Big girl!

My baby is growing up. She was sitting in her high chair this morning with some diced prunes, pears, and some crackers. She had a spoon in one hand and a fork in the other. She refused to eat food with her fingers - even her crackers! She ate all her prunes (3 total, diced in quarters), and half her pears (2 slices, diced), and one cracker - WITH HER FORK! She loved it! That was the first time for her that she used utensils on her own and she was so proud. So am I of course :)

I made mac n cheese from scratch today and OMG it was fantastic! It was simple, and it took me about 10 minutes. I couldn't even get pics because I don't have my camera and my housemate is gone with her camera. Darn!

Ingredients:
Margarine
Flour
Milk (I'm going to try this next time with soymilk so Katie can eat it!)

Noodles
Cheese of choice

First, I got a 16oz bag of rotini noodles boiling. I wanted a noodle that would retain the cheese.

In a small (8") frying pan, I sautee'd a small onion, sliced thinly. 

Next, in a 10" frying pan, I made a roux/rue/howeveryouspellit: melted the margarine then mixed in the flour. It turned into a paste but I let it cook for a few minutes whipping it the whole time. After about 3 mins of cooking the flour/butter, I added milk and salt/pepper to taste.Whipping constantly, I cooked it until it was the consistency I wanted it. I think I could have used more milk to make it go farther but I think this was perfect. Take it off the burner if you have an electric stove!

Once the rue was the consistency I liked - sorta like applesauce - I mixed in the onions and about 1/2c shredded mozzarella/provolone mixture and about 1c diced monterey jack cheese. Then mixed all that with the now drained noodles.

Once it was all mixed together, I put it in a casserole dish and topped it with crumbled Club crackers. I baked it at 400* for about 10 minutes - just enough to give the top a crisp and melt the cheese.

I so wish I had pics!! It turned out perfect!! There are leftovers though, so I might get some yet.