Back in the Saddle

It feels great to be a mama of two again. I'm convinced Ainsley grew at least an inch in the 3 days away. She keeps saying "I miss you!". I missed you too Ainsley girl.

We've had a great start to our week. Yesterday afternoon we enjoyed the great warm weather with a walk to the grocery store to get a few forgotten items, a visit to a new very toddler friendly park, and lots of fun back yard lounge and dig in the dirt time.

We ate black bean and pork chili for dinner (recipe at bottom), opened a fresh bottle of wine, and enjoyed our girls until they seamlessly went to sleep.

Today we've had family breakfast, a Target run (where Ainsley even showed the patience to let me try on a few things!), and while Louise took a MONSTER nap (fueled by all the fun yesterday) Ainsley and I planted a thick row of sunflowers and stirred up the soil to plant our summer garden after the threat of frost this coming weekend.

Ainsley and I made homemade mac and cheese for lunch (which my "secret ingredient, cauliflower"...I find if I tell her it's "secret" she LOVES it and eats tons), and just got back from a wagon ride to the mailbox 5 blocks away and back. Ainsley is konked upstairs after books and songs and Louise is sitting behind me playing with her baskets as per usual.

The sun is shining and today is grand.

Now if only Louise would tire soon so that I could catch a few zzz's myself.

::should've used the flash, Louise LOVES wagon rides!::

::my big helper girl, always wanting to "do it aself mama, Ainsley walk"::

::scarfing the homemade mac and cheese for once, I think the yellow cheese made all the difference to her::

::"crunchy stuff mama, I like it!" that's my favorite part too Ainsley::

Pork and Black Bean Chili (adapted from an allrecipes recipe)

3/4lb. pork loin, cut into 1"-ish strips

1/2 red bell pepper chopped

1/2 onion chopped

1/2 a jar of your favorite salsa

a splash of chicken broth

1 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cumin

1/2 t. oregano

1 c. frozen corn

Mix everything save the corn in a slow cooker, set to low and let go for 8-10 hours. Turn it off and add the corn about 5 minutes before serving. The steam will cook the corn to perfection. We ate it with tortilla chips, sour cream and shredded cheese, but it's great plain and would be amazing in quesadillas too.

Home Made Mac and Cheese

(I'm sure I should credit someone here as I've used about 10 recipes for this and now know how to make it so well that I just make it, soooo, I guess it's mine now?)

1/2 a box of your choice of pasta (we used shells)

1/2 a head of cauliflower, stems trimmed and broken into bite sized flourets (I gave this job to Ainsley)

4 T. butter

1/4-1/3 c. flour

1.5 cups milk (I use whole, but anything you have should work)

a block of cheese shredded (cheddar works well)

1/4 c. grated parmesan

2 slices of bread

Fill a large pot with water and set to boil. Meanwhile melt butter in a large saucepan. Add flour and stir for a few minutes (err on the side of more flour for a thicker sauce, you can always add more milk but it's trickier to thicken once you've added the milk). Add the milk a little at a time, whisking all the while to eliminate clumps. Stir occasionally until the sauce thickens. Turn off the heat and add the cheese, mix until melted and smooth.

When the water is boiling cook the noodles and the cauliflower together (you can add the cauliflower with only a few minutes left if you want it to be firmer, I don't mind well done cauliflower). Drain when cooked and add to cheese sauce.

Place parmesan and bread in a food processor or small chopper and process until crumbly and fine. Put noodle mixture in a casserole, top with crumble and if you're feeling really indulgent (I always am) dot the top with butter.

Put in a 375 oven until bubble and browned (15-20 minutes).

In my opinion this is SO much better than boxed mac and cheese and if you have a "macacheese" crazed toddler like we do this feels like a better option.

Happy Tuesday!