Dani's Kitchen

What was for Dinner at Dani's last night?

I marinated chicken in the refrigerator in barbeque marinade...matt grilled it today and it was VERY yummy!

I made macaroni and cheese from scratch-recipe below...sort of! It's not very precise, but the ingredients are things we always have on hand. It is quick and easy also, so it works great for a last minute meal idea! In Oregon, we eat this as the main entree!

Sophie ate frozen peas straight from the freezer, because she prefers that to salad.

I also served it with salad (ania ate along with frozen peas) spinach, romaine, cherry tomatoes, cheese and olive oil vinegarette. (I try not to offer the creamy dressings at home.)

RECIPE:

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:
2 cups of uncooked elbow macaroni
3 cups milk
1-2 regular sized bag of your favorite cheddar or mixed cheese (depending on how generous you are with your cheese layering! I use a lot of cheese!)
Seasoned Salt
Lemon Pepper
Flour

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Boil 2 cups of elbow macaroni for 10 minutes
Scald (heat on low/med. being careful not to burn) 3 cups of milk

Spray deep square casserole dish with non-stick spray

Layer:
1/2 macaroni
Cover macaroni with flour...not a super thick layer, just enough to cover the macaroni
Sprinkle with seasoning salt and lemon pepper...you'll have to experiment with this based on how seasoned you and your family like it! I probably use 2 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. lemon pepper on
each layer
1/2 cheese
Layer again with the macaroni ending with the cheese on top

Pour the scalded milk over the entire dish (it should cover well and less milk needed for whole wheat pasta)
Bake on 400 for 30 minutes!

After eating this kind of heavy lunch, we did fruit and celery boats (celery with peanut butter) for dinner. You can even make a little sail on the boats with a toothpick and a little cheese on the end of it! Makes eating a veggie dinner more fun! :)

Visit Dani for some daily encouragement at her blog!