Gourmet Macaroni & Cheese

Tonight I soooo didn't want to cook! (okay, so really, I never want to cook!) I thought of macaroni & cheese and immediately felt sorry for Steve! SO! I spiced up my macaroni and cheese and made what I will call: Gourmet Macaroni & Cheese (do you think I'm pathetic? I probably am, but I really think you'll like this recipe!)



Okay this is so easy! Basically you are going to prepare macaroni & cheese according to the box directions except you're going to omit the milk and substitute a 14.5 oz can of Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes (including the juice - it will be the liquid for the recipe). Add some browned, crumbled, and drained hamburger and Voilà! Gourmet Macaroni and Cheese.

Here is the detailed recipe:

Ingredients:
2 boxes of macaroni & cheese (I ♥ Kraft)
1 stick of butter
Cheese packets from the mac & cheese mixes
1 - 14.5 oz. can of Italian Style Stewed Tomatoes
1/2 pound of hamburger, browned, crumbled, and drained.

In a largish pot bring water to a boil and add macaroni. Boil uncovered for 7-10 minutes until softened (do not overcook). Drain noodles and add 1 stick of butter that's been cut into pieces (it will melt quicker); stir to melt butter in noodles. Add can of tomatoes, including the juice (the juice will take the place of the milk.) Stir in the cheese packets.

While macaroni is cooking, brown and crumble 1/2 pound of hamburger in a skillet. Drain grease off of the hamburger and add to the prepared macaroni, cheese, & tomato mixture. Generously serves 6.

Martha Stewart look out! Or not.

Kitty Kandids for a Rainy Day

The kitties are ready to make an appearance:


We call this one TL. He is a boy, so being called Tiger Lily after his mom and grandma might be embarrassing for him, (Johnny Cashe sang about the effects of such a thing in "A Boy Named Sue") so we'll just use the initials.


This little girl is the tiniest and looks like a little kitty fairy, so Thumbelina fits her perfectly. We'll shorten it to Lina, though.


This little guy is named Blackjack. We could shorten it to Jack, but since that is my dad's name and he doesn't really like cats I think we'll stick to BJ as a nickname.

They are fat and happy, and that's all that matters in a kitty's life.


I took Matt to Cub Olympics this morning. It was rainy and cold off and on, which made the water games pretty miserable for complainers like me. Matt was fine with it, though. They had a great balloon launcher there made with some rubber tubing and a pocket to contain the water balloon before flinging it. The boys had a great time watching the balloon travel about 50 yards and then splatting on the ground. A couple of mishaps happened though when the rubber tubing came untied and smacked the little boy's leg who was launching the balloon. Another mishap happened when Matt was at another station directly across from the balloon launcher and he got smacked in the leg with a launched balloon that didn't break. It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt!


I got my ring back from the jewelers on Friday after having them replace Emily's missing birthstone, sizing it, and cleaning it. It is wonderful to have it back!



On Steve's and my tenth wedding anniversary I asked for a mother's ring. After really thinking about it and knowing that I don't wear much jewelry other than my wedding ring we opted to have a custom ring be added to my wedding ring. I designed it and the jeweler created it. I absolutely love it!

It has been chilly and just pouring buckets of rain down for about the last hour or two. In Kentucky our creek would have flooded us in if it'd rained this long and this hard. On a day like that, I would have started a fire in my soapstone woodstove and rocked in my rocking chair while watching the fire and listening to the rain. As it is, I have spent time on facebook and blogs. While I love all y'all, I would rather have my old woodstove. Steve is going to have to make sure our flue can contain the flames, because I *need* a woodstove. And I'd love another soapstone stove like I used to have.

I have also been listening to my playlist and it has really lifted my spirit. While I love the sound of the falling rain, and I love the green that happens because of it, the greyness of a rainy has a way of making me feel a little down. I love, love, love my playlist! Brad Paisley's song, "I'm Still a Guy" puts a smile on my face every time. How I love that guy's songs! He makes me laugh just about every time! And Alan Jackson's "That'd be Alright" (and most of his songs, really), Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day to Be Alive", and Shania Twain's "Any Man of Mine" song always brighten my day. Michael Buble's "Everything" and the Dixie Chick's "Cowboy Take Me Away" make me glad I have Steve in my life. My music can definitely soothe me, even when I'm feeling pretty beasty.

I've started reading Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz again. Odd Thomas is my favorite of all of his characters. Have you ever read his books? They are not for the faint of heart! Amber can't go outside in the dark anymore because of reading his stuff. I love him! He takes his readers on a roller coaster ride through hell but always ends with happily ever after. I tease Steve that if he dies I'll look up Dean Koontz to see if his wife Gerda is still around; if not, I'll hook up with him. Maybe my threat, and his jealousy, will keep that husband of mine around for a long, long time! And that would suit me just fine!! Koontz's heroines always remind me of me, and I'm a sucker for a man who thinks that my personality makes up the perfect woman, lol! Lucky for me, Steve thinks Koontz' heroines are pretty perfect and finds my quirks endearing. :-)

I'll take a pic of those bridesmaid's dresses like I told you I would just as soon as there is some good lighting.

The sun came out for a minute, so the lighting is pretty ok for taking pics. Here are the bridesmaid dresses. Remember that they will have a little shrug/jacket over the spaghetti straps:

Front:


Back:


Here is Emily's flower girl dress. You can't see the flowers on the waist in the pics, but trust me when I say they are adorable:



I hope that the rest of your weekend is wonderful!!

The Three Little Kittens

These are my new babies. Their mommy, Lily, is missing. The same thing happened last year with two of my favorite cats, Jewel and Socks. So I am bottle feeding them, washing their bottoms, (did you know that mommy cats do that to stimulate the babies to "go"? The vet, years ago, told me that I'd have to replicate even that part of being a kitty mommy. Fun stuff!) filling up a 2 liter bottle full of hot water and covering it over with a towel so that they can keep cozy and warm, and putting a stuffed animal in with them to snuggle up to. So far, so good.

The girls and I went shopping on Saturday. We found the bridesmaid dresses and flower girl dress and bought them. I'll have to post pics for them soon.

This week I need to order the invitations. Karen's mom and dad have told me how many they'll be needing, so now it is up to me.

Oh, I'd love suggestions for the food. We are keeping it simple, so I need refreshment type food ideas. Karen wants to have a fancy type of chicken salad sandwiches on croissants. I am thinking of lemonade with floating lemon slices and ice in a beautiful dispenser like this one found at Dillards

Karen's mom will be making pumpkin bread. I'm thinking of having some lemon squares too. Food is the next portion of the wedding that will consume my thoughts until it is organized, so throw in your suggestions, okay?

Today I am going with Josh to the dentist to see what work he needs to have done so that nothing comes along to bite him after he is off of our insurance. He'll also get all cleaned and polished up, so that he can look wonderful for his big day.

I hope that you are having a wonderful summer! We are really rainy here, like every-day-for-a-little-while rainy. What is the weather like in your neck of the woods?