quarter Stampin' Up order which included lots of glue runner to keep my hobby demo status current, I will have to wait on completing these projects because I refuse to buy glue!

After lunch my son and I went to the local park to play.  We did not stay as long as planned as it was  still cold out there.

When we got back home we baked a batch of Cheddar biscuits to go along with dinner which of course is fish on Friday:

I poached the salmon and then topped it with my all new favorite product; Pineapple & Habanero Sauce.

I seriously LOVE this stuff and have been putting it on, and in everything this week.

Since it is Good Friday I will close this post with my all time favorite version of  the Old Rugged Cross.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

  

What's For Dinner?

Macaroni and Cheese!

Got home this evening after work and of course the dilemma of what to make for dinner ensued.

I finally decided to make Macaroni and Cheese:

Here is how I made this awesome dish:

- boil 8 ozs of macaroni with 1 tablespoon oil just til soft, drain and add to cheese sauce

Cheese Sauce:

 - in a medium sized sauce pain on medium heat add 4 tablespoons butter and 4 tablespoons all purpose flour and whisk together (it will form a ball)

- add to the flour and butter:

- 1 cup cream 

- 1 cup water and bring to a boil stirring constantly for about 10 minutes (I used water and cream because I was almost out of milk)

- then add one package of Boursin Cheese and 2 cups of shredded cheese (I use which ever hard cheese is in the refrigerator), bring to a boil and stir constantly for another 5 minutes

- add salt and pepper to taste

- fold in macaroni

- transfer to buttered casserole dish

-top with buttered bread crumbs and bake for 25 minutes at 350F

Enjoy!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Dinner? Summer Vacation Day 60!

Today was a Day of Random for my son and I.

We started out having a plan for the day, but so many things got in our way that we will try again tomorrow.

We went for lunch at The Dish Bistro as I still had some coupons for there.

Then we went to Cookie Love.  Of course we got a bag of cookies, but we also got made just for us Ice Cream Sandwiches.  Ice cream sandwiches this good deserved a park, so we walked over quickly to Paul Kane Park.  It is such a pretty little park in the middle of the city.

A quick stop at the shoe store and day was over.

Hmmmmm, now what about dinner.

My dietitian colleague gave me a spaghetti squash last week, so that seemed like the start for dinner.

Here is what I ended up with:

The squash was cut in half and the seeds cleaned out then rubbed with Chipotle flavored Olive Oil (Evoolution Edmonton).

Baked at 350F for about a half hour.

The squash was then stuffed with sauteed:

* Textured Vegetable Protein (now found at Bulk Barn)

* onions

* yellow pepper

* fresh mushrooms

* frozen niblet corn

* can of tomato sauce

I topped both halves of the squash with mozzarella cheese and fried onions and baked until the cheese had melted.

Yummy!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Step 7 D; Summer Vacation Day 32!

Good Evening Internet Friends.

After a bike ride with my son this evening I worked some on my Mi Vida Loca Quilt:

It's sort of overwhelming to realize how much musical themed fabric I have squirreled away in my craft room ; )

On an entertaining note, (for lack of a better word) today was Day 1 of my 7 day without milk project to see if I can isolate my allergies.  So far I have learned that Soy Milk is disgusting, Soy Yogurt is down right terrible, and Vegan Cheese is the WORST!!!!  I miss cheese already...

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Dinner???

Well, tonight that was actually an easy question to answer.

A few weeks ago while my son was at art class and it was raining so I did not take my usual walk, I stopped in at London Drugs and checked out the magazines.

I found one entitled Fix It and Forget It One Pot Magic.  Most of the recipes are for the slow cooker a "bonus" in my world. 

This morning I put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and when we got home this evening I made a green salad to go along with:

Noodle Hamburger Bake (I used ground chicken).

It was great and we have left overs!!!!  Bonus.

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

What's For Dinner???

Week nights are always hectic around our house.  By the time my son and I get home from work, school, and various extracurricular activities, it is dinner time.

Sometimes, I am organized and have a casserole left over from the weekend, or the slow cooker going, but sometimes, it is a fly by the seat of our pants ordeal.

I stumbled across this idea recently, however, since I did not have most of the ingredients (gourmet), this is my version of it:

Plus, I get to use my FANTASTIC, Made in Canada 28 cm Paderno Nature Trust Fry Pan.  I LOVE this fry pan!!

Okay, so what's in there:

1/2 Smoked Turkey Sausage

1/2 tbsp olive oil

- fry til sausage is brown, I added in some onions, mushrooms, and red pepper as well (what was in the crisper)

then add:

1 - 8 oz can tomato sauce, or diced tomatos (what ever you have)

2 cups water

1 cup dry pasta (I had macaroni)

- heat to boiling, and allow liquid to cook out,

- add to mixture 1/2 cup cheese and stir through, and then since I LOVE cheese, I add another 1/2 cup or so on top just before serving.

While this is cooking I make a green salad to go with it, and all food groups are accounted for in about 15 minutes!

Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy

Snowmageddon, Santa, Snowmageddon, Grilled Cheese

What a weekend!  Every year we (and I mean usually me) take our son to Christmas In the Rockies, because unlike the imposter Santa's at the malls, the REAL Santa comes to this event as my son tells everyone.  Every year the trip is an event.

Here is a picture of Stoney Trail Northwest at 2300 hours on Friday evening:

The parade on Saturday evening was awesome, and I have attached a picture of the official Banff SUV, (okay not really, this is a joke for us Western Canadians, NOT to be taken literally):

It is the Brewster Icefield Bus, and if you ever have the chance to go on it, you MUST.

Of course while in Canmore for the weekend we did some shopping at my favorite spots: Knit and Caboodle, Sugar Pine Quilt Company, Rocky Mountain Soap Company, and before we left this morning Le fournil Bakery, for a loaf of pain prairie.

Now for the journey home:

This is the Queen Elizabeth II Highway today at about 1400 hours at the Olds, Alberta, off ramp.  If you look closely you can see the sign as well as the car in front, of which there is a semi-tractor trailer in front of it (honest)!!!!

So after almost 7 hours of driving in my Go Go Go Toyota (should be a 4 hour trip at best), but with puking kid and road conditions it took much longer, I got home.

The craft of today is our dinner:

I used the pain prairie I had picked up earlier today, cheese, and the Strawberry Balsalmic Red Pepper Jelly, I got last weekend at Chartreuse Decor.  It was delicious!

Drive safe, and Hope this inspires your own creativity...

Kathy