RECIPE

Ok, so this isn’t as decadent as the Starbucks variety.  But it is A) WAAAAAY cheaper and B) WAY less bad for ya.

We made an embarrassingly large number of these drinks last summer.  eepS!  I changed things a bit, sometimes using less milk and more water.  Not always adding the coffee.  Using chocolate chips, instead of chopped chocolate.  Never adding any whipped cream or topping.  But, it was always super delicious and a good way to curb a sweet craving without indulging too much.  (If you aren’t adding coffee, or you’re adding a powdered espresso, you may need more liquid than the recipe calls for.)  It feels light and more “water-y,” if I may, than the coffee shop ones, but in a good way.  To me, anyway.  Try it!

Once in a rare while, we do add a homemade “magic shell” topping, but I seriously think it detracts from the experience usually.

Recipe link

I haven’t had a mainstream chocolate/candy bar in years.  Between the filler ingredients, unhealthy dyes, and packaging waste, I try to track down homemade versions or local shop alternatives instead.  Store-brand Crunch Bars actually do keep the ingredients list fairly simple, but there’s no control over the quality or sourcing of them.

This recipe is laughably simple and incredibly delicious.  We just used our semi-sweet chocolate chips.  We also experimented with putting the mixture into silicone molds and in cookie cutters on a silicone parchment-lined tray.  Super tasty and simple.  Can’t get much better than that!

I really try to give our kids balanced meals, and they do almost solely snack on vegetables throughout the day, but, man, they love their mac and cheese lunches.  I feel better about the Annie’s brand than Kraft, but the environmentalist in me still cringes at the waste.  So, these are my two “easy” alternatives for macaroni and cheese.

Method One:
We started buying powdered cheese in bulk from King Arthur Flour.  This is exactly like making the boxed mac, except with bulk ingredients.  Just cook up the pasta.  Add either milk and butter or yogurt.  Mix.  And then add the powdered cheese.  If you’d like to get precise about it, you can weigh and measure from a boxed version, but I just go with what tastes/looks about right.

Method Two:
I love this InstantPot mac and cheese recipe!  It’s so gooey and delicious.  The bonus part for me, especially when my youngest was a baby, was that I don’t have to keep an eye on boiling water or check in with the pasta while it’s cooking.  So, in a big way, it’s actually easier than the boxed version.  I also love that I can customize the cheeses (I usually add less than it says.)  Instead of evaporated milk, I usually just use regular or try to evaporate it myself or add yogurt or sour cream for extra creaminess.

Method Three:
Lately, I’ve just been making pasta on our stovetop.  I mix in pumpkin and pumpkin spice, salt, butter, and cheese, and it is very delicious and fall-y!

 

The awesome part about homemade macaroni and cheese is that it allows you to handpick your pasta type, whether it’s the shape or using whole wheat or gluten-free and customize your cheeses.

Other mac and cheese ideas:
–Add homemade breadcrumbs to the top!
–Mix in a bit of pumpkin to boost the nutrition a bit.

 

Gotta love this Brad Montague!

Pesto Babka

I love being able to support PBS.  And they have such awesome shows offered on their channel.  We’ve been loving the Kitchen Vignettes, and my kids regularly opt for this during their TV time.  I’d love to try so many of their recipes, but here’s one I tried early on.  SO yummy!  I used our version of pesto though, since I always have plenty of that on-hand.

Pizza Pasta recipe

Well, this was some decadent goodness!  Quite easy and a big hit.

I did not add the sausage this time, because, well, I didn’t.  Also, I’m just realizing I completely forgot the Italian seasonings-oops.  I’m sure that would help bump this recipe up even more.  I was originally going to make our very simple homemade sauce, but we ended up using a jar of pasta sauce that was 18 oz.  So, that’s all I used.  I also think I only added about 20 oz of water.  I will check and update.  Oh, and definitely added more pepperoni.  I chopped the pieces that were being mixed in and left the others whole.  We used our home-grated cheddar from the freezer and a little Romano, instead of mozzarella.

Anyway, very good and very simple.