Crockpot Mac and Cheese

Well Lovies, it's Monday again! Our weekend was a whirlwind. I'm dragging this morning and can't seem to get myself together. So I thought I would post this recipe I made over the weekend. It was a big hit! Every single bit was devoured! Bonus.. it's easy...

A coworker brought this to a work potluck. I am not always the biggest fan of mac and cheese but this one was on point! She passed along the recipe and I couldn't wait to make it. This is my Hubs favorite thing I make. His entire family requests for me to bring this at every holiday and event. It's super easy! I modify Paula Deen's recipe.

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese and monterray jack cheese (I probably error to more than less of this amount)

1/2 cup of sour cream

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt

1 cup of milk (whatever % you have is fine- I usually use 2%)

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. I dump everything into the crockpot- drainer macaroni and all other ingredients. Stir well and occasionally stir. Cook on low for 2-2.5 hours. I always use a crockpot liner because this cheese would be a nightmare to scrub! I also have a large crockpot and double this recipe for family events. I've even made this with gluten free noodles for a cookout and it was still amazing! Pictured below is the recipe above x2 since it's a larger crockpot.

I got this super cute crock pot carry bag for a wedding gift. I love it! It's perfect for carrying this dish off a cookout or party. Bonus- it's super cheap!

Confessional Friday: A Day in the Life

I saw Leslie themed this week's Confessional Friday- A Day in the Life. I really think my life can be pretty boring unless it's weekend but here it goes!

I decided to do yesterday because my days can be pretty random but all in all about the same.

7:00am- My alarm goes off. I hit snooze. 7:10am- I hit snooze again. 7:20am- I hit snooze again! 7:30am- I turn on the news and lay there for a second. The Hubs is already gone. He leaves before 7am everyone morning now since starting the new job.  I jump up and run into the bathroom. Wash face, brush teeth, put contacts in, brush my hair, throw on some make up. I step into our closet- grab the first dress with some sleeves I can find (I know it's 100 degrees out today but my office is a freezer!) throw on my Miller sandals and head to the kitchen. I grab 2 eggs and throw them into my lunch bag. Out the door I go.

8:30am- I walk into work. Yesterday we received new computers so start up took a bit this morning. I walk into the breakroom and break the 2 eggs into a container and throw them into the microwave. Throw a piece of my toast in our toaster and fill up my water bottle. Breakfast at my desk while my computer finishes booting up. 

Mid Morning- I run some reports, chat with my boss, have a conference call, and have the IT guy fix some computer issues.

12:00pm- I make myself a turkey, cheese, bacon, avocado wrap and eat at my desk. I also devour an entire bowl of watermelon. I love fruit! 

Mid Afternoon- I work on some extensions, reports, and various items at work. 

5:00pm- I hit the door! Time to go home!

6:00pm- Some of our sweet neighbors invited us to North Hills tonight. I can't say enough good things abour our neighborhood! We really do have the best neighbors! Well the weather had other plans. We had a major pouring of rain mixed with some hail. So on second thought we decided to hit up My Way Tavern close to our house. Heather, DJ, Jeremy, Megan, and baby Clark joined the Hubs and I.  We had a good time chatting, enjoying some drinks, and eating.

9:00pm- Arrived home- showered and got ready for bed.

10:00pm- Bed time for this girl!

I hope my day in the life didn't bore you too much!

 

Linking up with Leslie.

Thoughts for Thursday..Target/Honest Co., Gout, Trying to Live Organically, Aluminium Cans, and Tricks!

Happy Thursday Lovies! I have some random thoughts today so sorry that I'm all over the place.

Is anyone else excited about Target now carrying the Honest Co. by Jessica Alba? I'm like a kid in a candy store! Check it out! I don't have kiddos so I was always apprehensive about ordering stuff from her website since I didn't have diapers, wipes and those types of items to help with shipping costs. Now that Target carries it I will definitely be checking it out! They don't sell everything in the store but with my Target credit card, I can get it shipped for free and 5% off.

 

At Target

I've been pretty determind to buy food and other items as organic and chemical/hormone free as possible. After the Hubs and I were married, he had a bad gout episode. I started doing research on things to prevent further flare ups without taking medications and found all kinds of things. The natural, the better! These hormones and artificial crap isn't good for anyone much less people with health issues. Until we got his gout under control we were completely a meatless household. The Hubs wasn't real thrilled about this but it's what we had to do. Now that it is under control we eat meat (probably more than we should considering) and I try to buy the local organic everything. It may cost a smidge more than I will have to say I've felt so much better overall. I haven't lost any weight (BOO!!) but I just feel better. When we fall off the wagon and eat out too many days in a row I start to feel sluggish and almost nauseous. I get back on my regular routine and I start feeling better. It's crazy but I swear by it. I don't limit what I eat (which I probably should weight wise- another story for another day) but I just eat the real stuff. No preservatives or hormones for me please! Side note- for gout sufferers.. the Hubs takes a shot glass of organic black cherry juice everyday. This doesn't guarantee that he won't have a flare up but definitely has improved his issues.

Our club has been serving beer in aluminum bottles. I've become addicted! It's the most random thing and maybe mental but I swear the beer tastes better in these things than regular cans. I would go as far to say that I prefer them in this over regular bottles!

Can I admit that I'm such a sucker?! I've been avoiding Target in an effort to save money. I wind up spending way more than I should in that place. Hence my proof.. Monday I ran into Target to get soap for the Hubs, a case of water, and Method shower cleaner. I came out with all of that plus what I thought was a killer deal! A table and 2 chairs has been on our wish list for our screened in porch. I saw and thought I couldn't pass it up!

This was in the outdoor clearance section for $40! Forty dollars! I mean for a table and chairs?! Who could pass this up?! I ran home and got the Hubs to unload it. I rushed off to make it to my yoga class. When returning the Hubs saw me and immediately started laughing. He asked if I realized it was just a table. Just a table?! Apparently I don't read very well but when the picture looks like this, would assume it was just a table? Leave it to me! So now I'm on the hunt for 2 chairs. Of course the matching ones are sold out online and at all Target stores- not to mention $110! Hopefully I can stumble across something soon for cheap. I'm such a sucker!

I've been spoiled by the extra long weekend last week. This week is dragging on. We have a packed weekend in store with family and neighbors! I'm ready!!

Linking up with Natalie and Annie



<center> <a href="http://eastcoastnat.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Thoughts for Thursday" src="http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/lauraleigh925/home-of-malones/thoughts-for-thursday_zps5b440953.png"/></a></center>

Marinated Collards

I have to admit that I loathed collards growing up. In the South you boil these things and serve them with vinegar. The smell of these things when my grandmother cooked them completely turned me green! The Hubs had a coworker that swore these things were good. I was hesitant but received some collards on our produce box a few years ago. I figured why not try them since we had them.. We now LOVE these! I actually don't use the onions in ours. I also will substitute red, orange, yellow or whatever kind of pepper we have in the house at the time. 

Picture and Recipe Via

Recipe- 1 bunch of collard greens (about 8 large leaves), tough stems removed
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced (I use minced onion or sometimes none)
1 large red bell pepper cut into thin strips (I've used yellow, red, orange- whatever you have!)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs Tamari sauce
salt and black pepper to taste

Mix all together using your hands to massage the dressing into the veggies well. Refrigerate at least an hour before serving or overnight.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Squash and Zuchinni Bake Recipe

I just love fresh veggies! Summer brings so many good things to enjoy. Right now so many family members are giving us amazing veggies and we've been loving it! I thought I'd share something that has become a staple in our house. This is a recipe I found on Pinterest.

Squash and Zuchinni Bake
Ingredients:
4 medium zuchinni and yellow summer squash
2 Tb minched garlic
2 tsp dried thyme
1 egg
2/3 cup of sour cream or greek yogurt (I actually use yogurt most of the time)
1 cup of crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese
2 Tb lemon juice
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Slice the squash and zuchinni. I usually slice the thinner but I already had part of these cut up for something else so I just went with what I had this time.  Beat the eggs, sour cream, lemon juice, and ingredient together. Spread mixture over the top of the veggies. Make for 30 minutes. Serve Hot.

I usually cut these in little circles but I had already cut up some squash for somethign else this way so I just went with it for this night. Sorry I don't have an individual picture but see below on our plate for dinner!

Food, Aruthur, July 4th, and Family!

It's back to reality today! Booo!! This is going to be a long post- forewarning now!

Tuesday night the Hubs and I headed out for a sushi dinner. I love sushi and could seriously eat it every day! I don't usually have to twist his arm when I'm not in the mood to cook and throw that out there. We ventured out to Sushi Iwa- it's one of our favorites because of quality and price. It's always BOGO.

Wednesday I was a bit "bad". I've been craving a peach milkshake lately. Chickfila has really good ones. I enjoyed this at lunch at my desk.

Wednesday night we celebrated Nick's Dad and his 60th birthday. I didn't take any pictures but in my defense it was a quick dinner. We are celebrating with a party this coming weekend so I'll be sure to document then. After dinner we were off to the beach!

Thursday morning Arthur decided to start making his debut. It rained off and on basically all day! We started off our morning with my absolute favorite tradition- Gulfstream breakfast!

They seriously have the BEST omlettes EVER! My favorite is the shrimp and cheese. It sounds odd for breaksfast but I promise it does not disappoint! Since it was raining we did another tradition-stopping by Island Hardware and tackle. This store has anything you could imagine! While there I discovered that Guy Harvey is now making more than just t-shirts for guys. I really liked the below shirts and suggested the Hubs purchase these. He declined solely because we're trying to save right now for a few things around the house. I might have to make a mental note for Christmas :)!

We lost power Thursday night- BOOO! Luckily it was late and we just went to sleep. We regained it the next morning. Most of the island had power- our tranformer blew so it was just a few of us that drew the short straw- Ha!

Friday was absolutely beautiful! We headed to the beach early to get in some sun (or for some of us tent time).

 Dad crashed under the tent. I think he likes his Christmas present from last year! The water was a bit rough but managable. We headed in a little early to get naps before dinner- that water wore us out!

Dad is ready to head to dinner in one of our golf carts. Carolina Beach allows these and it's awesome getting around town in this. It's perfect since our house is 4 blocks from the ocean. We just load this up and drive on down!

Dinner we headed to the Deck House- another favorite spot of ours! Here are some pictures of us at dinner- sorry the lighting is terrible!

Saturday the Hubs and I headed to North Topsail Beach to spend the day with his Mom and her side of the family. We had a few hours on the beach before coming back and cooking a low country boil. It was delicious! I'm going to bombard you with family pictures now!

The whole clan- Jeffries Family

The Hub's Step Dad and Mom

The Hubs and his Mom

The Hubs and Me

After leaving Topsail we stopped by Squiggley's ice cream in Carolina Beach before crashing back at the house. I adore ice cream- calories don't count on vacation, right?! :)

Sunday we packed up and headed home! We had a packed weekend but we enjoyed every minute of it! Thanks for handling this never ending post today! I hope everyone had a fabulous 4th of July!

Here's to the 4th and a little time off!

I'm beyond excited to have an extra day off! The Hubs and I are headed down to the beach after our work days today. Well after a quick 60th birthday dinner for my father in law. We're actually throwing him a party next weekend so just a quick dinner for now. We're praying this tropical storm doesn't hit us too bad and disrupt any of our plans. I've felt so far removed from the beach this year. We've had too much going on. I am hoping to get some sand, sun, and RR in! I hope everyone has a good 4th of July! Happy Birthday America! I hope to have some pictures to post next week and some recipes I've been promising! Cheers!