Tasty Tuesday Tidbits

We are entering the busy spring season of sports, playing outside as the days are longer, and wrapping up another school year which includes lots of little things here and there.

Soon to be followed by afternoons at the pool, friends running in and out of the house and family looking for dinner around 6 p.m. after being carted around all day.

This along with the ordinary days of laundry, keeping the peace, sorting paperwork while simultaneously answering questions about what actually makes thunder and attending to someone who needs a drink of water at which time the phone rings and doorbell chimes and another child falls - all within the same 1.3 seconds.

WHAT IS A MOTHER TO DO?!?!?

On really good days, I prep dinner right after breakfast. I'm in the kitchen cleaning up breakfast anyway, so I try to at least start on SOMETHING that will make 5:00 p.m. a little more sane.

So I thought for the next few weeks (or longer, depending on how many recipes I make and how much attention span I have) I would try to post a full, easy, make-ahead dinner recipe on Tuesdays. I'll do my best to make them quick, kid-friendly, budget-conscious and nutritious.

Why Tuesday?

Because Tasty Tuesday sounds catchier than Tasty Friday.

So, to kick things off, here is a family favorite. This recipe is loosely adapted from Kraft and was given to me by a good friend years ago when it seemed like the only thing my kids would eat was macaroni and cheese. They would still eat mac 'n cheese everyday if offered, but at least their horizons are expanding.

Whoa, whoa, whoa......

Since when is macaroni and cheese healthy?!?!?!

It's not.

So apparently I've already broken one of my own rules.

BUT.....I did cut down the butter and the sour cream from the original recipe. I'm also planning on large portions of broccoli for everyone (see below.) And, though I've not tried it, I'm thinking you could make your own plain pasta, add cheese and a small amount of butter to your liking, and come up with a similar taste. Besides, I used a mistakenly grabbed box of the "Veggie" mac 'n cheese. (Now with a full serving of vegetables!!!!!!)

Hmmmmm, wonder if the veggies are hiding in the pale orange processed cheese powder of the deep neon orange powder???

Add a "plop" of sour cream....I used about 1/4 of a 16oz. container.

Mix well and watch the veggies come alive....see, SEE!!!!! It's like my waist size is getting smaller just looking at them!

Now here is where the "budget" comes into play. I believe the original recipe called for 1 pound of ground beef. I cooked mine up yesterday and today added just 1/2 pound. Now I'll have enough to throw into some other recipe or make up a few tacos for a quick dinner/lunch grab for someone. I've noticed that when not using meat as the main course I can stretch it so much further. SHHHHHHH....it's our little secret ;)

Seriously, please keep it a secret.....my husband feels like anything short of 1/2 pound of meat per person per meal is nothing more than an appetizer!

(But being that food prices are soaring and a gallon of gas is over $4.00, even he is ready to make some changes.)

Add salsa to taste....

Layer with the rest of the mac n' chs and sprinkle some cheese and more salsa...

Getting ready for our side dish.....




And for a little fun and crunch - pull out a bag of these!

Voila!


Instructions:
Cook up 2 boxes of Kraft Mac n' Cheese. I've tried this recipe with the regular flavor and also the Three Cheese Mini Shells. Our favorite is the mini shells, but as you can see this turned out okay as well. I'm thinking a store brand of M&C would be fine, too.

Add a small amount of butter and milk and sour cream (I used about 2 TBSP butter, 4 oz. of sour cream and maybe 1/2 cup milk....this is the part I actually enjoy about cooking - the measurements don't have to be precise!)

Spray an 11x7 (or similar size) pan with cooking spray. Layer about 1/2 of your M&C mixture, spread about 1/2 cup salsa on top, sprinkle with ground beef and cheese. Spoon rest of macaroni on, add more salsa and cheese, then bake at 400 for about 20 minutes if baking right away. Since I made mine ahead of time and fridged it I added about 10 minutes.

Serve with your choice of corn chips....this dish is always delicious with Fritos!

Broccoli:
I took a frozen bag, chopped up one red onion, sprinkled with S&P to taste and drizzled with 1-2 TBSP olive oil. As you can see, we enjoy mushrooms and bacon bits, so I chopped and added those as well. Just a tablespoon or so of the bits added some really great flavor! I baked (oven-roasted) for the same amount of time and pulled both pans from the oven for about 5 minutes to cool.

So.......welcome to the post that took much longer to write than the actual meal prep. (I'm all about serving my audience:)

I'll try to make it a little shorter next time - hope you enjoy and we can have some fun together!