Day 11 - $12

Sunday is always the busiest day of the week for me. I usually start projects on Sunday and then rush to get them done before my husband returns to work Monday. Not really sure why..
Today's project was to take all of the ABC foam mats up off the kids floor clean them all, mop the hardwood floor underneath, put up a full size bed for my son, take down the crib and put all the mats back. As you can guess it all didn't get done.  I decided to leave the chore of putting the mats back down and moving all the toys and playhouse and slide back in for Monday. 
Id like to add my 1 yr old daughter is now in a toddler bed, AND my 2 yr old son is in a big bed now! NO MORE CRIB!!!!! WOOHOO!!!!

As i was sitting on the floor talking to my husband i was thinking about how sad it is to not have the crib in the room anymore. I mentioned it to him and he said your not thinking about more kids are you? I was like no, HECK no! I'm good!  But it is sad. We spent a little more than $500 on this crib and i hate taking it down. It does turn into a full size bed but i didn't buy the railing for it yet.. I figure Ill do that in the next year and then put it up for my daughter when she is ready.

Now on to the recipe!
As i did all of the research on Mac n Cheese and the preservatives in that little packet of cheese, it appalled me. I knew that it wasn't necessary to make a good product. And for the sake of my children, I need to find a good home made mac n cheese recipe.
You know i wouldn't want them to go a lifetime without it :P

This is what i came up with....

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Mac N Cheese

1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound fusilli (corkscrew) or other pasta,  3/4 pound bacon, diced
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 cups firmly packed shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cook pasta until al dente. Strain the pasta and set aside.
 Add the heavy cream and milk to a saucepan, bring to a boil, Stir so it doesn't burn. Lower the heat to medium and continue to simmer until the cream is reduced slightly, about 3 minutes.
Add the Cheddar cheese. Stir well and cook over medium-high heat, stirring now and then, until the cheese has melted and the mixture thickens, about 3 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper.
Stir the sauce into the cooked and drained pasta in the pot. Place over medium heat and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to thicken the sauce and allow the pasta to absorb the flavors, stirring now and then.

If you want to add meat you can. Add cooked bacon, ground beef, chicken strips etc.
I like to add broccoli with the pasta while its boiling. Or cauliflower.

The $12 I spent today was for a movie. My son and I went to see Toy Story 3 at the Dollar theatre. We spent 6 dollars on tickets, 3 dollars on popcorn. 2 dollars on drink, and 2 dollars on 2 pieces of candy.

It was totally worth it!