Mac and cheese

I have a three year old who could live off of Kraft Mac and Cheese.  A while back, I stumbled across a blog called 100 days of real food (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/).  It's main purpose: to challenge people to remove processed, unhealthy food from their diets.  While I didn't jump in 100%, we did take some pointers and make some changes.  One of them was my son's beloved mac and cheese.  And you know what?  We can't stand the boxed stuff any more!!!!  This recipe is just as fast, just as easy, but it's real food!!  No powdered cheese for us.  (I even get block cheese and grate it fresh each time we make it.)

Here's the recipe:

• 1 – 1 ½ cups of dried whole-wheat macaroni noodles, boiled according to package directions
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup grated cheese (you can use any type of cheese…we usually use sharp cheddar or a mix of different cheeses works well too)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional topping: grated parmesan cheese or whole-wheat breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium heat.
2. Whisk in the flour and keep whisking for about 1 – 2 minutes until the roux (which is equal parts flour and butter or oil) starts to darken, but does not burn.
3. Turn the heat down to low and quickly whisk in the milk. Turn the heat back up to medium and keep whisking until the mixture starts to thicken and all lumps of flour are dissolved.
4. Stir in the grated cheese and once it melts mix in the cooked noodles. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Serve immediately and enjoy!

I make minor changes:  I normally do about 2 cups of noodles, we don't use whole wheat flour and I don't do the grated cheese or breadcrumbs on top.  (We aren't that fancy around here!!)  I've also found that the longer you head the flour/butter/milk mixture, the creamier it is.

We make this many times per week for lunch, and even threw it in for supper tonight, as it was a rush night with dance starting at 6.  It is definitely a family favorite, all 5 of us (6 with cousin Hannah eating tonight) cleaned our plates and a few went back for more.

Ranch chicken

I found this post on pinterest several weeks/months ago and saved it to my email, waiting for the perfect day to try it.  Last night as my hubby and I were making a grocery list/meal plan for the week, we decided to try it.  I'll post the recipe first, then give my input :)

RANCH CHICKEN

4 frozen chicken breasts (or however many will fit in your crock pot)
2 cans cream of whatever soup (cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, etc.)
1- 16 oz. container sour cream
1 package real bacon bits
1-2 packs dry ranch dressing mix
salt and pepper, to taste

Put the frozen chicken in the crock pot.
Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over the chicken.
Adjust cooking time and temp depending on how fast your crock pot cooks and how long you're gonna be gone. Cook on high for 6-8 hours*. Serve over hot rice or egg noodles.

I followed the recipe pretty much to a "t"  I didn't have chicken breast but chicken tenders, same thing, just smaller.  I used 2 cans of cream of chicken soup, regular sour cream, hy-vee brand bacon bits, ONE ranch packet and sprinkled the chicken with salt/pepper once in the crock pot.  

Next time, I think I'd make the following modifications:
 ~ full sized breasts instead of tenders.  The tenders cooked really fast and were pretty dry by themselves.
 ~ I'd stick to one ranch packet.  It was very flavorful and a tad bit salty and a second packet would have made that even worse
 ~ Going on the saltiness, a low sodium cream of "whatever" may be used next time, too
 ~ I cooked mine on high for about 3 hours then to low for a couple and to keep warm for the last hour or so, because they were done by 4:30.  Oops.....

We served this over long grain, slow cook rice and served steamed green beans with it.  My 9 year old had a second serving, my super picky 7 yr old did eat all of hers, and my 3 yr old who doesn't have time to eat did finally clear his portion also.  They all raved about the food, how yummy it was and how they would definitely try this again. 

A winner, for sure!!!! 

Welcome back!!

Well, life got away from me again.....  This blog got started off pretty well.  There was lots of interest, but somehow we all forgot about it.  So today, I'm reviving it!!!  I've got a new meal in my crock pot tonight, Ranch Chicken.  And let me tell you, it smells AMAZING!!!  I'll post the recipe after we eat and I get the official reviews from my subjects family members.  Check back in!!!