No-Fuss, No-Bake Pasta Dishes

It's pasta night for us here in our humble abode.

Tonight I was asked by my 4-year-old little boss to cook pasta for dinner. For most moms, that means spaghetti for the whole family. Well, in my case, everyone but my preschooler. You see, she HATES tomato-based dishes. She thinks it's gross for no reason at all. So when she asks for pasta, in our home, that means spaghetti or puttanesca for everyone, and for her most probably macaroni and cheese. She'd only agree to a one-pasta-dish night if it's carbonara or pasta Alfredo night. Yes, she obviously like pasta in white sauce.

So yes, I have decided to make her fave, macaroni and cheese, as well as her father's favorite pasta dish, meaty baked mac in spaghetti sauce. This has been a staple in our pantry since the beginning of time--well, our marriage. Haha! I've always have this thing, where I always stock up on cheese, butter, herbs, spaghetti (and tomato) sauce, and at least a couple boxes of pasta. It's always, ALWAYS, on my list. Sometimes you never know when someone shows up to visit, so it's always a good thing to have those around in case of surprise guests. :)

Anyhoos, I would like to share with you my super easy, stove-top (yep, no-bake!) macaroni and cheese, as well as my baked macaroni in spaghetti sauce recipe.


Macaroni and Cheese:

100 grams pasta
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cream cheese
1/3 cup cheddar cheese, grated
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup fresh milk
salt and pepper to taste
ham (optional)

Easy peasy, mac and ch-easy!

Procedure:

1. Cook pasta according to package instructions. Tonight, I chose--well, my daughter, chose penne. It was a tough call amongst our top three contenders: fusilli, penne and the shell macaroni. Once al dente or cooked, drain the pasta.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter under medium heat. Stir in the flour, and slowly add half of the milk. Cook and stir until it boils a bit.
3. Add the cream cheese. Mix until it's almost melted. Stir in the cheddar and parmesan.
4. Stir the other half of the milk. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Place the pasta in a serving bowl. Pour the cheese sauce. Top with cooked ham if desired.


Now, on to my baked mac!

You will need the following:

200 grams pasta
1/8 kilogram ground pork (or beef)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium-sized onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup button mushrooms, sliced
1 small bell pepper, diced
200g tomato sauce
400g spaghetti sauce
salt and pepper
grated cheese for topping OR if available, leftover mac and cheese sauce

Pop it in the oven for about 4-6 mins and
you'll get that yummy baked mac look.

Procedure:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain.
2. Sauté onions, garlic and ground meat in olive oil under medium heat. I usually sauté the onions before the garlic to keep them from burning.
3. Once the meat is golden brown, stir in the mushrooms and the bell pepper.
4. Pour tomato and spaghetti sauce, add some of the pasta water (or just plain drinking water if you have already drained the pasta) and let it simmer.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. If desired, you can also add a tablespoon or two of sugar.
6. Once done, pour sauce onto cooked pasta. Top with grated cheese or leftover mac and cheese sauce.

7. Bake in a pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for 15-20 minutes.

No oven?
***If you wish to have that "baked" pasta feel on your dish, pop it on the toaster for about 4-6 minutes, or until the on top starts to melt and become golden brown.

Super easy, right?

Happy eating! :)

Toaster-baked Sugar Cookies

It's a gloomy Friday on this side of the world, and the kids and I have nothing to do. We were suppose to take a nice walk outside, when it rained. I'm not a sunny-weather-type-of-person, but I was pretty disappointed about not being able to take that walk with the kiddies.

Since we have nothing to do but to stay indoors, I thought of something that could brighten up my now-bummed preschooler. She loves watching me bake, so I made these simple sugar cookies with her.

Totally hate pink. Haha!

This one's super easy. You can make this using either an oven or a toaster. Here's my recipe:


You will need the following:


Cookies:

3/4 cup sugar (granulated OR confectioners)
1/2 cup oil
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 3/4 cup flour
Cookie cutter; or if not available, a puto/cupcake mold (Individual cup, of course. Not the tray. Haha!)


Sugar icing:

1 cup sugar (confectioners)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp milk

*Optional:

Sprinkles for topping


Procedure:

To make the cookies, mix all ingredients IN THE ORDER THEY APPEAR. Using a mixer with paddle attachment or by hand, carefully combine them together until they form into a dough.

Roll them on lightly-floured surface to about 1/8" thick and cut them into shapes. Since I don't bake cookies frequently, I don't have cookie cutter/s. Instead, I used a puto mold to cut my cookies.

Bake at 350 degrees in the oven for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. OR bake in the toaster for 4-6 minutes on one side, and another 4-6 minutes on the other side, or until golden brown.

Set them aside to cool.

Mix. Cut. Bake. Decorate. Oh and EAT! :-)

For the icing, mix the sugar, vanilla and milk, one tablespoon at a time, until the mixture slightly thickens. Add a couple of drops of food color (if desired). Stir thoroughly to avoid streaks of color in the mixture.

Obviously, the people in this household loves rainbow sprinkles
waaaaay more than chocolate sprinkles!

Once the cookies have been cooled, dip one side of the cookie on the icing mixture. Lay it on the cookie tray or rack, and add sprinkles. Add sprinkles if desired. It is important that you add the sprinkles as soon as you place it on the tray or rack, or it won't stick to the icing once it sets.

Place cookies in the fridge for 5-10 minutes or until the icing sets.


Enjoy! :)

The Clean Up: Immigrant Version

Hi Mommies!

I just turned 28 a few weeks back and I have been having some serious thoughts about the future. You see, my family and I are in the process of migrating to another country--hubby, kids and I. Now that we are done with our medicals, me and my husband are just waiting for the embassy's decision on our visa. That in mind, we have been in an endless process of cleaning up our stuff.

The husband and I have been cleaning up our closets almost weekly, deciding on which clothes and shoes should stay and which ones should go. It's easier for our kids, as they have only accumulated stuff just recently--Renee, 4 years and Allie, 14 months. Their clothes have already been passed on to cousins and the toys have already been planned as well--which ones will end up with cousins, which ones will be donated, and which ones will be sent back to their grandparents (my old toys, that has been in the family since I was a child).

Why do I have a feeling that these things will be
shipped to us once we get settled there???

That said, the hubby has also been cleaning up his toys as well. Now this one's pretty hard as he has NEVER opened any of his toys and comic books. Well, those are collector's item, so yea, it's gonna take a LOT of resolve to NOT open any of his Transformers, Masters of the Universe, and Marvel/DC stuff.

Since last month, I have been collecting old clothes and shoes, and have been storing them inside old bags and donation boxes, to be given away. But still, it feels like our closet is still stuffed! I have already collected Renee and Allie's old baby clothes, that I was suppose to be saving for the next baby, in case we have another girl. But come to think of it, if we ARE leaving, why should I still hang on to them, when I know that I can't bring all our things when we leave? Extra luggage fees, DUH?! Besides, if I bring all our clothes there, I don't think they'd all have use anyway. Who wears a Hawaiian shirt in the middle of dead winter anyway?!

Right now, I am trying to pack up clothes that we are still shortlisting to the following boxes: KEEP, JUNK and DONATE. I sure wish I have done this waaaay back when I haven't accumulated all those things from years of impulsive shopping. Buying tops that I find cute, but I never wore anyway, knee-high boots that I got from two Christmases ago, which I only wore twice. Seriously, who wears those kinds of boots in the Philippines anyway? Though, I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have those boots to stay (since we will be moving to the Great White North), I feel pretty stupid now, thinking of all those things I bought back then, that I will never use in the future anymore.

Lesson learned: think hard before purchasing things. Do you reaaaaally need it? Will you really use it? Or will it just sit there and bathe on years of dust?

I have mixed emotions on sending some of our stuff away too.

Right now, we still have a loooong way to go in categorizing and cleaning. I kinda feel like I'm in a scene of Toy Story right now, when Andy's mom has been telling him to clean up! I just hope those things we are to give away will be put to good use by the families who will be getting our donations.