Our Macaroni and Cheese :)

So our boys love love love Macaroni and Cheese! Daniel and I like it but don't share the love as the boys do. I ran across this recipe that sounded more like an adult version of Mac-n-Cheese so we decided to try it and boy was it a hit! I tweaked it a bit and this has become the Brook's Mac-n-Cheese! Enjoy :)

Mac and Cheese
1 stick of unsalted butter
6-8 slices of bread, crust removed, cut into cubes
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
8 oz block sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
8 oz block vermont white cheddar cheese, shredded
1 pound elbow macaroni

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 11x9 baking dish. Set aside. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and pour over the cubed bread crumbs and mix till bread is evenly coated. Set aside.

Cook the macaroni according to the box however only cook them about 7-8 minutes. Drain and set aside until you are ready for them.

Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons in a skillet (larger one with higher sides) over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook whisk together for 1 minute.


While whisking , slowly pour in the hot milk, a little at a time to keep the mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens up, about 8-10 minutes.

Remove the pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, pepper, cayenne pepper, and all the shredded cheese except 3/4 a cup for top of casserole. Stir till cheese is melted.

 Pour the macaroni into the cheese mixture.

Pour the mixture into prepared dish. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cover with the breadcrumbs. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Serve warm and enjoy!

The Little Gray Tennis Shoe Lesson

No nurse today meant a day with my boys all to myself!! Very fitting, being the last day of fall break. Left the house at 9am. We started it out by a long visit with the ENT. Then we met up with Granny Mac for lunch. We then ran to wal-mart because  my "new" car has a tail light out! (I'm telling you what all I did for a reason. I'll explain in a bit.) I tried putting the light in myself in the wal-mart parking lot however I am not JoAnna McNeely and couldn't figure it out. I call Daniel to see where he was so he could change it. He was at Sweet Sallies. I headed that direction. Drove all the way down Jefferson, stopped in front of Hobby Lobby and a police officer pulls up behind me. I thought "Well if he pulls me over I do have the bulbs in the walmart bag. I should be fine. Made it to Sweet Sallies all to find it was more complicated that Daniel thought so we'll change that light tomorrow. I then go to Hobby Lobby! I get out and notice Max had taken his shoes off. He always does. As soon as he gets in the car the shoes are off. I start looking for his other shoe. I can't find it anywhere. Then Max starts pointing to the window, which was down. I asked him if he threw it out the window and he said "Yes Momma!" So in we went with just his socks on. I had things I needed to get done.  I wasn't going to let the lost shoe stop me. I honestly didn't believe him either. So we get home (at 3pm) and I start looking for the lost shoe. It is nowhere to be found. Going from a van to a car, I had never worried about anything being thrown out the window. But obviously it is something I need to be aware of now. My mom text me and said I needed to back-track. I was exhausted. Had been gone all day, but those shoes are expensive and I thought what else do we have to do. So I got the kiddos back in the car and we started our adventure to find the little gray tennis shoe. We drove to wal-mart. No shoe. All the way down Jefferson, very slowly.  Nope. Got to Sweet Sallies and I drove around twice thinking it had to be there. No way jose. Hobby Lobby was my last chance. On we go to our last hope. I get there and there is no tennis shoe. I start talking to God, "Where is this shoe? It's not a big deal but then again it is to me. I know You know where it is. Can you please show me?" I drive around real slow and still there was no shoe. So I just said forget it. It's gone. Lesson learned. I tell both the boys they are grounded from having the windows down. I'm a little upset. Not going to let it ruin my afternoon but frustrated. As I'm pulling out of Hobby Lobby and I am telling God I'm frustrated, I see a little gray tennis shoe across the street in the Sherwin Williams parking lot. I pull across and there it is. Looked a little beat up, poor shoe, nonetheless it was his shoe.  God cares about the little things. He cared that I wanted to find that shoe. Even when I had given up, God was ever faithful to show me where it was.  I drove off singing "My God's not dead! He's  surely alive and He's living on the inside roaring like a lion!!!!"  Remember God knows where your "little gray tennis shoe" is! He is the giver of hope!

Praying for Guidance

Daniel and I head up the college ministry at Life church and we LOVE it! We started exchanging prayer request within the group every week. We write down our prayer request, our name and how we would like to be contacted so the person who draws your name can send you words of encouragement through out the week. I have been amazed at how the Lord has worked in my life since we started this. The first week I had been struggling with my purpose outside of being a wife and a mom. When the boys started school I went through an identity crisis! I had been home for 5 years with my boys and know I was alone. You would think I would have jumped for joy however I was lost. I needed something to occupy me like they had. I felt I could be doing something with the time I had while the boys were at school. I had taken the first month after school started for a time of much needed relaxation. I felt that time was up so I asked my prayer partner to help me pray about this. I had the boys birthday party that weekend and I made their cupcakes (with the help of my sisters). Then I made some for Clay's class. I have always loved baking. I never thought about doing this on the side to make some money. I felt maybe I could do cupcakes for party's, holidays, family gatherings and so on. I decided to make some to send to the Salon my sisters work at to just give out to their clients and to my surprise they were a hit. I got 4 orders that day! Since then I have received several more orders! It is neat that all I needed to do was ask the Lord what He wanted me to do. I had been worrying about my time and our money and not seeking direction from the Lord in this matter. He had it all planned out. I just needed to ask. The bible does say in Luke 11:9 "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find' knock and the door will be opened to you" So what are you needing? Just ask the Father and be amazed at His great love for you!  

Oh I'm feeling a little frustrated

So, I'm starting this Blog and I'm the type of person that I want to get it and get it fast. This motto of mine is not working with this blogging. I'm most definitely not "Getting It" much less getting it fast. We will see how long I try to understand :)