Sunday night: Mocktails, mac and cheese, and more

 

The finished product. 

We had friends over tonight, and it was 65 and sunny here, so Kyle grilled burgers for everyone. I handled the side dishes: fruit salad, sweet potato fries, and "gourmet" macaroni and cheese.

I said in my first post that I used to eat Kraft macaroni and cheese like there was no tomorrow. Sure, it tastes good. It's also loaded with salt, fat, and calories (450 for half the box prepared, which is a ton, considering it's not very filling and you'll be hungry again soon after eating it). Boxed mac and cheese also has no protein or fiber, because it's refined-carb pasta and that cheese isn't real--it's cheese-flavored powder.

So yeah, it basically has no nutritional value whatsoever.

Luckily, I found a way to make healthy macaroni and cheese that's ten times tastier than the boxed stuff--and ultimately cheaper. This recipe has only 300 calories per cup--and, thanks to the high-fiber pasta and real cheese, it's very filling.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups Smart Taste macaroni elbows (they taste like white pasta, but are lower in calories and have added fiber and nutrients)

1 8-oz package of reduced-fat cream cheese

2 cups of fat-free milk

1 tablespoon of flour

1 cup shredded 2% milk cheddar cheese

2 cups frozen spinach, thawed (you can use fresh spinach, too)--optional

1 cup of tomatoes--optional

Cajun seasoning (optional--I added a bunch of it this time, and it was delicious)

Directions:

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions and set aside.

2. Melt cream cheese in a skillet, being careful not to burn it.

3. In a bowl, stir together milk and flour until smooth.Add to the cream cheese; stir over medium heat until it's bubbly. Stir in cheddar until it's melted. Combine sauce and macaroni, cook and stir for 2 minutes or until heated through.

It was so, so good.

 I also made spicy sweet potato fries, which have a fraction of the calories of regular French fries.

To make them, cut one or two sweet potatoes lengthwise, then slice into wedges. Put the wedges in a bowl, pour in a little olive oil, and toss the wedges to coat. Preheat the oven to 400. Cover a baking sheet with foil and put the fries on in one layer. Sprinkle on chili powder and Cajun seasoning. (Be sure to put seasoning on before baking, not after, or the fries won't absorb the flavor.) Bake for 10 minutes, turn the fries over, and bake for 10 more minutes. 

And, since we were having people over, I decided to try something I've wanted to do for a while: mocktails. I quit drinking a while ago, and alcohol-free cocktail recipes are all over the web. My favorite was "virgin champagne." 

In a large punch bowl, combine 1 bottle of ginger ale, one large can of pineapple juice and one carton of white grape juice. Garnish with fruit if you like.


And, of course, the munchkin joined the party.

 

 Yes, she does have outfits that aren't pink...a few, anyway.

Have a good week everyone!