Tag: macaroni and cheese

Halloween Weekend Things

Lauren1 Comment

Friday

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Sneaking out of the office early on Friday when you were out of the office Monday through Wednesday is a no go 😦 but it’s okay because once we got home, we made Roasted Veggie Mac and Cheese and all work stress instantly evaporated.  Poof!  Eating a bowl of comfort food while watching Season 2 of Stranger Things is a happy moment, indeed.  And don’t even pretend you weren’t doing the same!

We also carved two of our pumpkins (they’re already all wilty…) and sorry for that blurry photo but it was cold and I was standing outside in my pajamas, so this is the best I could do.

Saturday

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My plate looks like a melty sundae because cold coconut whipped cream + hot off the griddle pancakes = whipped cream waterfall.  Will I ever learn?  But tasted amazing all the same!  Afterwards, we took ourselves to the Union Station Farmers’ Market for the last time this year and I was met with a mixture of sadness that market season was ending and pure delight over finding those baby butternuts.

Who knows what I did all afternoon but later on, we headed to Bobby’s 30th Birthday/Halloween party as Max and Roxanne from A Goofy Movie.  All I can say is you don’t realize how much you touch your nose until you can’t touch your nose!  Also, I hadn’t dressed up for Halloween in a few years and it felt simultaneously fun and nerve-wracking.

Sunday

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Started Sunday with a pretty latte and even prettier fall leaves ♥  Followed by trips to two different Whole Foods (Whole Foodses?) for cupcake ingredients, but more on that in a moment.  When I got back home, Joey had already headed out to watch football so I took that time to do… uh nothing?  I read, lunched in the backyard and thought about how it was 70° but supposed to snow the next day.

As for those cupcakes, they’re naturally-dyed.  How cool is that?!  The cream cheese frosting is made orange by goji berries and the cupcakes themselves get their color from black sesame seeds.  I tried to make minis but they stuck in the pan SO BAD that I had to abort mission immediately and just make regular sized ones.  Overall, they don’t taste amazing but it seemed like a fun Halloween treat for the office.

What did you do this weekend?  Did you (or are you going to) dress up for Halloween?

Lately: Favorite Recipes

Lauren6 Comments

Part of starting a new blog — with a new less specific name! — was being able to expand the variety of topics I write about.  I absolutely love the freedom to talk about more than just food, but the tradeoff is that a lot of weekday meals get skipped over.  I have an easier time highlighting fun restaurant meals and fancier home-cooked weekend meals, but it’s the Tuesday dinner at 8 PM that misses it’s time in the limelight.  Which is a real shame because we crank out some really delicious stuff during the week too!  I thought I’d take a moment to show you some of our winter favorites this year.

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Kale, Mushroom & Sun-Dried Tomato Lasagna Rolls

Am I the only one who’s intimidated by regular lasagna?  The idea of mini rolled versions is much more appealing and these are so tasty.  They’re a tad bit time consuming — I made them when I was home alone the other night and felt like it took me for.ev.er. to finish — but they made a whole casserole dish full so there’s plenty of leftovers, which re-heat beautifully.

Lighter Buffalo Mac and Cheese

I’m a sucker for anything mac and cheese, an obsession I no doubt inherited from my mom, and this recipe turned out SO GOOD!  We ended up subbing Laughing Cow Swiss for the blue cheese (couldn’t find it) but the flavor was out of this world, nevertheless.  I don’t know how I lived without buffalo sauce until this year.

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Soup

I adore this recipe!  Not to get all cliché on you, but it’s like a hug in a bowl on a cold winter night.  Plus it’s super creamy (thin soups are my idea of torture) without being chock full of unhealthy stuff.  A word to the wise, triple the amount of veggies it calls for and keep extra broth on hand because the leftovers thicken up quite a bit.

Greek Quinoa Dinner Omelets

Is it omelets or omelettes?  The recipe uses the former, but I usually go with the latter.  Mostly because that’s the French spelling and it makes me feel très cultured.  We made these on a Tuesday night and even though it was just a boring Tuesday night (and I had to watch Joey use the most questionable omelette-making techniques), this dinner was so fun and delicious that it felt like a special occasion.  Bonus points for looking fancy but being super easy and fast.

The Best Shredded Kale Salad

Okay, so I already told you we made this one before Christmas but since then, I think I’ve made it five more times.  In fact, I put it on our menu every damn week.  Officially addicted.  Joey thinks I need an intervention, but he doesn’t seem to be complaining while he’s eating it alongside me.  If you have a True Food Kitchen in your area and love their Parmesan Kale Salad, this is exactly how it tastes.  I don’t know about you, but I’m a fan of making restaurant-quality food right at home.

What have been some of your favorite recipes this winter?