Organic or not, instant mac is still instant mac -- junk food, in a BAD way! (Yum!) I can't leave well enough alone, though, and I felt compelled to slightly improve upon the nutritional value of our lunch today. Dan and I split the box of Rising Moon Organic "Original" mac and cheese I bought yesterday, and I made the following additions:
1. Added about 2 cups of small broccoli florets to the macaroni during the last 2 minutes of boiling
2. Added an extra 1/4 cup of milk to the "cheese sauce" (to "stretch" it a bit)
3. Placed 2/3 cup white beans in the bottom of the colander, before draining the mac and broccoli. The beans warmed nicely this way, before being combined with the cheese sauce.
This lunch made me very, very happy. :)
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Other happenings in my kitchen this weekend . . .
Saturday Night Pizza Feast:
I made two pizzas this week, since Dan's friend Mike joined us for dinner. Both pies started with my ususal half-whole wheat Artisan Bread crusts, and were smeared with homemade tomato sauce (using fire-roasted tomatoes this time!) The front pizza was topped with roasted red peppers, (frozen, home-roasted peppers from the FM,) broccoli, mushrooms, diced red onion, and sliced garlic. The back pizza was topped with canned artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, and feta. Mozzarella and parmesan on both, as usual.
I finally got around to continuing the bake-a-long today! I had made up a batch of the "Oatmeal Bread" dough last weekend, but never baked any off. Tragedy! Rectified this afternoon:
Gorgeous, non? Tasty, too! I enjoyed a slice this afternoon, still slightly warm,with a little butter, cinnamon, and sugar, when I got home from my walk to the library. Divine! I can't wait to see how this will perform in our grilled-cheese sandwiches planned for dinner tonight. I'm starting to think this loaf might make it into "everyday bread" rotation!
While I was busy in the kitchen, I worked on a few other cooking projects as well:
Inside that blob of foil is a whole head of roasted garlic, to be pureed into a bean soup later this week. I also cooked up nine cups of (very plump!) chickpeas, and eight cups of kidney beans. My freezer has been looking a little empty as of late, so I felt the need to fill it up with something. :)
PUDDING:
Chocolate? Vanilla? Yin? Yang? Well, when I asked Dan if he wanted chocolate, vanilla, or butterscotch pudding this week, he replied, "um, chocolate or vanilla." Why not both? Some in glass cups for enjoying at home, some in to-go containers for packing in lunches! I love pudding, and it's so freakin' easy, why not make a double-batch, right?
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So, what would your vote be: chocolate, vanilla, or butterscotch?