Culinary Frustration

My kids are pretty good eaters. In fact, one of my proudest accomplishments as a parent is that my kids are accustomed to eating (mostly) whatever is put in front of them for dinner. I really like the fact that I don't have to serve chicken nuggets or fish sticks in order to get them to eat. They have each been known to ask to finish the vegetables from the serving bowl at the end of dinner. Princess counts sushi as one of her all-time favorite foods. So, it is with great dismay that I announce the following: My kids hate homemade macaroni and cheese. They prefer processed cheese and noodles. It doesn't have to be powdered cheese, they will also eat processed cheese log melted over noodles (i.e. Velveeta). I haven't tried to serve them the homemade kind in a while, but felt inspired today. See, Pirate just returned from a 1 1/2 week trip to Disney World with my parents and brought Mickey shaped noodles for TBell as a gift. I thought it would be so neat to make "Mickeyroni and Cheese" as a welcome home dinner. They hated it. Where did I go wrong? I mean, if I can serve BBQ ribs and deviled eggs to my kids, why won't they eat homemade mac and cheese. It is days like this I feel like total failure! (Okay, that's a bit dramatic, but you know what I mean.)

Here is the recipe for my mac-n-cheese. For the record, Paco loved it.

Melt 2T of butter in a saucepan. Add 2 cups of milk and 2T of flour. Whisk together. Let milk bubble then thicken, maybe 2 to 3 minutes. Add 2 cups shredded cheddar, 1/2 cup shredded asiago, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella. Melt cheese in milk mixture. Add almost-cooked (1 pound package) noodles to cheese mixture and combine. Pour noodles and cheese into a baking pan or casserole and cover with handfuls of shredded cheese as well as about 1/2 cup bread crumbs mixed with 3T olive oil. Brown top under broiler and serve. This could also be made into a meatier version by adding bacon bits or pieces of ham.

Catching Up

I can't believe it is already November. Time really does fly...especially when everyone is so busy. I have posted some pictures from last month. I have been meaning to get on for quite a while but just haven't done so.

The girls each designed pumpkins after their favorite book characters and entered a contest at school. While they didn't win, I am very proud of them because they came up with their own ideas and had very little help from me. The pumpkins that did win were amazing, but certainly not done by an elementary school student.


This is TBell's pumpkin. She has always loved 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar' so immediately chose that book when she found out about the contest.


Princess chose 'Swan Lake' and made a two-sided pumpkin.


Last but not least, a picture from Halloween.



Election Day is coming, which always keeps me busy. Then Pirate leaves for a 1 1/2 week trip with my parents. UGH! He just turned 4 this week and now he's heading off for a Disney vacation. My baby is leaving! Oh dear.