Foodie Friday

First of all—sorry if the title of this post is cheesy. You’ll forgive me though, when you check out this super tasty recipe created by the awesome Giada De Laurentiis. If you love to cook, like me, then you know who she is. She is the main cook behind Everyday Italian and Giada at Home; and boy can she cook. Her Italian food is so delicious and she makes her recipes simple so that we can create Italian cuisine at home, with ease. I’ve attempted a few of her recipes and by far my favorite is her macaroni and Cheese Recipe; and, I recommend you give it a try.

The directions are super simple—click here to view the ingredients and instructions.

I’m going to show you how I make it, and hopefully offer some tips.

First I grease my 13 x 9 inch baking dish. 

Next, I boil a large pot of water and once it comes up to a rolling boil I add in a hand full of salt and my wide egg noodles. Then remove them once they are tender. 

Then cook up a couple pieces of bacon (I use bacon instead of ham). Next chop the bacon into small bits and chop up your parsley as well—then side aside. 

Next, I get a large bowl and grab the following ingredients: 2 cups cream, 2 ½ milk, 2 tsp. flour, ½ teaspoon salt, and pepper. Toss them into your bowl and whisk. I usually whisk for about 5 minutes because I want the mixture to thicken a bit. 

I also use different cheeses for this recipe but it still tastes so good! I just buy two containers of the three cheese blend, and use 1 ¾ of both containers of cheese combined, and save ¼ of the cheese mix for the top of the macaroni. Once I’ve done that, I add the cheese, bacon, and parsley to the cream mixture and mix. 

Next, add the egg noodles. 

Then add to your baking dish and top with the remainder of your cheese (that’s if you’re making it my way) and place into your oven. Another tip I have is leave the macaroni in the oven until the cream is bubbling and the tops are a little toasty. Then let the macaroni sit out for about 10 minutes. It will come out perfect if you do it that way.

Then when it’s done, serve it up! Nom nom. 

Happy eating! I’m hungry now…

+ Thank you to my lovely sister Angie for assisting me with this macaroni so I wouldn't get my camera dirty :-) 

How to Make Easy & Affordable Limeade

Hi everyone! I’m excited to share this little recipe with you. It’s a great drink to make when you have unexpected guests’ at your house and you need to serve something delicious and quick. You can even make this drink to go with your lunch or dinner—that’s what I usually do. My family loves it, and I’m sure yours will too.

I’m going to explain how I make it to the taste I prefer; but by all means use the steps I’m providing for you and turn the limeade into your own. The taste that I prefer is as follows! (Enjoy):

What you’ll need: 

1.       Blender

2.       Zester

3.       Fine mesh strainer

4.       Knife

5.       2 large limes

6.       1 ½ tbs. of lime zest

7.       1 ¼ cup of granulated sugar

8.       5 ¼ cup of water

Makes a little over a liter, prep time: 10-15 minutes.

Step 1: What I do first is zest my limes—about 1 ½ tbs.

Step 2: Cut both your limes in half like so:

Step 3:  Cut off the skin (being careful not to cut off the pulp).

Step 4: Add your cut limes, 1 cup of water, and ¼ cup of sugar to the blender and mix.

Step 5: Once blended, place your strainer over a bowl and pour the contents into your bowl, than you are left with the wonderful juice.

Step 6: From this point I simply add the rest of the water, sugar(4 ¼ cups water/1 cup sugar)and lime zest, but I add the water one cup at a time, tasting each time to make sure the flavor is where I want it to be. However, you can add as much or as little water and sugar as you like. Once you’ve got the 2 limes, 1 cup of water, and ¼ cup of sugar, you can add as much water or sugar as you like to taste.

Once you’ve finished—serve and enjoy! Cheers!