Whew

The house got cleaned on Sunday morning and things have been falling into place in me keeping the place up. On Monday, my sister came over and we rearranged my bedroom. That’s now being kept up on a daily basis. I’m hoping that the hubby will see the effort I put in and start hitting the hamper or taking dishes to the kitchen or whatever. I haven’t done much today. I have got the kitchen/living room/bedroom picked up. Not bad, but with my hubby off yesterday, there was a few extra glasses and whatnot lying around. Just as much my fault as his. I also accomplished this today:

Yummy-hot chocolate cake and cold milk. Good stuff, Maynard!

Well, I am going to start the dishwasher and go read some. Have a great day!

Stovetop Mac N Cheese with Ham and Peas

Boy is this a long title! Basically it’s homemade mac and cheese with peas and ham to make it a meal. It’s made with shredded cheese and milk and elbow mac. It was very good but for me it was a little bland. I think I will stick with using Velveeta instead. This recipe was from Andrea Chesman’s Mom’s Best One Dish Suppers.

Stovetop Mac N Cheese with Ham and Peas

1 pound elbow mac

5 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup milk

1/2 pound ham, diced

2 cups frozen peas

Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil; cook the macaroni until just done, about 8 minutes. Drain and return to the pot.

Put the pot over the lowest possible heat and add the butter, cheese, mustard, milk, ham, and peas. Stir until the cheese melts. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

The recipes states it serves 4-6 and we got almost six plus servings out of this dish. Great idea for mixing veggies into mac and cheese. I used a little extra milk and next time will use Velveeta instead.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

I think this recipe came from a Family Circle cookbook I got at the library. Think, but not sure. This recipe seemed fairly straight forward and easy, which is was. I wasn’t crazy about the textures of the potatoes though, when they were done. To me they were a little stiff or fibrous and not the smooth and creamy lumps in the traditional boiled variety. However, this recipe was extremely easy and for holiday cooking, it could save some space on the stove and/or in the stove so I’m going to share it with y’all.

Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes

6 medium sweet potatoes (or yams) (approximately 2 pounds) peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

1 1/2 cups applesauce

2/3 cup packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup chopped nuts, toasted

Place sweet potatoes in 2 to 3 1/2 quart slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients except nuts; spoon over potatoes.

Cover and cook on low heat setting for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are very tender.

Manwhile, cook nuts in ungreased heavy skillet over medium-low heat 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently until browning begins, then stirring constantly until golden brown and fragrant; set aside. Sprinkle nuts over sweet potatoes.

Notes: This makes six servings-we served a skinny four people. Also-I left out the nuts and no big deal.