Jalapeno and Chive MAC AND CHEESE Topped with Tomato and Panko

Hi there friends!  I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted.  I was busy visiting my beautiful, oldest daughter for her wedding to my wonderful new son-in-law! ❤  It was a beautiful wedding and we had a wonderful time visiting my daughter and granddaughter.

We’re home and settled and life has calmed down a little bit, so I’m back with a recipe for some yummy comfort food to fill your belly on a cool fall evening.  It’s just a “grown-up” version of a simple macaroni and cheese recipe, but it’s delicious and who doesn’t love homemade mac-n-cheese?

I hope you enjoy it as much as my family has!  Here are some of my suggestions:

-If you have some little ones (or big ones, for that matter), that don’t care for the “grown-up” ingredients, you can just leave them out and it still tastes great!  I have some picky eaters, so I make one batch and divide it between two casserole dishes and make a “kid version” and an “adult version”.

-If you aren’t already using whole-grain pastas in your recipes, I suggest you try them in this recipe.  Even the pickiest eaters won’t notice. 🙂

-I use non-fat milk and it turns out great!

Jalapeno and Chive Mac-N-Cheese Topped with Tomato and Panko

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1 (16 oz) box whole wheat pasta (elbow, penne or rotini)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 4 cups milk
• 1 pound Velvetta
• 1/3 cup chives, chopped
• 1-2 jalapenos, minced
• 1/2 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 3/4 cup panko

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Cook and drain pasta.
• While pasta is cooking, melt butter in saucepan and stir in flour, salt and pepper.  Add milk and heat until bubbly, stirring occasionally.
• Stir Velvetta into milk mixture and heat until melted.
• Stir the cooked pasta, jalapeno, and chives into the cheese sauce and pour mixture into casserole dish.
• Top with tomato and panko and bake for 35-40 minutes.

Enjoy! ❤

Coffee Cake

Hi there again!  We’re into a new week and it’s finally starting to feel like like fall may be coming here to the desert soon.  We were FINALLY able to turn off the AC today and open up for some wonderful outside air!  I love when the windows are open. 🙂

Another first for today?  I was able to have the oven on without heating up the house!  Woohoo!  It definitely makes for more comfortable baking and I obviously love ❤ to bake.

The recipe I’m sharing today is great for this time of year. It goes great with some hot apple cider, hot chocolate or coffee, of course. 🙂  It may seem like an overly-simple cake compared to all the fancy-smancy stuff you’ll see everywhere, but it is overly-yummy as well.  Sometimes we just want some simple, homey, comfort food.  This definitely fits that bill…

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and spray 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
• Combine oil, egg, milk, flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl and stir until combined.  Spread batter in baking dish.
• Combine brown sugar, flour cinnamon and butter in small bowl and sprinkle over batter.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes or until done.

Enjoy ❤

Pumpkin Muffins

Hello friends!! Happy October!!

What better way to celebrate the first day of October than with a pumpkin recipe?  To top it off, it is one of the easiest recipes of the season.  I’m sure you’ve seen this simple recipe all over Pinterest, Facebook and all kinds of other social media.  I just had to try it…I love anything that starts with a cake mix!

I decided to add a topping to this very popular recipe and make it even yummier! Five ingredients, thirty-minutes total time and you have a great snack for lunchboxes or any get together you may have this fall!

• Difficulty: Easy
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Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 3/4 cup pumpkin
• 1/4 – 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin pan with paper liners.
• Stir together cake mix and pumpkin and fill muffin cups.
• Mix brown sugar and cinnamon with a fork and sprinkle a small amount over each muffin and top with walnuts.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy! ❤