Extra-Cheesy Yumma-licious Mac 'n' Cheese

If you are expecting some yummy home-made macaroni and cheese recipe with real cheese and a crunchy topping like Grandma used to make, you are gonna be disappointed. That is not what this is. This is my tweak on Kraft Macaroni 'n' Cheese. . . or should I say, this is the Mac 'n' Cheese that I make for other kids that makes them say, "My mom's doesn't taste THIS good!" 
Let me tell you a little story about a family feud between my husband and myself about Mac 'n' cheese. He always made his in the microwave, following the directions but adding some shredded cheddar to it at the end. Our kids liked it, but they would tell me that mine was better that his. He insisted that they were just saying that to be nice to me and that there was no way for them to tell the difference between his and mine. I disagreed. He said that if we did a blind taste test, they wouldn't know who's was who's. 
So,  I challenged him to a dual. Each of us made a batch and presented it to the kids who were blind-folded and we let them decide. Instantly they picked mine out as the best. HA! I KNEW it! And I don't even add any other ingredients to the recipe!! Wanna know what I do differently? It's simple.

Extra-Cheesy Yumma-licious Mac 'n' Cheese

Boil your water, and add 1/2-2/3 of the box of noodles to the water, and discard the other 1/3-1/2. (If you have an issue with the waste, make a macaroni necklace with the rest, just don't use them in this recipe.) Once they have boiled for 6 minutes, add your milk, butter/margarine and all of the cheese powder according to the directions. Mix it well and serve.
The result is a creamier, cheesier and in my opinion YUMMIER macaroni and cheese and the kids always gobble it up! Even my kids' friends say it tastes sooo good. Give it a try without telling your kids that you've made a change, and see if they notice. I bet they will!

Paper Straws

I have admired these pretty paper straws on-line for quite a long time and finally they have them at my local cake decorating store ABC Cake Decorating!! Yay! I'm so excited! There are so many things you can do with them aside from using them to add color and fun to a kid's party drink. I've seen them used for cake-pop sticks, cookie-pop sticks and I'm sure there are many other uses for these cuties. They come in so many different colors and designs. . . . oh, the possibilities! 

Demerara Sugar

When I say Demerera sugar, do you think of this stuff?? Also known as Turbinado sugar, or Raw sugar, it is a beautiful, unrefined coarse sugar that works well in your coffee or tea but even better on a pastry to create a delicious crunchy topping. Add it to virtually any baked good before you place it in the oven and see what happens! If you don't have it already, once you try it, you'll be adding it to your list of staple pantry ingredients.

My Award-winning Banana Bread

Well- it hasn't actually received an award. . .  but everyone who tastes it thinks it should! It's pretty darn fabulous, thanks to Betty Crocker and a little secret ingredient that I add to make a crispy, crunchy addictive topping to it. Well, I'm about to divulge my secrets to you right now!!


I had a couple of helpers with me in the kitchen today and we made a few batches of this comfort-foody bread. We had an abundance of over-ripe bananas in the freezer so I made extra and sent some home with my little baker boy, Roman. I must say though, he is so good in the kitchen, and he really listens to what I teach him. When I asked him today why he must be careful not to put his hand in the mixer bowl, he remembered the story I told him once about how my mom did that and broke her arm. He cake bake with me anytime!

Anyhow, I'll give you my recipe if you promise to use it for good and not for evil. If left unattended, any honest-intended person could accidentally eat the whole loaf and be stuck with a bazillion extra calories to burn and it would be all your fault. Assuming you understand the risks involved. . . read on. (LOL!)


Banana Bread


Ingredients
1 cup granulated white sugar
1/3 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/3 cup water
4 over-ripened, frozen, then defrosted bananas
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/2 cup Demerara sugar


Directions
Cream together your white sugar and butter then mix in your eggs. Add your water and bananas to the bowl and combine until smooth. Mix in your baking powder, baking soda, salt and walnuts. Lastly, fold in your flour. If you over mix the ingredients once the flour is incorporated, you will have a tough bread rather than one that is light and airy. 
Pour this mixture into a bread pan coated with Cake Release and then heavily coat the top with your Demerara sugar. Pop it in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Once it has cooled, you can invert the pan, pop out the bread and slice it up to serve! Enjoy!


My other little helper. . . .

Just a little side note: I am loving how my girl can follow a recipe with little help now-a-days. She's at a really fun age where she CAN do as much as she WANTS to do. Plus, it is a great opportunity for us to bond- doing something we both enjoy. 

If you like to cook or bake and your kids show even the tiniest bit if interest, I strongly suggest you pull up a stool and get them involved. It will benefit the both of you in so many ways for years to come!

Real-life Magic (Cake Release Recipe)

No really! This stuff is magic! I don't mean David Copperfield stuff- I'm talking real-life MAGIC! Let me tell you- I cut out wax-paper circles, oiled and floured MANY a cake pan in my day before I discovered this stuff as a cake decorator. Make up a batch, store it in your fridge, and you will NEVER dig a batch of brownies, banana bread or a cake out of a pan again! It will forever slip right on out- just like. . . MAGIC! Then you can impress your family or guests by serving the, perfect slices of baked goods to their delight!

Cake Release


Ingredients
All-purpose flour
Crisco 
Vegetable oil


Just mix equal parts of all three ingredients together until fully combined and silky smooth, then store in a jar or air-tight container in the fridge until you need to use it. I usually make a batch with 1 cup of each ingredient. To use: Simply brush it on your pan with a pastry brush or wipe it with a napkin onto your pan, pour in what you are baking and it will release from the pan with ease once it has baked an cooled! I'm telling you- magic!

Let me show you. 

It's as easy as one. . .

                   Two. . .

                         

                                                            three!

Introducing. . . . the Chinchilla Ladies

My kids like to do this thing they call Chinchilla Ladies when they have a sleepover. It's a little involved, and requires help from Mommy, but of course I LOVE that they want me to play with them, so I don't mind. 

We have the kids lay upside-down on the couch so I can draw eyes and a nose on their chins with make-up. Then, we add some hair (either fake or real- if their hair is long enough like Aria's) and an outfit (a dinner napkin taped on their face). We cover their bodies with a sheet and the comedy relief begins! It's hilarious!

 I always video tape them, and sometimes I even post it on YouTube for their friends and family to see. The very first time we did this was for a video birthday card for their Uncle Geoffrey. You can view it here on YouTube. It was my absolute favorite Chinchilla Ladies episode because they were so little (6 and 8 I believe) and Aria had some missing teeth which really made it adorable!

  It's a really fun FREE way to spend an hour or so- no TV- no video games- no computer- no complaining. . . I HIGHLY recommend it.

Let me introduce you to Heidi (Aria)

Here is little Miss Sparkles (Jade)

 

Here is our sweet little Cupcake (Tatum)

This little filly is Pumpkin (Chloe)

And last but certainly not least is the hilarious Professor Something (Cole)

Sleepover Fun

Friday night, despite the bad start to our day with the robbery, we decided to go ahead with Aria's party/sleepover that we had been planning for a week. I decided to not let the morning ruin our fun for the evening, so we winged it, and had a great time!

Aria had so much fun with her new friends from school, her best cousin friend and her brother.

Pictured from left: Jade, Chloe, Tatum, Cole, Madison, Addison, Aria and Kit.

Not all of the girls stayed the night, but the ones that did had a great time! They are such goofballs!

Of course they have to do their camera tricks!

Here's Tatum and Chloe.

Aria and Jade were pretty hilarious too!

It ended up being a great night!