baked spaghetti•post revamp

I sort of wish I could re-do today (or maybe I should just be glad it's over?)...  Among other things, Oliver was an emotional wreck and for some reason kept making a giant mess of himself.   I ended up having to change his shirt roughly every two hours this morning, and peel him, crying, off the floor about every hour.  Owen wasn't much better-- he just could not make it to the potty on time-- on repeated occasions.  
Just one of those days...
But, Brock's putting the boys to bed now, which is like pushing the reset button on their world (and mine).  Give everyone a break and try again tomorrow.  The boys will hopefully wake up feeling refreshed and ready for a new day tomorrow.  And hopefully create less dirty laundry, tomorrow, too.
Here's another thing I want to re-do (so I did): my Baked Spaghetti post.  It was the first recipe I posted, and was (obviously) from before I realized the only way to photograph food is in natural light.  I also discovered a food mode (who knew?) on my camera that seems to work pretty well...  
So, I've recently started making blog-dinners early in the afternoon (as I did with this re-do batch of baked spaghetti).  Or, you don't know how many times I've photographed leftovers the next morning (leftovers in natural light look far, far better than fresh-cooked food in fake light).
There are definitely limitations to what my camera and I can do.  It is, after all, just a basic point-and-shoot, and I have not had any practical experience with artistic photography since college.
But, I think you'd agree, it's getting a little better.

real light= something you might actually eat

fake light= no thanks

So, here it is (follow the link):  Baked Spaghetti, Revamped.
I've kept the post in the original place to avoid having multiple posts of the same recipe as well as avoid having to leave those old, hideous photos up.  So, hopefully my new photos will actually make you want to try my recipe.  Baked spaghetti still is one of our favorites-- a comforting dish that pleases everyone in the family.  
And it was perfect for a tough day like today.

monkey cheese•muffins

I will, without shame or regret, put shredded carrots into just about anything...  Cookies, cake, oatmeal, rice, pasta, and certainly into the kids' mac and cheese (which comes out sounding like "monkey cheese" when Oliver says it).  That's why I was really excited to find this simple and really yummy recipe for Carroty Mac and Cheese on Epicurious.  Mojo was happy, too.  He loves carrots and comes running (or more truthfully, at his age, ambling) from anywhere in the house at the sound (or smell?) of me shredding carrots.  
Honestly, my kids still prefer their Annie's (with or without carrot shreds) to this version, but will tolerate this.  Baking it into muffins makes it a little more fun thus a little more acceptable.  
But, really, this one's not so much about them-- Brock and I prefer this one by far.  And baking it into muffins, in our humble opinions, makes it even better-- there's more area to get crispy and chewy.  Comfort food at it's epitome...

the veggies & the love:


Prepare as instructed in the original recipe at: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carroty-Mac-and-Cheese-367160, except bake in muffin tins.  Mini-muffins will take about 12 to 15 minutes, and regular-sized muffins will need 15 to 20. 

tips:


* I make this pretty true to recipe, with a few simple substitutions (Barilla Plus elbows for the macaroni, plain Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, and margarine instead of butter) based on what I usually keep around the house.
* From this recipe I made 12 mini-muffins and 8 regular-sized ones.  We thought the mini ones were the best, but I, sadly, only own one mini-muffin pan.  I'm guessing this would make about 3 dozen minis or about a dozen regular-sized ones, if you just did one size.
* Be sure to grease the muffin tins really well before adding the pasta mixture-- this will be key to getting the muffins out in one piece once they're done.
* Don't forget to reserve a half cup of the cheddar for on top.  Once I wasn't reading the recipe closely enough and I mixed the entire three cups into the pasta, and it didn't come out as good-- it was a little too greasy.
* Let the muffins cool for as long as you can stand it before removing them from the tins (though don't wait 'till they're cold).  The longer you wait, the easier they'll come out in one piece. 
* To remove them: run a knife all around the edge between the muffin and the tin.  Then, use a spoon to lift the contents out in one piece.

recipe link•snobby joes

I'm working on a couple of original recipes to post, but in the mean time I thought I'd share a link to one of my family's favorites: Snobby Joes.  

I make this pretty much true-to-recipe every time.  This says a lot for the recipe, because I'm definitely a meddler (and if I do meddle with this, it might be to switch out the green pepper for red and throw in a little frozen corn for color-- minor stuff in my kitchen).  We like this with baked sweet potato fries on the side.

I first discovered Snobby Joes in the cookbook, Veganomicon, by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  They're the authors of several other fantastic vegan cookbooks, along with the website, Post Punk Kitchen.  Check them out-- Veganomicon and Vegan with a Vengeance, especially, have been indispensable to me.

Without further ado, the link: http://www.theppk.com/2009/11/snobby-joes/.  

Enjoy!