A Year in the Life of...

EssexHebridean

Love the idea of a quick macaroni cheese - definitely a favourite meal in this house! 

joedenise

What's your hack for a quick Mac and cheese?  Would be interested in that!

beanielou

Can you please share your mac & cheese hack?. Ta.

savingholmes

Hope your niece's visit went well

girlatplay

Just looking in for 5 minutes.  I'll catch up with diaries tomorrow.

Mac n cheese hack originally came from (I think) Frugal Queen (could have been Elaine Colliar - MemoryGirl - but I do think it was FQ).  It is microwaved.

I don't have measurements as I just eyeball it so my measurement is "some".  Microwave is on high (mine is 900w).

I put some pasta in a pot to boil on hob.

I put some butter in a glass Pyrex bowl and melt it in the microwave (30 ish seconds).

I put some plain flour into the butter and whisk it into a roux ball.  Enough that it is a dry ball.  I then add a little milk and whisk that in. Then a bit more milk, whisk that in, and so on until it is a smooth, runny paste.  I then add more milk up to the amount that I need (usually up to about a pint worth of sauce). Whisk it all together.

Put it back into the microwave for 2 minutes.

Grate some cheese while the sauce is cooking.  I use two types of cheese on a normal day and I like it very cheesy.  If I'm rich I use more types but I'm not rich often.

Take the bowl out and whisk the sauce. Put back in for another two minutes.

Do the same again until the sauce thickens.  I tend to do one minute at a time when it starts to get thick.  Because I don't measure the ingredients it takes a different amount of time each time.

When it is to my preferred thickness (add more milk and whisk in if it is too thick) I put in some mustard, stir, add cheese then another minute in micro to melt the cheese.

Drain pasta when it's ready and put back in pot.  Add the sauce and stir through.

You can add seasoning if you want or anything else people add (I don't).

Thats it for a quick meal but I quite like putting it in the oven for 10 minutes if I have time.

I always do too much so put leftovers in a box in the fridge and have it the next day.  I just heat it and add a bit of milk to make it smooth.

It sounds a bit long-winded but it's really not when you're doing it.  The sauce is ready in the time it takes to boil the pasta.

girlatplay

I had a lovely weekend.  It was nice to see my cousin and her new home.  Also got to meet her new partner.  He seems nice.

My niece stayed over on Saturday night.  She's so cute and lovely but she's a wee chancer when her mum comes to pick her up.  I can see the difference between me as a mum and my sis as a mum.
Ended up spending a little money on biscuits and fruit.

As far as the meal plan goes, we had mac and cheese on Saturday night as planned.  LMG met her friend for dinner last night and I had the leftover macaroni for my tea.  That means we still have three meals left.  Tonight will be the halloumi rigatoni and tomorrow will likely be the creamy chicken.  The next HF box is due on Wednesday so we can either have the other rigatoni meal that night or we can choose something from the new box.  All good.  The budget seems to be running away a bit this month.  Too much random grocery spending.  The evening meals are planned but we need to pull ourselves together over lunches.

I haven't bought an item for my wardrobe this month yet but bf and I are planning our annual Newcastle Christmas trip so I don't want to spend anything right now.  We have booked and paid for our hotel and we drive there (I'll talk him into taking his car and I'll give him money for petrol) so just meals to think about. We are only going for 2 nights this year (usually 3) so should be less.  We have paid for breakfast already.

Talking of bf, anyone remember the secret competition for the loans?  Well, it came up in conversation last week about how much we had left (just general chit chat) and I had to admit that mine was gone. 6 months previously.  He was in awe for a minute but quickly got over it.  The thing is, I'm not a spender.  He is.  He says he's not but he is.  The minute I mentioned that I overpaid and didn't spend on rubbish, he switched off.  His next conversation was about how his pal had got a great deal on an upgrade of his car so he (bf) is thinking about doing that too.  Or he might just wait until the loan is finished (his is for his car) and then upgrade and get another loan because "that's what everyone does, don't they?!"  🤦🏼‍♀️

savingholmes

Obviously you won the competition - but still - it's scary when they just don't want to get it.

The planned shopping trip sounds like something to look forward to. I must admit these days I prefer to buy most stuff online.

girlatplay

savingholmes said:

Obviously you won the competition - but still - it's scary when they just don't want to get it.

The planned shopping trip sounds like something to look forward to. I must admit these days I prefer to buy most stuff online.

We call it a shopping trip but really it's just an excuse to spend a couple of quality days away together with no kids, jobs, etc.  We've made it our thing and I do look forward to it.

savingholmes

I did really enjoy it a few years ago when we did a hotel trip to Cardiff and were right by a shopping centre... 

beanielou

girlatplay said:

savingholmes said:

Obviously you won the competition - but still - it's scary when they just don't want to get it.

The planned shopping trip sounds like something to look forward to. I must admit these days I prefer to buy most stuff online.

We call it a shopping trip but really it's just an excuse to spend a couple of quality days away together with no kids, jobs, etc.  We've made it our thing and I do look forward to it.

Good way to think.