Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

Trust me when I tell you that this recipe is just as quick and easy as those little boxes of shells. And, you can actually identify all of the ingredients - SCORE!

Crock Pot Macaroni & Cheese

Cooking spray

2 cups skim milk

1 12 oz can evaporated milk

1 tsp dry mustard powder

1 tsp onion powder (if desired)

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp salt

16 oz. cheddar cheese*, shredded

16 oz. uncooked elbow macaroni

1. Spray the crock pot with cooking spray.
2. In a mixing bowl, whisk together milk, evaporated milk, mustard powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.
3. Pour milk mixture into the crock pot. Add cheese and uncooked macaroni. Stir gently to mix.
4. Turn crock pot on low and cook 2-3 hours, or until the macaroni is tender. Serve immediately.

Notes:

Do not cook more than 4 hours, or it will dry out.

 

I prefer to use extra sharp cheddar cheese, but you be the judge as to what type of cheese your family prefers in this recipe.

 

Remember, 16 oz of cheese, shredded is more than 16 oz of shredded cheese (bagged)!

 

The recipe above is shown with whole wheat pasta. You could also "kick it up a notch" by using the new Hidden Veggie pasta. (And, yes, I know that I am totally dating myself by even entertaining the saying "kick it up a notch" - for my next trick, I will be "busting a move" - prepare yourself.)

100 Things to Do This Summer

I know that summer doesn't OFFICIALLY start for another week, but as far as the kids are concerned IT'S HERE. So, here's a list of some fun things that you might want to consider doing this summer.

There are activities that the kids can do by themselves, activities that they might need your help with, activities for outside play, and activities for rainy days. I tried make sure that the list was balanced between activities for boys and activities for girls (the majority are gender neutral).

And to prove that these are things that we Harris Sisters endorse, I have included links and photos of our own experiences with many of these suggestions. (And of course, there are many on the list that my family has done that we just don't have photos of. Watching classic movies, for example, but it is well documented how we LOVE us some 1980s movies!)

1. Go to a Drive In Movie

2. Make Banana Splits

3. Catch Lightning Bugs

4. Slip N Slide

5. Rent and Watch Classic Movies

6. Make Fun Summer Jewelry Using Free Online Tutorials

7. Play HORSE . . . maybe just not against this guy ;-)

8. Have a Slumber Party

9. Dip Dye or Tie Dye T-Shirts

10. Go on a Picnic

11. Visit a Science Museum

12. Go Tubing

13. Eat Breakfast for Dinner

14. Draw a Self Portrait (or Swap Names with a Family Member and Draw Pictures of Each Other) This example is courtesy of my wonderfully talented niece, Charlotte!

15. Have a Water Balloon Fight

16. Make Garden Stepping Stones

17. Play I Spy

18. Visit a Zoo

19. Make Milkshakes

20. Roll Down a Hill

21. Go to an Air Show

22. Pick Berries and Make Preserves or Old-Fashioned Cobbler

23. Play Simon Says
24. Paint Your Own Pottery
25. Assemble a Cookbook of Family Recipes
26. Go to a Baseball Game

27. Listen for the Ice Cream Truck!
28. Make an Obstacle Course
29. Watch Fireworks
30. Go for a Hike

31. Make Ice Cream Floats
32. Hula Hoop
33. Play in the Sprinkler
34. Plant a Garden

35. Go Geocaching
36. Make Paper Airplanes
37. Build a Bonfire, Then Roast Hot Dogs or Make S'mores
38. Go to an Amusement Park

39. Play Charades
40. Perform a Random Act of Kindness (RAOK)
41. Go Bowling

42. Play a Game of Telephone
43. Decorate Your Bike or Wagon for a July 4th Parade
44. Build a Treehouse

45. Go Camping in Your Own Backyard
46. Visit Local Tourist Attractions
47. Fly Kites
48. Tour a Factory

49. Go to a Summer Movie Matinee
50. Make Homemade Ice Cream
51. Make Your Own Play Kitchen, Doll House, or Race Track
52. Hand Wash the Family Cars

53. Assemble a Puzzle
54. Make Fluffer Nutter Sandwiches
55. Play Rock, Paper, Scissors
56. Go Rollerskating

57. Write to a Pen Pal (on paper . . . and send it through the mail . . . GASP!)
58. Make Your Own Market Bags Using Free Online Patterns or Tutorials
59. Visit the Local Farmer's Market
60. Take a Themed Family Photo

61. Pick Flowers and Make a Floral Arrangement
62. Learn a New Card Game
63. Thumb Wrestle
64. Grow a Butterfly from a Caterpillar (The boys do this with their Grandma nearly every year!)

65. Go on a Scavenger Hunt
66. Go Horseback Riding
67. Make Homemade Pizzas
68. Visit a Petting Zoo or Animal Park

69. Have a Dance Battle
70. Go on a Hot Air Balloon Ride
71. Play Hopscotch
72. Go to the Playground

73. Do Mad Libs
74. Go on a Road Trip
75. Visit the Library
76. Go to an Aquarium

77. Make Soda Rockets
78. Finish a Game of Monopoly
79. Go Fishing
80. Start a Collection

81. Limbo!
82. Start a Journal
83. Master the Rubik's Cube
84. Go to a Local Festival

85. Learn to Play an Instrument
86. Make a Movie or Music Video
87. Complete a Crossword Puzzle
88. Play Miniature Golf

89. Go Ziplining
90. Go Thrifting and Look for Treasures
91. Start a Compost Bin
92. Blow Bubbles

93. Hang a Birdfeeder and Watch the Birds
94. Learn Hand Clapping Games (Miss Mary Mack!)
95. Have a Karaoke Party
96. Go to a Car Show

97. Visit a New Restaurant
98. Go to a Planetarium
99. Start Making Homemade Christmas Presents
100. Take a Nap in a Hammock

Marinated Cucumbers, Onions, and Tomatoes

This looks super yum-yummy and perfect for summertime. In fact, it will be on my dinner menu tonight!  Enjoy!

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 medium onion, sliced and separated into rings

3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges

1/2 cup vinegar

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup water

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper

1/4 cup oil

Combine ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving

Beach Towel Clips

Let this officially fall under the category of awesome products that I have always needed but never knew existed. And if you already knew about beach towel clips, please don't tell me. 

Let me just tell you about my beach towel experiences before these fabulous little clips.  I'm sure they are much the same as everyone else's.  I have tried everything I could think of to keep my beach towels in place.  I always use extra large beach towels, and usually try to bring two of them to drape over my chair.  Sometimes that works, but let me just tell you how much extra large towels bulk up when you are carrying large quantities of them around with you (for yourself and your husband, too).  Eek!  I have tucked, folded, and tied my beach towels, and no matter what, they usually always still end up rumpled in a ball in the bottom of my beach chair the first time I move a muscle.  And let's not even mention what happens if the wind happens to pick up!

But then these little beauties came along.  I actually saw someone using these at the pool recently, and knew my beach towel worries were over.  So I ordered myself the flamingo clips (of course) and threw in some alligator clips for hubby for good measure.  These went straight into my pool bag and happy days are here again!

                                     

And where did I happen to find these little lifesavers?  Where else? Amazon, of course.  It's the little things in life sometimes.  But daggonit if these didn't just hit the spot.  :)

Garlic Roasted Green Beans

If you have been a fan of our Garlic Roasted Asparagus recipe, then this recipe is for you! It's a new take on green beans, and it's super-quick and delicious. Try it for yourself.

Garlic Roasted Green Beans

1 pound fresh green beans

4-6 cloves garlic, minced

3 Tbsp. olive oil (approx.)

salt

pepper

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Snap ends off of green beans and place on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Cover in minced garlic.
3. Roast for 15-20  minutes.

The Claret Murders: A Book Review

I'm a reader.  I always have been, and though it's been awhile since I've read a good whodunnit, this one drew me in quickly.  And for a couple of reasons.  The author, Tom Collins, (love his name by the way) is from Nashville and centers his storylines around the city.  I have always been drawn to books that are set in North Carolina too.  There is just some sort of indescribable familiarity about reading a book that is set where you live.  It's comforting, and makes you instantly feel that you "know" the characters somehow. 

But back to The Claret Murders, the other BIG reason I wanted to read this one was that it is not only set in Nashville, but it is set during the Nashville flood. In case you don't remember, that was a very real thing that happened just three years ago.  I lived through that awful weekend with my then boyfriend (and now husband), John.  For Nashvillians, it is one of those events that you will always remember.  The city was literally under water.  Interstates were flooded, cars stranded and destroyed.  People lost their homes, their property, and in some cases, their lives.  

That weekend started as any other.  We had plans to meet friends for dinner on Friday night.  It had started raining already, and there were reports of localized flooding.  Some of our friends bailed for dinner that night.  But not us.  We went out, but made it a short night because of the local news reports urging people off the roads.  The weekend took a turn for the worse as we received over 20 inches of rain in two short days.  With large rivers running right through town, they quickly flooded their banks and caused more damage than could have ever been imagined.  It has been renamed the "1000 Year Flood" because floods of this magnitude just don't happen.  So you can see my interest in this book.  It is a fictional work, but again, the setting made it extra real for me. 

Here is the summary, courtesy of Amazon: 

An inheritance at risk and the discovery of an extraordinary cache of old wines during a history-making flood leads to foul play and death in this Mark Rollins mystery adventure. The old man finished a glass of wine-his favorite claret-went to bed, and died. Now more than fifty years later, a stunningly beautiful Nashville attorney, Ann Sims, is preparing to auction off his estate-a derelict old mansion with its long-forgotten secret. Sims has lived with a secret of her own, a secret that could cost her the fortune she is in line to inherit and end her career. Beautiful women can make poor choices in men. She is no exception. Afraid, for good reason, of the possessive and greedy men in her life, she turns to Mark Rollins for protection. Rollins, the central character in Collins' mysteries, is a modern-day hero-a protector, problem solver, and crime fighter. His "superhero-like" powers are technology, extraordinary wealth, and friends in high places. This time his technology is failing him as he tries to keep Ann Sims alive-his efforts thwarted by Nashville's failing infrastructure in the wake of the massive storm and flood that provides cover for bad things.

For me, this book had all the classic whodunnit elements.  There was the ingenue with a mysterious past and a growing number of acquaintances who were racking up the motives to do her harm.  And just when you think you have it all figured out, the plot turns in another direction completely.   I was a fan of this book, although I am not usually one to start anything in the middle of series, and I inadvertently did with this one.  This book is part of a series called The Mark Rollins Adventures.  This particular book is the most recent of this series.  So I may actually backtrack a bit now and see what lead up to this adventure.  This one was a goodie, so plan to bookmark it for a read this summer.  

Charlotte (and her purple crayon) Takes on a Green Breakfast and a Twister!

Julie Andrews, you are not alone.  I, too, like to keep track of my favorite things!  One of them, from this school year, was this poster Charlotte and I worked on for a new program at school:

After I gave Charlotte the usual speech about filling up the entire poster board, she whipped this one out, and I helped her color it.  Green eggs and ham seemed pretty appropriate to promote breakfast.  This one was so fun to do, we decided to try our hand at another one, and came up with this one:

I just happened to notice yesterday when I went to Charlotte's end of year talent show that these babies were taking up prime real estate in the cafeteria!  Excellente!  as the baby would say.