Simply...Macaroni and Cheese

I make home made macaroni and cheese quite often, either as a main dish or a side.  Probably every other week.  At least. To me, it's a very simple process that doesn't require a lot of pots or pans, dishes, or even work.  I found this recipe and have adapted it to meet my needs.  By meeting my needs, I mean changing it up based on which cheese(s) I have in the house at the moment.

One Pot Mac n Cheese

I'm such a bad blogger that I rarely remember to take pictures when I cook.  I'm such a bad blogger I rarely remember to blog.  Or I take pictures then never blog about them.  But I'm trying to do better.  I promise.

So why is this recipe so easy?  Doesn't mac n cheese require a cheese sauce, made separately then added once the pasta is cooked?  NOT THIS ONE.  The pasta cooks in milk, which turns into the sauce once you add a slurry and cheese.  Can you get any easier??

The original poster has a beautiful picture on the recipe page, so I won't try to copy that.  But I DID manage to snap a few while making it last week.

Step 1: Melt butter in dutch oven, add in spices. Add milk, bring to boil.
Step 2: Add pasta, then a few minutes later add in broccoli.

Here is the pasta and the broccoli (added a few minutes into cooking) boiling away in the milk.

Step 3: While step 2 is happening, grate cheese and make slurry.  I use the mason jar the recipe author suggests, but a small bowl works too.  Preheat oven.

Here is the slurry, before mixing and after.

Step 4: When pasta is cooked, stir in grated cheese, then slurry.  Sprinkle with extra cheese, then pop in oven till brown and bubbly.  My final picture does NOT do it justice.

I usually had a huge block of cheddar cheese in the house, but have been known to pretty much use ANY cheese I have in the house.  I also vary the pepper added in Step 1, based again on what I am in the mood for.  I have never owned the chipotle chili pepper called for in the recipe, so I will use a different red pepper.  Make sure you know your pepper though, as you may not need the same amount, depending on the hotness of it.  You can also vary the veggie added, again based on what you have in the house!

Love this simple recipe.  And all I have to wash is the dutch oven, the cheese grater, and the jar from the slurry.  Which usually goes in the dishwasher...

Happy Eating!
Kathy

Header change!!

My regular readers may have already noticed, but I changed the heading for the blog.  Last week I had a few extra minutes (I KNOW, it can happen!) while sitting waiting for my tires to be rotated to clean up my laptop.  I stopped in to have it done on my way to work, so with my laptop on my lap, I figured it was a good time to clean up my hard drive.

One of the things I noticed was all the recipes I had downloaded, saved, bookmarked, filed into folders, yadayadayada that I never looked at again.  Found some really great ones that I will definitely try; but then found some real doozies with ingredients that were never to be found in my pantry.

One example: liquid aminos.  Liquid aminos??  How that is unprocessed I just don't know.  But ingredients like these got me thinking.  Again.  Yes, I do think a lot.  For those of you who read my blog often, many of my posts are because I was "thinking."

The last time I sat here thinking, it was about a conversation with a co-worker and defining clean eating and it led me to take a quick check on my eating habits.

Which is a good thing.  It meant I wasn't thinking about cookies.

So this latest "thinking" has made me realize that clean eating doesn't have to be nuts, with all sorts of strange ingredients.  It doesn't.  It just needs to be simple, using real food ingredients to make some delicious meals.

I've participated in October Unprocessed the last few years, and each year I see all these people making their own cheese, almond milk, even grinding their own flour.  At the end of each month, the number of people who post about slipping, falling off their wagons, and can't keep that up is not surprising.  People go from one extreme (eating mostly processed) to the other (living off the grid) in one month will never stick with it.  It's too overwhelming.  I'm not here to encourage those choices.

I'm here to show the average person, most likely you are a mom, who wants to raise their kids in a healthy way without all the additives that are not good for us.

So if you are new here, welcome.  If you are a regular reader, you are going to see this blog switch to more of a recipe place.  I want to show how easy it is to just use whole ingredients to make fabulous food for your family.

Happy Eating!!

P.S. If you want that cookie recipe, leave a comment and I'll post it for you.

What IS clean eating? THEN...

Had a conversation yesterday with someone about "clean eating."  Was trying to explain exactly what it is, and found that I was having some problems getting her to understand exactly what it was.  Why?  Cause I was having problems explaining exactly what it was.

There are so many different definitions, from the die hard "I only eat what I grow" to "I only buy one ingredient foods."  Does it have to be organic to be clean?  Or is non-GMO enough?  Why can't I just buy apples, cook them awhile, throw in sugar & have applesauce instead of buying it - isn't that eating clean?  Well, if I could make it myself, it's clean; but just because I can make it doesn't mean I have to - I can buy it.  Right?  Maybe I'll just stop buying stuff in a box.  Okay, I eat clean.

This makes me think a lot about the title of this blog.  CLEAN EATING - MY WAY.  Clean eaters all seem to have their own way of interpreting what they consider clean, so how do newbies find their way around this mess?

If you are a newbie to clean eating, and you stumbled upon my little piece of the internet today, welcome!

I thought I would take some time and think about what "clean eating" means to me now, and how it's evolved over the years.

Here is my first post about my clean eating "rules" My Clean Eating Rules Post #2  This is the second post on this blog, dating all the way back to November 17, 2012.  Wow have time flown!

How has our clean eating grown over the last 2.5 years?  Let's see.

I still don't have a pasta maker.  We now eat gluten free pasta primarily, as wheat products really bother my hubby's acid reflux.

I do own and love a bread maker.  Love it.  Some recipes don't come out perfect in it, but love it.

Yogurt.  My glucose levels have been going up, and my Chobani intake has gone down.  I eat them periodically but not on a daily basis anymore.

I make my own graham crackers as much as possible.  They aren't the same, but still good.  SO disappointed to find the blogger who posted the recipe has taken down her site.  I highly recommend you ALWAYS print out recipes when you find one you like.  You never know when a beloved recipe will go bye bye.

Pretzels.  Never took up the challenge of trying to make again, but we rarely seem to eat them.  If I buy, I look for an organic brand or one with as few ingredients as possible,

Breakfast cereals.  Hugely fighting this battle with my kids.  The battle was easier before I had a teenage driver in the house.  Now if he wants something I am not willing to buy, he drives himself there, and buys it.  With his own money.  All I can hope is that he my teachings will stick somewhere, and come back out when he's a real adult.  I know that once he goes off to college that his choices will be limited, so this battle with him is about over.  My 15 year old, still complains a bit, but knows he's stuck eating what I buy and gives in much easier.

Macaroni & Cheese. Still buying organic brands (not the Kraft one though) as the boys need that something to make after school/clubs/gym when I am not home.  While my 17 year old is a great cook, I can't expect him to whip up a cheese sauce between school & the gym.  LOL

So that's where I was when this blog started, and where I am now with each category.  My ramblings has made this a very long post.  I'm going to end this here today; tomorrow I am going to come back with an in-depth look of my pantry, where I have started slipping, and where I have gotten better.

For now...
Happy eating!
Kathy

Clean Alcoholic Beverages?

Sad news today about my favorite shot of choice. :(  One the bottle is gone it will not be replaced.

Alko Recalls Fireball

Sigh.  That's all I got.  Sigh.

Happy Eating!
Kathy

Gallbladder Removal & Recovery

Today is Saturday.  The surgery was this past Monday.  I am still living on bland foods, sigh!

Monday was not too bad coming out of anesthesia.  In my rush to get my kids to school and get to my 7am arrival call, I forgot to bring my own crackers with me, so I was stuck eating the saltines at the hospital, along with some ginger ale after the surgery.  First soda in...I don't know how long!  Months, easily.  Maybe even a year at this point.  So my day did not start out unprocessed, but it ended that way as I was unable to really eat anything else until late, when I had some home made chicken broth with a few grains of rice floating around in it.

Tuesday brought more broth and rice, with the rice slowly taking over in the broth to rice ratio, and some home made applesauce.

Wednesday, I woke up feeling awesome.  So good.  Steel cut oats with a bit of organic skim milk to thin and a sprinkle of cinnamon for flavor for breakfast.  Lunch, well, that's where the problems started.  I felt so good I fried an egg, melted two pieces of cheese on an organic english muffin, put a piece of ham in there too, with a small swirl of organic ketchup for flavor.  BIG MISTAKE. I can't capitalize that statement big enough.  I enjoyed every single bite...5 minutes after finishing it I thought my chest was going to explode.  Full blown acid reflux attack.  I will save you the details of my pain, but had some applesauce later that night just to put something in my stomach.

Thursday, still dealing with the aftermath of the bad choice I made Wednesday.  Back to rice and broth...at every meal.  Applesauce as a snack.

Friday, still dealing with the aftermath of the bad choice I made Wednesday.  Back to rice and broth...at every meal.  Applesauce as a snack.

Here we are on Saturday, almost feeling better. Peach Chobani for breakfast.  Melted American cheese (I know, but it's the lightest cheese I had in the house, everything else is very heavy) on whole wheat bread for a modified grilled cheese sandwich for lunch.  Broth and pasta for dinner.  I made a home made apple crisp Slow Cooker Apple Crisp for my family for dessert and had a TINY bowl; so far, so good.

Hoping Sunday is a bit better, as we are heading off to Comic Con tomorrow.  Not only will it be a challenge to eat unprocessed, but finding anything that I can eat at all will be tough.  I bought a box of Ritz crackers for emergency company during my recovery; I think they are coming with me tomorrow...just in case.

Happy eating - eat something good for me!!
Kathy

P.S.  The above recipe comes from one of my favorite clean eating sites.  I made the recipe as written except substituted turbinado sugar for the sweetener.  I love the molasses flavor the turbinado gives to the apples.

Clean Eating Tailgate Menu

Go RU!! Big game tonight against Michigan.  We're heading out to tailgate and I just finished packing up my cooler.

On the menu is:

Cheeseburgers: grass feed beef with toppings of local bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, ketchup, pickles (last two not made by me but ingredients pass the kitchen test)  All toppings are organic.

Kale chips (local organic kale, EVOO, Himalayan Sea Salt)

Home made apple crisp (cooked in the slowcooker!!) using local organic apples, spices, turbinado sugar and oats (my rolled oats are not organic but they are single ingredient)

Fresh squeezed lemon juice (not organic cause I couldn't find any right now) with turbinado sugar.

Oh, and beer.  :)

Happy College Football Day, and Happy Eating!
Kathy

October Unprocesssed starts tomorrow!!!

Ready for another October Unprocessed?  I am!! Well, almost.  I found out last Friday that my gallbladder will be coming out on the 6th; so there will be a small crimp in my plans as I recover from my surgery,  I won't be doing much cooking (or probably eating) for at least a week.  Which means my daily posts won't happen as planned.  My diet the first week will be simple foods like broth, pasta, rice; boring!!  But it will be worth it in the end to not have to deal with the pain anymore.

I decided I have a few small goals to meet this month; scaling back my plans for the month but only pushing them off a bit, I still plan on doing everything I planned.

Goal 1: to learn more about alternative choices to cane sugar. I want to research how to replace cane sugar with honey or maple syrup SUCESSFULLY (I haven't been successful yet, seems the liquid affects the recipe) as well as how to use (or not use) products like date sugar.

Goal 2: to learn how to successfully replace wheat flours with other types of flours.  I used a hazelnut flour in a recipe not knowing you couldn't just substitute it.  Terrible results!  Apparently it's missing some important part, like a binding agent?  I have coconut flour I tried substituting for wheat flour in breading a backed chicken breast - came out terrible. Dry and powdery...blech.

Goal 3: to learn how to make my own condiments, like ketchup, mustard and mayo.  Problem I have is that we use them so sparingly I'm afraid they will go bad before we can use it all.  We literally use 2 tablespoons of mayo a week on my son's two ham sandwiches he takes to school for lunch.  Most home made recipes say it lasts a week or two.  A lot of work for something we rarely use.  Mustard is a tablespoon a week at most.

So I think that's it to start.  As I start to feel better, I may adjust my plans, but this may be a shortened "month" for me...

Good luck everyone, and HAPPY EATING!!
Kathy

October Unprocessed 2014

It's that time again!  October Unprocessed via Andrew at www.earingrules.com - time to step back, think about what you are eating, how it is made, and how we can make our daily lives a little bit better by putting healthier options into our bodies.

I've been thinking about what I want to get out of the challenge this year; we live pretty much 75-90% clean around here.  My teen boys toward the 75% side of the range, my husband falling into the 80-85% range, and myself the upper 90% end.  There is something every season that just reels me in.  Right now?  That darn Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks.  :)  I know there are recipes out there that are supposed to be just as good, but part of the draw is the fact that someone else is making it for me. :) So what to do for this year's challenge?

I decided I want to put a little effort into learning more about specific types of foods and cleaning up the options.  I want to learn more about sugars, for example.  I get questioned on that a lot - "if you eat clean, how can you still use sugar?  It's so processed."  While I buy organic "pure cane sugar" for some things, turbinado for others, and local raw honey for still more uses, (and there is a bottle of agave on the shelf too) I use it sugar so sparingly I count it as part of my 10% unclean.  I want to learn more about other types of sugars, like date sugar, coconut sugar, etc to find some different options and how to best use them so I can change that % a bit.

Last year I watched a few members of the Unprocessed Facebook group making things like cheese, peanut butter, and almond milks that I was thinking I may try to do something like that as well this challenge.  I have a slightly busy month at work, so I'm thinking one per week; it will take some pre-planning and investigating but hoping it will all work well in the end.  I'll report back what I choose to try and how each one goes.

Lastly, my goal is to report in my daily menus - not only to hold myself accountable for staying on track but so you all can hold me accountable for making good choices as well.  There will be a small amount of deliberate exceptions I'll post in the beginning; life is too short to deprive yourself of something that makes you really happy, like wine from the winery I work at (they do add sulfites plus it's a job requirement to taste all the wines) and a s'more at our firepit.  Marshmallows are made by me though. :)

It's only September 17th so I have some time to get my plans in motion; if you haven't taken the challenge before I suggest you do, and also to join the Facebook group for helpful tips, ideas, advice and support.

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 31

Last diary day!!!  Looking back over the last month, I have learned quite a few new things.  Although we have been eating as clean as we could the past couple of years, I see lots of room for improvement.  I will definitely take what I have learned this month and move forward with the process of removing all the bad stuff from our diets.  I hope the Facebook group continues going, the people are so nice & have been very helpful!!!!

Breakfast: steel cut oats with raisins & cinnamon

Morning Snack: nothing

Lunch: the rest of the leftover pasta that no one else wants

Afternoon Snack: pumpkin donut - my boss knows I love all things pumpkin and brought it for me - she had one too, so we had to eat it together

Dinner: grilled cheese sandwiches & string beans in between answering the door!

Evening Snack: 5 snack size Twix. :(

Taking a quick break from blogging for a few days; my goal is to post 3ish times a week from now on.  Daily posts and work and holidays just don't mix.  Last year I had a lot of fun posting my 12 Treats of Christmas; most not very clean - lot don't pass the kitchen test, but it sure was fun.  My goal THIS year is to see if I can make 12 Kitchen Test Clean treats!!  Come back in December to see how I do. :)

Happy Eating!!!
Kathy

October 30

I am looking forward to not doing this diary anymore, I'll be honest.  It is so hard to do this every day!! But only one more after this!!! I m working more hours now that I was when I first started the challenge...so my new challenge is to try to make sure I do not break down and do more processed foods cause I don't have the time.  I am going to MAKE the time!!! Yes I am!

Breakfast: steel cut oats with fresh strawberries & cinnamon

Morning Snack: strawberry Chobani

Lunch: leftover pasta from last night, apple

Afternoon Snack: nothing...at work

Dinner: Hebrew National Hotdog with cheddar cheese leftover home made chili I had in the freezer...on a store bought bun (but it had no high fructose corn syrup in it...better, right??); organic white corn

Evening Snack: nothing - went to bed early

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 29

I was having some MAJOR caramel cravings yesterday. MAJOR.  I had to run to the grocery to pick up some food for my son's lunch, and right next to the dairy case was a big rack of "marked down" items.  In that rack was an entire box of Milky Way Simply Caramel bars...I was weak and I bought one.  I thought if I ate it in the car on the way home no one would know.  When I put the bags in the car, without thinking, I put them in the back of my SUV and started driving home.  When I realized I did that, I was almost home and so alas I could not eat my candy bar.  I came in, my kids took the bags to put away.  I grabbed the Milky Way before they saw it; stuck it in the cabinet.  I'd sneak it later once they were not around.  Well, it's now the next day and I am not craving it anymore.  I even took it out of the cabinet to make sure I had the name right.  No temptation at all.  My brain wanted to cheat so bad...but my subconscious took care of me yesterday by constantly putting it out of my reach.  In 2 days, that candy bar will be in my Halloween candy pot and one "lucky" kid will get a full-sized bar for a treat.

Breakfast: store-made bagel with butter, coffee with half n half

Morning Snack: lemon Chobani

Lunch: peanut butter & jelly sandwich

Afternoon Snack: nothing

Dinner: whole wheat pasta with home made alfredo sauce, salad with white basalmic vinegar & olive oil

Evening Snack: Angie's Kettle Corn & 2 glasses of wine. I needed it!

Happy Eating!!
Kathy

October 28

I've narrowed down my breadmaker to two choices.  I don't know which one to choose!!! Sigh

Here is choice one by Panasonic: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00005QFL0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Here is choice two by Cuisinart: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009VELTQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Which one do I get?? I don't know!! Sigh.  I really want/need to make a decision ASAP.

Breakfast: steel cut oats with cinnamon

Morning Snack: strawberry Chobani

Lunch: grilled chicken breast with brown rice & snow peas

Afternoon Snack: Angie's Kettle Corn

Dinner: (not clean) sausage link with grilled asparagus & smashed potatoes

Evening Snack: Turkey Hill All Natural Salted Caramel ice cream. I am pretty sure this passes the kitchen test...well, almost. :)

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 27

Almost there!!!  I hope to order my breadmaker within the next couple days.  I think I finally have enough saved up to pay tax & shipping, LOL.  Next comes the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid!!

Breakfast: Vermont english muffin with peanut butter on one side, butter & jam on the other.

Morning Snack: blueberry Chobani

Lunch: nothing...was working

Afternoon Snack: Unreal Loaded One at work

Dinner:  hubby grilled organic chicken wings, mine without any BBQ sauce.  I wasn't home to make a clean sauce, so hubby put buffalo style tobasco sauce on his and my oldest son's.  Me and the younger one ate them plain.  And a yummy salad, complete with organic croutons I found at Costco.

Evening Snack: handful or three or five Unreal Nutty Ones

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 26

Football game today!! GO RU!!  Football food can be a tough challenge when trying to stay unprocessed.  We tailgate before every home game, and are limited to foods we can cook in a grass lot.  It's different than camping, in a way, as we are limited to the small grill and what you can cook on it.  This is the only home game during October, so I guess I got off kind of easy. :)  The game was at noon, which also presented a challenge.  We leave the house at 9:30am; so do you cook breakfast or lunch foods?  We usually do breakfast for a noon game.  Lunch if it is later.

So we went with egg sandwiches for the tailgate.  I bought store-made hard rolls; our grocery, while they do not claim to use whole wheat/non-GMO, do claim that their breads are made with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.  They "claim" they follow the same homemade recipe we do.  Since football was a deliberate exception, I gave in and we used the hard rolls.  Still working on my breadmaker.  On those rolls, we used cage-free local eggs, fried in organic olive oil, with organic ketchup and sliced cheddar cheese.  My husband and boys added a slice of pork roll - Taylor Ham for those of you not from NJ.  I tried to hold true and didn't eat it.  So I did good, not great. Beverage was a mojito; tradition that can now be broken, since we lost the game.  Getting too cold for them anyway, :)

During the game, I ate and drank nothing.

After the game, for dinner we indulged in cleaning out all the leftovers from the fridge.

Evening snack: vanilla Chobani

Happy Eating!!
Kathy

October 25

Okay...I CAN do this!!  We are almost at the end of the challenge and almost at the end of my food diary.  My life suddenly got crazy this week; went from having a part-time weekend job to having 2 part-time weekday jobs!! And I still have some hours I will be putting in on the weekends.  I am going to try really hard to make it to October 31st with my diary,

Breakfast: Vermont english muffin, jelly, peanut butter; coffee, half n half

Morning Snack: blood orange Chobani

Lunch: hubby's leftover Chinese food :(

Afternoon Snack: nothing

Dinner: pancakes & bacon

* all food items are organic, as all-natural as possible or made with non-GMOs unless otherwise noted.

We're going on a walking ghost tour tonite that includes snacks & cider.  Bringing an apple just in case...

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 24

Only one more week of my food diary!  I gotta admit this was harder to do than I thought it was going to be.  Crazy day today - out almost the whole day.  I packed a bag with lots of healthy snacks to get me through it!!

Breakfast:  steel cut oats with cinnamon & pure maple syrup.  Not in a fruit mood.

Morning Snack: nothing - at interview for a second part-time job.

Lunch: peach Chobani

Afternoon Snack: nothing - at training meeting for first part-time job

Dinner: salad with organic caesar dressing - yes, from a bottle. But had to be done; working.  Apple

Evening Snack: wine.  12 hour day between the 2 jobs!!!

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 23

The next couple of days are going to be a bit busy...Thursday crazy busy. Yikes.

Breakfast:  steel cut oats, cinnamon, blueberries & skim milk; coffee with half and half.

Morning Snack: nothing, had to work

Lunch: Applegate uncured black forest ham, cheddar cheese, lettuce & organic mayo on Organic whole wheat wrap. Lemon Chobani. Half of an organic cucumber.

Afternoon Snack: nothing, still at work

Dinner: pasta with hubby's home made pesto sauce

Evening Snack: wine & Unreal Nutty Ones

Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 22

Have I mentioned I have terrible acid reflux? Combine that with GERD & a hiatal hernia and I have tons of tummy troubles.  So once a year I need to go in for an upper endoscopy.  And today was the day.

Breakfast: nothing

Morning Snack: nothing

Lunch: Lorna Doone cookies at the hospital with water. Don't even get me started on what my options were.

Afternoon Snack: home made chicken soup

Dinner: plain (blech) grilled chicken breast & organic peas

Evening Snack: nothing.

Tomorrow I will be able to eat normally again.  :) 

Happy Eating!

Kathy

October 21

I can't believe we're down to the last 10 days of the challenge!  One third left to go.  Since we have been eating pretty clean for two years now, but as we all know there is always room for improvement.  The wonderful Facebook community that we have has taught me so much in the last 20 days that would have taken me a very long time to research myself online.  While I am not at the point that I am ready to start making my own cheese, I am saving up for a breadmaker and the pasta attachment for my Kitchen Aid mixer.


Breakfast: steel cut oats with blueberries, cinnamon, skim milk

Morning Snack: nothing

Lunch: leftover corned beef, potatoes & carrots (since I didn't eat it yesterday)

Afternoon Snack: banana

Dinner: beef stir fry with brown rice, red peppers, onions & green chilies.  Sauce was mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce & fresh grated ginger)

Evening Snack: Unreal Nutty ones & glass of wine


Happy Eating!
Kathy

October 20

Another busy day at work...got to serve at a "chef event" today.  What that means is, we have a chef come and cook a 4 course meal & the winery pairs wines to go along with it.  For a nice fee, you get a great meal and a few glasses of wine.  Benefit to working this event? I get to eat too. :) My deliberate exception for the challenge was anything work-related...haha.

Breakfast: steel cut oats with cherries & cinnamon, thinned with organic skim milk

Morning snack: peach Chobani

Lunch:  all courses are handmade; that being said, I do not think it was organic or non-gmo.
          pumpkin tortellini & ravioli                   baby greens salad with chopped mangos/avocodos
          braised short ribs with gnocci              pumpkin cheese cake
There were sauces and other stuff in the courses but I don't have all the details at home.

Dinner: still full.

Evening snack: roasted potatoes & carrots; still full!

Happy Eating!
Kathy