Friday Night Dinner: Mom's Mac & Cheese

Comfort food...that's what this recipe is. After making it for dinner and eating all of the leftovers at lunch the next day, I made it a second time (only 2 days later...). I didn't grow up eating mac and cheese from a box; my mom made homemade white sauce on the stove, boiled pasta, crumbled crackers over top and baked it on the oven. It comes out cheesy, gooey and delicious. This is a perfect recipe for a cool spring evening or for a day when you want to enjoy the pleasures of when you were a kid.

Mom's Mac & Cheese

from the kitchen of...my mom!

Ingredients:

2 cups of macaroni noodles, uncooked

8 T margarine/butter (1 stick)

6 T flour

3 cups cold milk

2 cups shredded cheese (I usually use cheddar.)

1/2 a sleeve of saltine crackers

salt

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni until done.

2. For the sauce: Melt 6 T margarine/butter in skillet. Add 6 T flour and 3/4 t salt and stir in.

3. When it's all bubbly, add 3 C cold milk. I usually put a little in and stir it smooth and then add the rest to keep it from being lumpy. Cook, stirring constantly until it's thicker. Remove from heat. Then add 2 C shredded cheese to the sauce. Mix this in.

4. Add your drained macaroni to the sauce mixture and stir together. Pour into casserole dish (2 or 2-1/2 qt.).

5. Topping: Use the other 2 T margarine/butter and melt it. Crumble up about 1/2 a sleeve of saltines and stir it into the margarine. Sprinkle on top of the macaroni mixture.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes to heat through and blend flavors.

Mmm...enjoy! The perfect combination of cheesy noodles with salty, crunchy saltines.

Do you have a favorite recipe that just reminds you of home?

Other dinner ideas:

Perfect Pizza Crust

Blogs I link to: CraftOManiac, Brassy Apple, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Tip Junkie, Shwin and Shwin, Home Stories A to Z, Creative Itch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Coastal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, Chef in Training, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Southern Lovely, Passionately Artistic, Sew Woodsy, Ginger Snaps, Someday Crafts, Creations by Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings, Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, The CSI Project, Kojo Designs, Tatertots & Jello, Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Simple Home Life, 30 Handmade Days, Family Ever After, Craftionary, I Heart Nap Time, Positively Splendid, Nifty Thrifty Things

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Friday Night Treat/Tutorial: Frosting Flowers

A couple of weeks ago I showed you a quick and easy way to decorate cupcakes, using a frosting swirl. Through that post, I also found out that I am not the only one who would pass on a piece of cake but loves a good cupcake!

Today I want to show you my favorite favorite favorite way to quickly frost a cupcake. It takes a little bit of practice, but once you get the technique you can frost a couple dozen of these in 30 minutes!

I used Wilton tip 104. You can buy frosting tips individually at places like Michael's or Hobby Lobby, or in sets at Wal-Mart. They usually cost $1-$2 for an individual tip. Not such a big investment when you compare that to how much it costs to buy a dozen cupcakes from the grocery store!

This tip is a thin, teardrop shape, with an opening wider at one end than the other. After filling your frosting bag about 2/3 full with frosting (here is my favorite frosting recipe), we are ready to get started.

1. Get your cupcake ready but placing it in an area where you can easily turn the cupcake.
2. Place your tip just above the center of your cupcake, with the widest side of the tear-drop closest to the cupcake.
3. Tip your frosting bag so the tip is at about a 45 degree angle (the top of your frosting tip will be at about 10 o'clock).
4. Squeeze the frosting out, making the left side of a single petal all the way to the edge of the cupcake.
*When you reach the edge of the cupcake, continue squeezing the frosting bag as you turn it so the top of the tip is at about 2 o'clock.
*Squeeze the frosting bag, coming back to the center of the cupcake. You now have one completed petal.
5. Start in the center again. Make the left side of your petal (touching the right side of the petal next to it), and coming back to the center making the right side of your petal.
6-7. Continue all the way around the cupcake (I usually have about 6 petals going around the first layer of the cupcake).
8. When the top of the cupcake is full of petals, continue the same technique to make a second layer of petals.
*Place your frosting bag in the center, with the widest part of the teardrop shape closest to the center of the cupcake.
*Make petals extending from the center of the cupcake towards the outer edge (but the second layer has shorter petals that don't quite go all the way to the edge). I try to have the petals on the second layer form above where two petals meet on the layer below.
9-10. Continue in the same manner as the first layer of petals (I usually make about 4 or 5 petals on the second layer).
11-12. Add sprinkles or leave plain!

Other notes:
I like to rotate the cupcake as I frost, so I always make the petals in the same direction. I make a petal, and rotate the cupcake, make a petal, and rotate the cupcake, and continue that way all the way around the cupcake.

This is my favorite technique to use when I need to frost a cupcake quickly. I think it looks elegant, but is so simple to complete.

I used this technique in order to frost 1/2 of the cupcakes for this baby shower (the pinks and yellows). I then sprinkled large granule sugar on top.

It's also fun to switch colors while using the same frosting bag. I had some pretty cool yellow flower cupcakes where the flower petals had pink tips! This happened because after the pink frosting ran out, I just put yellow into the frosting bag without cleaning it out.

You can see in the picture some of the blue and purple combinations I have too, just by putting the next color in the bag when the original color ran out. Just a fun thing to try sometime!

Looking for an even simpler way to frost cupcakes...try my frosting swirl tutorial!

Blogs I link to: CraftOManiac, Brassy Apple, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Tip Junkie, Shwin and Shwin, Home Stories A to Z, Creative Itch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Coastal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, Chef in Training, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Southern Lovely, Passionately Artistic, Sew Woodsy, Ginger Snaps, Someday Crafts, Creations by Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings, Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, The CSI Project, Kojo Designs, Tatertots & Jello, Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Simple Home Life, 30 Handmade Days, Family Ever After, Craftionary, I Heart Nap Time, Positively Splendid, Nifty Thrifty Things

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Friday Night Treat/Tutorial: Frosting Swirl Cupcakes

Tonight's Friday Night Treat is focused on this frosting recipe. I am going to show you how to use it in a fun way!

I am actually not a huge fan of cake (I know, I don't love cake or chocolate)...but when cake is in the form of a cupcake, it is totally different. I can't really explain why, but I think it has to do with the ratio of cake to frosting, the fun cupcake liners, and the circle shape that are just so much more appetizing than a square slice of cake. And, you don't have to use utensils or plates. That is genius all by itself.

I love to look around at cupcakes (I have a Pinterest board devoted mostly to cupcakes - although a few cakes have snuck their way in). You can get very complex and spend hours decorating a set of cupcakes, or you can go a simple route. Today, I want to show you a simple cupcake design that anyone can make. It looks great, and it is so fast!

I just made a simple chocolate cupcake (from a box mix) paired with my frosting recipe. In order to make a chocolate buttercream frosting, I melted 3 squares of unsweetened baking chocolate and mixed that in towards the end of the mixing time.

The frosting swirl cupcake uses a large tip - Wilton 1M. You can find Wilton tips for sale in sets at places like Wal-Mart, or sold individually at Michael's or Hobby Lobby. A large tip like this will cost around $2. Place your tip in a decorating bag (or a Ziploc bag with the corner cut out), and load it about 2/3 full of frosting, twisting the top closed. I like to squeeze the bag and make sure the frosting is coming out nice and even before I get near a cupcake.

Placing my decorating tip close to the cupcake, but not touching it, I start on one edge and swirl my way around. When I get to the point I started, I continue with the same string of frosting making an inside row. I like to finish in the center of the cupcake, squeezing out a star shape. To do this, you make sure your bag is completely vertical. Squeeze a little frosting, stop squeezing, and lift up your tip. For these cupcakes, I chose to use a white pearl sprinkle. Another one of my favorite sprinkles lately is a large sugar granule. It gives the cupcake a nice sparkle.

The great thing about decorating cupcakes (or cake in general) is that if you make a mistake, you can just scrape off the frosting (trying not to scrape any cake crumbs), and try again. You also can make the cupcakes any color to match whatever party you are throwing (or whatever color you love). I commonly make at least some basic frosting swirl cupcakes when I am baking for a baby shower. They go great with a color theme, and it allows 'fancy' (also known as time-consuming) cupcakes to be showcased.

Here is a picture of a baby shower I baked for where 1/2 of the cupcakes were a swirl design:

All of the blue and purple cupcakes in this case were swirled.

The pink and the yellow cupcakes were a large flower design (which I will be showing you soon).

I hope this helps you!

Now for the important questions:

Is there anyone else who loves a good cupcake but doesn't love a slice of cake?

Is it only me?

Blogs I link to: CraftOManiac, Brassy Apple, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Tip Junkie, Shwin and Shwin, Home Stories A to Z, Creative Itch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Coastal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, Chef in Training, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Southern Lovely, Passionately Artistic, Sew Woodsy, Savvy Southern Style, Ginger Snaps, Someday Crafts, Creations by Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings, Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, The CSI Project, Remodelaholic, Tatertots & Jello, Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Simple Home Life, 30 Handmade Days, Family Ever After, Craftionary, I Heart Nap Time, Positively Splendid, Nifty Thrifty Things

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Friday Night Treat: Cream Puffs

I don't know about you, but sometimes I feel like I am short on time - all the time. That's how I have been feeling this week. We bought a house (or I should say that we live in a house that we have a loan on) last week and moved in over the weekend. We have been cleaning, unpacking, and the new found home ownership responsibility - shoveling snow. And then, we got invited to two dinner parties within a week. Maybe I should have said "no", but instead I said, "What can I bring?" I needed something fast, delicious, and I am always looking for something inexpensive. So, I decided to make cream puffs.

Cream puffs were always my mom's go-to dessert when we had guests over. You can prepare them in advance, they are simple, they look super fancy, and they are cheap. Win-win-win-win. So, I would love to share this delicious recipe with you now!

Cream Puffs

1 C water
1/2 C butter or margarine
1 C all-purpose flour
4 eggs
Pudding or whipped cream (for filling)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Bring water and butter to a rolling boil.

Stir in flour. Stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minute or until mixture forms a ball. Remove from heat.

Beat in eggs, all at one time; continue beating until smooth (you can use a hand mixer if you would like).

Drop dough by a scant 1/4 cup, 3 inches apart onto an ungreased baking sheet*.

Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until puffed and golden. Cool away from draft. Cut off tops (I like to use a bread knife for this). Pull out any filaments of soft dough.

Carefully fill puffs with pudding or whipped cream. Replace tops. Refrigerate until serving time**.








Yield: 12 cream puffs

*Sometimes my grandma will make a mini-cream puff size - closer to an 1/8 cup each.
**For the dinner party we were attending, I cut the cream puffs in half and brought them in a container unfilled. I then brought chocolate pudding and whipped cream on the side, so the guests could fill their cream puff any way they wanted to.

I love simple recipes! Now, back to the cleaning...and unpacking...
And, I hope you stop by next week because I have some fun Valentine crafts and snacks that I am sooo excited to share with you! See you then!

Have a great weekend!

Blogs I link to: CraftOManiac, Brassy Apple, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Tip Junkie, Shwin and Shwin, Home Stories A to Z, Creative Itch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Coastal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, Chef in Training, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Southern Lovely, Passionately Artistic, Sew Woodsy, Savvy Southern Style, Ginger Snaps, Someday Crafts, Creations by Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings, Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, The CSI Project, Remodelaholic, Tatertots & Jello, Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Simple Home Life, 30 Handmade Days, Family Ever After, Craftionary, I Heart Nap Time, Positively Splendid, Nifty Thrifty Things Pin It

Friday Night Treat: Frosting!

Everyone needs a good frosting recipe - and although this recipe doesn't take butter (to make it a true buttercream), it is a great frosting! I also don't have to worry about refrigerating the cake/cupcakes because of not having butter in it (does anyone else worry about that too?). The recipe is at the end of this post.

Want to see some things I've made with this frosting? I will be showing you a few of these techniques over the next couple of weeks (and I'll show you more if I have requests!).

Basic swirl on a cupcake

Large flower design on a cupcake

A combo of basic swirls and large flowers for a baby shower

(weird background - yeah, it was in our school library :) )

Ladybug cupcakes

 

Microphone cupcakes

 

Rocket ship birthday cake

(for my husband's 25th - yeah we're cool like that)

One of the first cakes I ever made

(for full disclosure)

An anniversary cake for my in-laws

(I used stiff consistency frosting to make the white roses)

Monster cupcakes - one of my all-time favorites!

I hope our little one wants a monster birthday party some day!

Are you getting some ideas of what you can make with some good frosting?

I hope so! So, here goes...

Cream together your shortening, flavoring, and water/milk.

It will look like this when it is all creamed together.

Add your powdered sugar and meringue powder. I recommend putting a towel over top of the mixer while this is happening (careful not to get it in the bowl!), so that way the powdered sugar doesn't go EVERYWHERE!

• This will make a stiff consistency of frosting - which is best for making flowers (such as roses - like on the anniversary cake).
• Add 1 teaspoon of water per cup of stiff consistency frosting (or 1 Tablespoon for the full recipe) to make it medium consistency - which is best for stars and borders.
• Add 1 teaspoon of water per cup of medium consistency frosting (or 1 Tablespoon for the full recipe) to make it a thin consistency - which is best for writing and icing a cake.

Usually, I work somewhere between the thin and medium consistency. If you make it too thin, stick it in the fridge for a little while. If it is too stiff, just add a little more water until you get it to the consistency that you want. Does that make sense?

Then, you can leave it white or tint it to the color that you want. Not too bad, huh? Here's the recipe...

Buttercream Icing

(adapted from the Wilton Method of Cake Decorating)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of solid white vegetable shortening
• 1 teaspoon of flavoring (vanilla, almond, or butter)
• My note: I usually use 1/2 t vanilla, 1/2 t almond, and 1/4 t butter flavoring (if I double the recipe I don't double the flavoring).
• 2 T milk or water
• My note: I use water (purified to keep the frosting as white as possible) because I don't want to worry about refrigeration.
• 1 lb. pure cane confectioners' sugar (about 4 C)
• 1 T meringue powder
• My note: You can find this in in the Wilton aisle at Wal-Mart
• a pinch of salt

Directions:

• Cream shortening, flavoring and water.
• Add dry ingredients and mix on medium speed until all ingredients have been thoroughly mixed together.
• Blend an additional minute or so, until creamy.

My note: I usually make a double batch whenever I make this frosting because powdered sugar comes in a 2 pound bag. I either use it all or refrigerate or freeze the leftovers for a future use!

What are you going to frost?

What do you want to learn how to do?

Blogs I link to: CraftOManiac, Brassy Apple, Sumo’s Sweet Stuff, Tip Junkie, Shwin and Shwin, Home Stories A to Z, Creative Itch, Sugar Bee Crafts, Coastal Charm, Not Just a Housewife, Hope Studios, Chef in Training, Mommy By Day Crafter By Night, Southern Lovely, Passionately Artistic, Sew Woodsy, Savvy Southern Style, Ginger Snaps, Someday Crafts, Creations by Kara, Rae Gun Ramblings, Delightful Order, House of Hepworths, The CSI Project, Remodelaholic, Tatertots & Jello, Shabby Nest, Chic on a Shoestring, Simple Home Life, 30 Handmade Days, Family Ever After, Craftionary, I Heart Nap Time, Positively Splendid, Nifty Thrifty Things

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