Week 21: Crockpot Mac and Cheese!

You know when I'm only doing my food blogs once a week that life is really busy.  But, might I add, fun?  It's that time of year when we're all too busy outside, trying to soak up all the warm weather and fun summery activities that we've been deprived of for way too long.

A week full of 80 degree temps and a cool weekend.  Sounds just like Michigan, doesn't it?  But, that's okay.  We were still able to do everything we wanted to!  Our weekend started on Friday with our new tradition of dinner out and swimming at the Rec Center.  This week we grabbed pizza at Buddy's and swam until bedtime.  Sean is getting so great with being more independent in the water.  He doesn't mind going under, especially if we go under while coming down the slide.  He'll stand on the bench under water and he'll jump to one of us.  We're bringing his Puddle Jumper this Friday to see if he'll let go of us and swim independently for a minute or two.

Saturday, Sean and I headed to the Farmer's market for fresh corn, strawberries, Kettle Corn, and our usual muffins.  We left Evan at home with Scott since it was a little cool out and Evan had a cold.  The rest of the day was spent playing inside and outside with bubbles and a Father's Day painting project for Grandpa.  A blog post will follow with those details...

Saturday also made me more aware of the amount of laundry I'll be doing for the next...17 years or so...

Sunday, I woke up and took the boys to the Zoo in the morning to meet up with my parents.  Scott stayed home and started the fire pit project I've been begging him to do.  And what a perfect day for both of us!  The zoo was PERFECT in the morning.  Not too crowded, not too warm, the animals were all out, and everyone was happy.

I came home and realized I should have put some sunscreen on.  Oh well...a little color on my skin never hurt, right?

We BBQ'd some shish-ka-bobs, boiled up the fresh corn from the market, and ate ourselves into oblivion.  And after dinner, Scott lit up the inaugural fire in our new fire pit!  We plan to add some DIY wooden benches around the fire pit and maybe pavers or stones about a foot or two out, but for now, it's what I was hoping for!

What a fabulous day!

Monday, we got up and rushed to get out the door in time for the Memorial Day Parade in downtown Plymouth.  Sean was so excited to see the firetrucks!  Despite the fact the parade only lasted 15 minutes, it was still something fun to do.

The rest of the day we just hung out and played inside because of the rain.  Not the most exciting Memorial Day, but we enjoyed the extra day at home as a family.  And of course, it was nice to share stories about my Grandpa and Scott's two Grandfathers at dinner.  They're forever in our hearts!

Speaking of dinner, we put together a nice BBQ dinner for Memorial Day.  We made BBQ chicken, green beans, and crockpot mac and cheese!  I've tried a few recipes for the crockpot mac and cheese, but this one was my favorite!  I found it online through a google search and it ended up coming off of www.cooks.com.

1/2 box of elbow noodles (8 oz. cooked, drained)
3 cups sharp cheddar shredded cheese
2 eggs
1 can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups milk
1 stick butter, melted

Cook macaroni noodles per the directions on the box.  Drain.  Pour into a greased crock pot.  Add the 3 cups of sharp cheddar shredded cheese and the melted butter.

Beat eggs and mix both milks together.  Pour mixture over the noodles and mix well.

Cook on low for 3 hours.

and voila!  An easy side dish to add to any meal!  Sean loves it, it left enough for us to bring for lunch today, and it was minimal work.  I wish there was a way to add crushed Ritz crackers to it, but there's some liquid at the top after cooking, so it would have to be added after it's served on a plate.  Plus, because it only cooks for 3 hours, it's not something you can throw on and leave on all day while you're at work.  It's something you have to be home to make.  Otherwise, no complaints. 

Happy Memorial Day!