Mac and Cheese {Scrapbook Layout}

Happy Tuesday!

Sorry I kind of disappeared last week - things just got very crazy around here, and many things {including blogging} had to take a back seat!

But I will have that summer update post ready for tomorrow now! I'm really excited about it too - because I've actually done a whole ton of things on my summer list!

But before that, I have a scrapbook layout that I wanted to share!

A few weeks ago, I decided to switch from D ring albums back to post bound. But when I did, I ended up with a few blank pages in my albums. Since I scrap chronologically, I decided to make a layout that could really fit in anywhere to fill up the blank spot in my 2013 album.

And that's where a layout about a recipe came in.

But not just any recipe, my all time favorite comfort food - mac and cheese. It is seriously the easy recipe ever...and it was a really easy layout too. I just added a few pictures of different stages in the cooking process, and the journal is just the recipe itself!

Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted From: Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh

Ingredients

8 oz pasta

2 1/2 Tablespoons butter + 1/2 Tablespoon butter

3 Tablespoons flour

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup water

1 bullion cube

8 oz fat free sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

1/4-1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs

1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Cook pasta according to the directions on the box.
• While the pasta is cooking, melt 2 1/2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. After the butter is melted, whisk in the flour. Whisk until the flour has cooked and is a light brown color (about 2 minutes)
• Add the milk, water and bullion cube. Continue whisking until the flour is incorporated into the liquid. Raise the heat slightly to allow the mixture to simmer and thicken up. Stirring as needed.
• Add the cheese, stirring until it is totally melted. Remove from heat. 
• Pre heat the broiler.
• Melt the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon butter (I usually do this in the microwave) and stir in the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
• When the pasta is done, add the pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to combine. Place the coated pasta in a casserole dish and top with the breadcrumb mixture. Broil for 2-5 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are toasted.

Oh man...now I'm really hungry...and its way way too early in the morning to be eating macaroni and cheese. Right? That's probably not a great breakfast idea? Or maybe it is...

Well, excuse me while I go convince myself that pasta and cheese is the breakfast of champions ;)

Do you scrap chronologically? Do you ever need "filler" layouts? What do you use?

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4th of July {Decor + Recipe}

Can you believe that it is already July?!

One of my favorite things about July (aside from it being summer break!) is 4th of July. We usually barbecue, go to the beach or the pool or run around in the sprinkler, decorate the house and turn all the food I can red + white + blue.

Last year, we started with these flag toasts for breakfast. This year, we are starting with something a little bit sweeter...or maybe ending with it, because it is definitely dessert! But on holidays, you can have dessert for breakfast, right? ;)

Some of my favorite summer treats involve fruit, pound cake and cool whip. But I wanted to make it a little more special with cookie cutters + food coloring. Because I will use any excuse to use cookie cutters + food coloring!

For this year, I decided to try out two different breakfasts desserts. My original idea was to make kabobs with the stars and strawberries, and cover them in Cool Whip. But then I thought star sandwiches would be so much more fun (and easier to eat!)

In the end, I'm glad I tried it both ways, because I loved the little sandwiches best, but AJ liked the kabobs better! So on Friday, I'll just make both. They were definitely easy enough for that!

And the food isn't the only thing I decorate...just after we got home from vacation in June, I decked the house out in patriotic colors. And the best part was that everything came from my stash or from our "waiting to be recycled" pile.



the stars and stripes papers were all in a summer pack that I've had for years, the polka dot papers were from a paper pack I bought last year | the stars were cut from an old moving box and painted or covered in paper | the firecrackers are empty breadcrumb containers | the flag "canvas" is an old cheerios box that's been painted + covered with scrapbook paper

Oh man, I really can't wait to celebrate on Friday - we are just hanging out at home, cooking, eating and playing in the sprinkler! What are your plans?

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December Daily 2013 {Day 13 + Day 14 + Day 15}

Wednesday is finally here!

It seems like its been a long week, and I'm not sure why. I was just thinking that when I was a kid, December moved so slooooowly, and as a grown up, it goes by too fast. That's when December decided to slam on the brakes. I'm grateful, because it gives me more time to enjoy every moment of this awesome season.

And this weekend was the perfect time for time to slow down a bit. We held our {now annual} Cookie Exchange Party! I so love this party, and was so glad we held it again!

Since we were hosting our cookie party on Saturday, we spent all of Friday cleaning up around the house. Well, AJ did most of the cleaning Friday while I was at work (although I did help out by making sure all of the clutter and things were put away so he could do the more heavy duty things, like scrubbing floors and such!)

Saturday was party day! I decided to make my extra special Santa Cupcakes this year. Normally these are treat that my family saves for Christmas Eve, but I thought it would be fun to add them to our cookie table!

Can you believe how many cookies and treats we had left over? And that is after everyone packed up cookies to bring home! Our tummies + freezer are full of cookies now. And I even brought two big containers into work!

The day after a party is always a day to relax in our house. I was still pretty wide awake after everyone left, so AJ and I cleaned up from the party (leaving out only those cookies in the picture above!) so when we woke up Sunday, we had absolutely nothing to do! Well, AJ had to work, and I had to do some paperwork + run an errand. But aside from that, we had nothing to do! I spent the afternoon scrapping and drinking tea from my Spode mugs.

Do you feel like time has slowed down yet this month? Or is it still flying by for you? I really really hope it stays slowed down - especially when we are spending time with our family!

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Santa Cupcakes

Way back when I was in elementary school, my mom found a recipe for Santa cupcakes somewhere.

I'm not entirely sure where. (This was before the internet and Pinterest, when people cut things out of magazines and pasted them into books.) My mom just told me that she got the recipe from a friend, Margaret. Thanks Margaret!

But it quickly became a family favorite, and a very special Christmas Eve treat.

The best part of these cupcakes is that they are super super simple!

Ingredients:

Cupcakes (we always make our from a box, but you can use your favorite homemade recipe if you want!)
Vanilla frosting
Red sugar crystals
Mini marshmallows
M&Ms





Frost your cupcake with the vanilla frosting.

Dip the top 1/3 of the cupcake in the red sugar crystals.

Add marshmallow trim to Santa's hat.

Add M&M eyes + a red nose.

Make a beard out of mini marshmallows.

Enjoy!

Oh man, I am so excited for Christmas now! Not that I wasn't before, but now...so so excited!

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Macaroni and Cheese

One my absolute favorite things in the world is macaroni and cheese.

When I was little, it was one of the only things that I would eat. Seriously, I think if my mom would have let me, I would have lived off of Kraft mac and cheese, pizza and chicken nuggets.

I still love Kraft in the blue box (seriously, there are about nine boxes in my pantry right now, you know, for emergencies). But I also love this mac and cheese recipe. It is a favorite in our house, and makes appearances at quite a few holidays as well.

My mom originally found it in Bon Appetit's Fast Easy Fresh cookbook, and over the years, we've adapted it to make it work for our family (and the things I usually have in my pantry!)

Ingredients

8 oz pasta
2 1/2 Tablespoons butter + 1/2 Tablespoon butter
3 Tablespoons flour
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1 bullion cube
8 oz fat free sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4-1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 Tablespoon Parmesan cheese





Directions

Cook pasta according to the directions on the box. Fun shaped pasta is optional, but I always like it!

While the pasta is cooking, melt 2 1/2 Tbsp butter in a large skillet. After the butter is melted, whisk in the flour. Whisk until the flour has cooked and is a light brown color (about 2 minutes)

Add the milk, water and bullion cube. Continue whisking until the flour is incorporated into the liquid. Raise the heat slightly to allow the mixture to simmer and thicken up. Stirring as needed.

Add the cheese, stirring until it is totally melted. Remove from heat.

Pre heat the broiler.

Melt the remaining 1/2 Tablespoon butter (I usually do this in the microwave) and stir in the breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.

When the pasta is done, add the pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to combine. Place the coated pasta in a casserole dish and top with the breadcrumb mixture.

Broil for 2-5 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are toasted.

*This recipe doubles really easily, and I often make it ahead of time (stopping before broiling) then just heat it up/broil it in the oven when I need it!
*You can replace the water + bullion cube with chicken or vegetable stock if you have that in your pantry. I just never do!
*Add ins are great here! Mushrooms. Bacon. Different types of cheese. More bacon. If you try some new ones, let me know!

For a printer friendly recipe, click here

Well, I know what I am having for dinner tonight now!

What about you?

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Apple Cheddar Muffins {3 Points+}

I have to tell you about these Apple Cheddar Muffins! They are amazing! Seriously, I cannot get enough of them...and the best part is that they are only 3 points on Weight Watchers so I can eat them whenever!

And seriously, with all the pre-wedding stress, I definitely have been snacking!

I've heard there are brides who get so nervous before the wedding that they don't eat at all and lost weight before the wedding! I'm only 4 pounds from my goal weight...why can't I be one of those brides?!

But, I'm not. I get stressed and I want to snack.

And that's where these muffins come in!

I found the original recipe here. It is actually a quick bread, but I wanted to change it up, because I just really love muffins. And they are harder to over indulge on. I can eat one muffin and stop. If this was a loaf of bread, I'd have eaten the whole thing in one sitting!

Apple Cheddar Muffins
Slightly adapted from Simply Stacie

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 + 1/3 cup low fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 Granny Smith apples, 1 diced (I like a larger dice so you can tell there are apple pieces in the muffin!), 1 grated

Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together. Then mix in 1 cup of the cheddar cheese.

In a separated bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs 1 at a time. Mix in the diced and grated apples.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two batches, stirring well after each batch.

Fill the muffin tins about halfway with dough. Using the 1/3 cup cheddar cheese, top each muffin with a bit of cheddar.

Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy!

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*The PointsPlus® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by me and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday {09.15.2013}

Oh my goodness! I'm actually posting on a Sunday!

I loved the fall theme to this week's scavenger hunt!

Enjoy a Pumpkin Drink

I don't drink coffee, so it seems that unless I want a beer, I get left out of the pumpkin flavored goodness! Until I saw this tea at Target. I love it, and I just went back yesterday to get another box before it is all gone!

Read a Book

Elementary Principals of Chemical Processes anyone? Maybe you prefer Business Law and the Legal Environment?

AJ kept all of his technical textbooks from college. They just sit on our book shelf with all of our "regular" books.

Bake Something Sweet

Apple Cheddar Muffins. So yum. They are a little bit sweet and a little bit savory, and oh so good. I'm having one of these for lunch today, with an actual apple :)

Animal

At Target last week, if you bought 4 Halloween cards, you got an adorable little bat for free. You know I couldn't pass that up! He is just so cute, and ready for me to put out the Halloween decorations!

Get Artsy

A little peek into my Project Life box.

Well, that's it for me :) Hope you are having a wonderful weekend!

Linking up with Ashley Sisk

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Top 5 {Back to School} Pins

Back to school...How did that happen so quickly? I'd be good with another few weeks (or months!) of summer. But we are already on our third week of the school year!

No major season change would be complete without a list of my favorite pins. I seriously love pinning things.

And I think I should get some PD credit for all my pinning. I mean, I've got a whole board just for school! That should count for something, right?

One of my favorite things is when I find ideas that are school related, but I can also use outside of school!

Like this adorable idea for binding papers together. This would be so cute for a mini book!

Original Pin

Or this fabulous list of educator discounts. Michael's is still my favorite one...probably because I shop there all the time!

Original Pin

Then there are things I just want for my house. Harry Potter + watercolors. Too bad I wasn't the person who commissioned this!

Original Pin

Or this. How cute would this be in the fall?

Original Pin

And no Back to School list would be complete without a special back to school treat!

 

Original Pin

Well, I'm not sure how motivated I am to go back to school. But I am definitely motivated to scrapbook, go shopping, decorate the house and cook!

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3 Ingredient Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars {3 points+}

Wow. That wasn't a great night! Did you ever wake up more tired than when you went to sleep? Ugh.

Fortunately, I'm waking up to freshly made granola bars!

One of my favorite things is granola bars. We are always eating them at home, they're perfect for a quick snack, or with some fruit and yogurt for breakfast.

Except I always want granola bars when we don't have them. So I started making my own. It also gives me something fun to make that is also healthy (you know, instead of cookies and cakes and brownies)

I started with this recipe, and adjusted it based on what I had at home.

And that is how peanut butter and jelly granola bars were born :)

Peanut Butter and Jelly Granola Bars

4 cups oats
3/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup raspberry jelly (or you could use honey And I'm sure strawberry and grape jelly are yummy too, I just happen to have raspberry in the house)

Other add ins:
chopped peanuts (we love to add these, when I have them!)
mini chocolate chips
dried fruit
seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast the oats for about 15 minutes.

Melt the peanut butter. Add the jelly to the peanut butter and mix well.

Combine the oats with the peanut butter and jelly mixture. Stir well. You may need to use your hands. This is also when you should add the other mix ins!

Press into a lined cupcake tin. Refrigerate for a few hours, until firm (if I'm in a big hurry, I throw them in the freezer.)

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Well, I'm off to go have one of these delicious bars for breakfast! Then its an early morning work day...followed by some napping I hope!

Have a wonderful day!

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*The PointsPlus® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by me and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.

Baked Potato Soup {4 points+}

There are two things I miss about living up north. Okay, there are way more than two things, but there are two things I'm thinking about today.

They are potato soup (seriously, I can't find that anywhere down here!) and Boston Market mashed potatoes (there isn't a Boston Market in all of Louisiana!).

So of course, after my shower, one of the first things I made was baked potato soup!

And you know the best part about this soup, its only 4 points!!!

Baked Potato Soup
Adapted from: food.com

Serving Size: 1 cup (4 points) or 2 cups (8 points)
Yield: 12 1-cup servings or 6 2-cup servings

6 medium golden potatoes, peeled and diced
1 large onion, chopped
1 quart chicken broth (or 1 quart water + 2 extra large bullion cubes)
3 garlic cloves
1/4 cup butter
1 cup fat free half and half
1 cup low fat shredded cheddar cheese

Add the potatoes, onion, chicken broth, garlic cloves and butter to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours.

After 4 hours, mash the potatoes using a potato masher. Add the half and half and cheese to the potatoes remaining in the slow cooker. Blend with an immersion blender.

Top with any of the following (some will add Weight Watchers points)
scallions (add 0 points)
fat free sour cream (2 Tbsp, add 1 point)
low fat shredded cheddar cheese (2 Tbsp, add 1 point)
a strip of bacon, crumbled (add 1 point)
carmelized onions (add 0 points)
sliced mushrooms (add 0 points)

Enjoy!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

This soup also heats up very well for lunch, and can be frozen. That's why I don't mind having so very much of it!

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*The PointsPlus® values for these products and/or recipes were calculated by me and are not an endorsement or approval of the product, recipe or its manufacturer or developer by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus® registered trademark.

Top 5 {Outdoors}

Is it really Monday morning already?!

How did that even happen? I'm pretty sure it was just Friday afternoon!

One of the many things I didn't get to this weekend was hanging out outside. Now that we actually have an outside space to hang out it, I would really like to take advantage of it. Especially before the weather gets to be 100 degrees and humid, which everyone keeps saying is going to happen!

Fortunately, Pinterest has lots of outside ideas, even when I'm stuck inside!

Bug Spray Before I can actually go outside, I realized I'm going to need some bug spray. My skin reacts really badly to bug bites. Unfortunately, it also doesn't love store bought bug sprays, but I can't wait to try this out and see if it keeps those mean mosquitoes away!

Source

Garden Hose Wreath Okay, so I already have a new wreath that I love, but I can love this one too!

Source

Vertical Flower Tower My mom has a special rod thing that makes these vertical flower towers, but I don't, and I don't know where to buy one! But now I don't have to worry about it :)

Source

DIY Citronella Candles A fun project + candles + keeping the bugs away? Yes, please!

Source

Frozen Yogurt Drops I love that this are so so easy to make. And we always have yogurt in the house. Now I just need to find 5 minutes to make them!

Source

I'm feeling really inspired to go outside now! Too bad I have to go to work...when I get home! I'm going outside!

What is your favorite outdoors activity for the spring?

Top 5 {St. Patrick's Day}

Hi everyone!

Tomorrow is March! What is that all about?!

I really enjoy St. Patrick's Day - for more than just the green beer! When I was a kid, my mom would dye our food green (normally I liked that...except the time she dyed the milk green, then I thought it had gone bad!)

Unfortunately, this year I won't be decorating for St. Patrick's Day at all. Our move is getting close (in just three and a half weeks!) and everything needs to be packed and ready to go. So, no decorating for me.

However, that doesn't stop me for oogling all the fun St. Patrick's Day goodies on Pinterest!

5. "Shamrock" Stamp I love this! And to be honest, I'm wondering why I didn't think of this sooner... I don't have any shamrock stamps or punches, but I definitely have hearts!

Click Here to See Pin

4. Scraps + Stickers = An Awesome Piece of Artwork I know I have lots of left over shamrock stickers from layouts and parties and such. And I know I have scraps! This is so easy, I think I could put

Click Here to See Pin

3. Edible Leprechaun Hat YUM! How cute is this. If the 15th weren't my last day at work, I'd totally bring these in for my kids!

Click Here to See Pin

2. Ribbon Wreath This is definitely something I could do in the car on the way to Baton Rouge. A wire hanger + fabric scraps. I have a ton of scraps in some very spring colors. I'll have to look for them tonight :)

Click Here to See Pin

1. Burlap Wreath I love the look of burlap for spring (and fall...and weddings...) But I really love the way it makes the green and white fabric pop here. I cannot wait to make this wreath - next March!

Click Here to See Pin

Bonus! Because really, what is life without a bonus

You all may recognize this one from Becky's blog. I love love love these shirts that she made for her girls! Especially the pink and the green, what a fabulous way to stand out just a little bit on St. Patrick's Day!

Click Here to See Pin