You should make this.  Right now if possible. 

 
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I have noticed a new trend– families doing Sunday brunch together instead of dinner parties or going out for cocktails.  It is more casual, low-cost, and definitely kid friendly.

We had another family over for brunch and one of my children said, “This is so awesome.  It is like when we stay at the Holiday Inn Express!”  I assume that was meant as the highest of compliments.  It made me think about why brunch is such a fun meal to host, the food choices are endless and varied. 
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The other day I came home from running errands, the crockpot was cooking dinner I had put inside of it before I left the house.  The housekeeper had just left and the house was sparkling clean.  As I walked inside and looked around I thought, ‘This must be what it feels like to have a wife.’  You know, a good wife, not a slacker wife. 

Money has been tight around here lately and some people might look at my bank account and wonder why on earth I still have a housekeeper.  The truth is that it is my one thing, my one luxury.  I don’t get manicures or pedicures anymore.  I don’t get anything waxed, except for my eyebrows, but I really consider that to be a gift to the rest of the world.  I switched to a much, much less expensive hairdresser who frankly does the job just as well.

Having someone come in and clean my house top to bottom every other week takes a huge stress load  off of my shoulders.  I would rather cut back in other areas than let it go.  Sometimes I feel like it is a bit selfish, that there are other things that I could better spend the  money on.  But in the end I have decided that it is  okay to be a bit selfish sometimes.  As mothers, and probably even moreso as working mothers, the guilt over doing anything that is just for yourself can be overwhelming.  Motherhood as sacrifice has become an insidious part of our collective conscience. 

I was talking to a  friend about the one luxury you allow yourself, despite the economy.  Her answer was getting regular manicures.  I have another friend who spends one morning a week at the bookstore drinking her coffee and reading a book.

What is the one luxury that will have to be pried out of your hand kicking and screaming?  Tell me that there is one thing you do for yourself that is a little selfish.  If you can’t think of one thing that you do maybe you should consider adding one to your life on a regualr basis.  Commit to being just a tiny bit selfish in the New Year.

I have been neglecting my crockpot lately. I think I have just become tired of the same old recipes I make it in over and over again. 

But then I got this cookbook, Make It Fast, Cook It Slow in the mail from my friend Stephanie O’Dea.  And oh my goodness I have been reinspired to to use my crockpot. (I also broke down and finally bought an immersion blender)

In case you don’t know Stephanie, she was the blogger who decided to use her crockpot every day for an entire year and blog about the experience.  I absolutely love this cookbook.  Not only does Stephanie have the recipes she used during her year long project, she also tells you what she and her family thought of the various dishes.  Her daughter is Celiac, so all of the recipes are gluten free or have gluten free alternatives to the ingredients.

Last week I made the Taco Soup recipe.  It was so good that I hid the leftovers for myself to eat for lunch all week. 

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This is frighteningly good. It tastes like Pumpkin Pie without that pesky crust, or baking. Or time. Or any real effort. Are you the sort of person who remembers at 2:00 that you have a holiday party to attend at 2:30, and you still need to shower, dress, and bring a food item to share? Then this is the recipe for you.

Serve with Gingersnap cookies, or graham crackers if you prefer.

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Let me just come right out and say it.  I am not a huge fan of fish.  I never make it.  Ever.  But after listening to friends go on and on about how much they, and more importantly their children, love tilapia, I had no choice but to try it out on some unsuspecting soulsmy family.   And I will tell you right here… my children ATE FISH.  Not only that, they LOVED it.  Who woulda thought? 

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My children say that this is better than the stuff that comes in the blue box. I think tears welled up in my eyes and my hand involuntarily clutched my chest when they said this. It is such a compliment coming from those who think the most tasty foods are ones that come in colors not naturally occurring in nature.

For this recipe you will need:

1 box elbow macaroni
6T unsalted butter
6T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 1/2 cups cream
(I used 3 cups of half-n-half, which I think is the same thing.)
3/4 tsp salt
ground pepper
3 cups shredded cheddar
3/4 cup seasoned bread crumbs
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I think I hear an echo in here.

Tap, tap, tap… this thing still on?

So, Chris, what have you been up to? Eating bon-bons while reclining on a tropical getaway?

I wish I could say that was what I have been up to, even though I know it would make all of you hate me just a little bit. The truth of the matter is that I have moved again. I have been sick twice or is it three times now– it is all just blending together. I transitioned my children to public school and have four kids playing on four different sports teams.

The organization of my household has all but disappeared. And cooking? Forget about it. I had been making quick things, the old stand-bys, and take out. How could I write about cooking quick nutritious meals when even I was failing to do it.

At the end of last week, I think I finally turned the corner on being sick, knocking furiously on wood here. And so begins the catch up, the delegating, and the letting go of perfectionism. Because at this point things don’t need to be perfect, they just need to be done. My clothes need to be hanging in the closet. I can color coordinate it all again LATER.

And so it is the same with writing back here. I have a great recipe I want to share for macaroni and cheese. It is so good that my children said it is BETTER than the stuff out of the blue box. I know! That is a compliment of the highest order.

Do you know what has been holding me back from sharing it the past couple weeks? I don’t have any photos of it. I kept telling myself that I would make it again and photograph it… but that never happened. (See above for mention of foods we have been eating lately)

Today I was cleaning up my house and unpacking some boxes when I thought, does it really matter if there are no photos. No, it probably only matters to me.

And so look for the baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe later today. And bring your imagination for visualizing photos of me cooking, stirring, and mixing. Why yes, I have lost weight and my hair is perfectly colored and styled. Thank you for noticing, um in your imagination. Sometimes it really is better than the real thing. And might I say, you look fabulous too.

This recipe was surprisingly delicious. Well, not to me. But to certain picky children who reside in my home, it was indeed surprising. 

It is now one of my favorite crockpot recipes and I plan on putting it into heavy rotation until my children beg for mercy.  We are now entering football season, which means many nights away from home, at the field practicing.  I will be embracing my crockpot once again, because after the neverending baseball season I do not think that I can eat anything from the snackbar for a long, long time.
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Yet another thing that you can make from those bananas that are over ripe and in danger of going bad.

You would think that at this point of my parenting tenure I would be able to properly estimate the number of bananas that my children go through in a given week. But my children like to mix things up, just to keep this parenting thing challenging. Sometimes I buy a big bunch of bananas and NO ONE WANTS TO EAT THEM. Then the next time I buy only a few and all I hear is complaints because THEY WANT TO EAT BANANAS.
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