Do you ever just get it in your head that you want to do something and that you must do that something that very day? That happened to me today, I decided that I wanted to have homemade macaroni and cheese for dinner. It was cold and blustery and I saw snow today and comfort food was needed. After Dude got home, I handed off the baby and said I had some errands to run before I came back to make the yummy cheesy dinner. My husband tells me that he doesn't like mac & cheese. This is the same man who eats just about anything you put in front of him. I've seen him eat shark fin. And herring. And all sorts of weird sausage thingys. *shudder* I gently explain to him that I know he doesn't like the kraft stuff (ate too much of it in college?) but this is homemade mac & cheese, with the real cheese and all. He still is not convinced that it will be enough for dinner, so I promise to get him something else at the store too and head out.
I was feeling a little too cooped up today, so I was thrilled to go out on my own without my entourage. I have a dog and a baby and they constantly follow me from room to room wherever I go. Sure, sometimes it's cute. Mostly I am able to sort of tune it out. But sometimes it feels like your parole officer is paying you visit.* Today was one of those times, so it was nice to be free for a couple of hours.
My first stop was babies r us, because Attila has decided to start chewing on her crib. Kid needs more fiber I guess. They make plastic guards to prevent this chewing problem (which- hello? Why not just make the crib rail out of the same material the guard is made of? Then I won't have to buy some silly contraption to keep my kid from eating wood! sheesh!) Anyway, so I had to get a guard. Of course once I am in BRU, I am sucked into the clothing section just to make sure there is nothing there that I- I mean Attila- can't live without. Luckily, I felt it was a little bit too early to buy Christmas dresses. Moving on.
Next stop is Kohl's where I am on a mission. Nana has requested a certain shirt from there that she saw someone else wearing. I have a description of the shirt and her size- luckily they have both! Yay! Daughter in law points for me. Of course once I am in Kohls, I am sucked into the rest of the clothing sections, just to make sure there is nothing there that I - or Attila- or Dude- can't live without. Busted on all accounts. I really need some new something to wear because I keep looking in the mirror and seeing my mom and that is so very wrong.
I once jokingly teased a friend of mine, who had become a mom, that she was wearing jeans that had a small bit of paint on them. Seriously, now that I think of it, it was a tiny little smidge, not a big deal. She told me that I should just be glad she was wearing pants. Now I know what she was talking about. I dress worse now than I did in college, and that is really saying a lot since I once wore a certain sweatshirt for the entirety of spring break. I do clean up when I leave the house, but it seems like everything gets some kind of baby goo on it. The rest of the time, it takes so much effort to get us both (or all) out of the house that what I am wearing is the last thing on my mind. No, that is not quite true, whether I am wearing any makeup or not is the last thing on my mind. I know! Me! But it's 100% true. It's like I am roughing it everyday.
I found a few shirts to try on, but I hated all of them. They were all wrong. I didn't even bother with the pants I had brought into the dressing room - I just had a feeling they were not going to be right either. Resisted even more adorable baby clothes and got out of there with just the shirt and a Sneetch. I love the Sneetches!
On to Super Target (which was originally the only place I was going to go!) where I had a few groceries and some household stuff to get. But I didn't get there until 6:45 and I had promised to be home by 7pm. Not gonna happen, but a girl's gotta try. I get about 3/4 of the things on my list and head home to a hungry baby and a hungry husband.
I try out the new guards on the crib and the stupid things don't even fit! Not even close! Who makes this stupid crap?
Dude is too hungry to wait for homemade mac & cheese- and doesn't want it anyway, so he feeds himself, I feed the baby and get her to sleep. I putz and put everything away and think about what I want for dinner- thinking just a sandwich or something now, since it's 9pm and I haven't even started cooking. But really? I was so looking forward to the cheesy goodness that I decided to make it anyway.
The recipe I have (the Martha Stewart one) is for 12. But it's easily halved, right? Yeah- until you get halfway through the recipe and forget that you are only supposed to be adding 2 cups of cheddar instead of 4. But measuring crisis aside, it turned out very well- if a little extra cheesy.
It was also very comforting, but wow do I have leftovers!
*Not that I have any idea what it is like to have a parole officer!
P.S. Dear Pusher, I have left over Gruyere cheese- what can I use it for?
4 comments:
Oh man, I've SO been there. When just getting out of the house alone is so wonderful you spend forever wandering around (ALONE!) in whatever store you happen to be in. Good thing you didn't go to Target, too, or you might not have gotten home until 2am! :)
And now I'm hungry for homemade mac and cheese, especially if it's extra cheesy. Yum, gruyere! Hmmm, maybe that's what we'll have for supper tonight instead of boring old leftovers...
Hee. Well, you know me. I'm just as likely to just eat the cheese as to make something with it. But Gruyere is like the ultimate melting cheese. So it's great for things like fondue, omelets, cheesy casseroles, cheese puffs, grating over pasta, au gratin potatoes...Oh! Yes. Super easy, super bad-for-you au gratin potato recipe: 3 lbs. of red potatoes, sliced. 1-1/4 cups creme fraiche. 1-1/4 cups gruyere, shredded. Salt. Pepper. Parsley.
Butter a 9x13 cake pan; layer potatoes/creme fraiche/cheese twice, salt & peppering to taste between the layers (I think I used paprika too, because yum). Bake at 375? 400? ... um, until done. I don't remember that part. Sprinkle parsley or crushed rosemary over the top.
Oh my- that sounds sooo good! Thanks!
Damn...that does sound good! Anyone have some leftover gruyere I could use? ;)
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