I am the kitchen dervish...

So today I came into work and after sending F off to school and putting S&E down for their naps, I set to work mixing up three boxes of brownie mix. Finn's school is having a fundraising event, and I volunteered for us to send in baked goods. I didn't realize how hard it would be to stir three boxes of brownie mix... at least my right arm got a little workout! Once I had those baked and cooled, I cut them into pieces and put them each into an individual Ziploc bag (as per instructions from the event organizers). I "artfully" arranged them on a platter.... it's not easy to arrange brownies in Ziploc bags. I did the best I could. Hopefully people will be so blown away by their fudgy goodness that they won't notice....

F came home from school and had a friend over, so I shifted to short order cook mode and made F a quesadilla, his friend a grilled cheese sandwich, and a PBJ for E. They gave me rave reviews on my cooking.

After cleaning up from lunch, F asked to make "Granbetsy's Mac 'n Cheese" to have for dinner tonight. His grandmother made it for her kids, and continues to make it today. F loves it, and it's way better than the standard Kraft stuff... if you wanted to make it "organic" you could use all organic ingredients, and voila! It's seriously the easiest recipe ever for macaroni and cheese and it is some of the most delicious I've ever tried. If anyone wants to try it for themselves...here is the recipe!

In advance preparation, boil 2 cups of pasta - F likes small shells (he calls them "clams"), but rotini (if you like each noodle to have tons of the cheese sauce in it!) or elbow macaroni works great for this too! Steer clear of penne or farfalle pasta because they don't work so well.

Grate 2ish cups of mild to sharp cheddar cheese based on your preferences and set aside in a bowl.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Melt 4 TBS butter in a square or round casserole dish. Use a whisk and stir in 1 tsp salt and 6 TBS flour. Pour in 2 cups of milk (you can use whole milk or skim milk, whatever you like), and stir with whisk. Place in microwave for 6 minutes, stopping to stir cream sauce every 2 minutes with whisk. After the sauce is completed, mix in the cheese with whisk - it will melt and you will have a very thick and creamy cheese sauce. After all the cheese is folded in and melted, mix in your drained pasta and then pop it in the oven for 30-45 minutes. Let stand for a little while and then serve! It also reheats VERY well, so don't be afraid to pre-bake it like I did today for serving later.

Just be careful. It's addictive. Ethan has polished off entire dishes of it many times.

F has swim lessons at the YMCA today so I'm ready to hit the treadmill for day 2 of this week of C25K! I think that knowing I only "have" to do it three times a week makes it easier for me... if I knew I had to do it every day I don't think I'd be able to stick with it! Hopefully when the 12 weeks are up, I'll want to run every day. We'll see....