Creamy Baked Mac n Cheese

Yup.  Winter.

Cold, damp, snowy winter.  And unless you ski (we don't) or snowboard (we tried) or snowshoe (not yet) - the cold days tend to lend themselves to making good, home-cooked comfort foods.

I'm surprised I'm not 700 pounds.  Good genes, I suppose.

And on the make this time was a nice, creamy mac n cheese that sticks to your ribs and has left-over qualities that go beyond just finishing off what's in the fridge to save from tossing them!

So, grab some noodles, grab some cheese.  And if you're like me - grab some friends to share this wonderful meal with!

Meatballs for Any Occasion!



These meatballs can be used a number of ways!

As mentioned before, we're a working family and having meals made ahead, or at the minimum PLANNED ahead takes the guess work out of dinner and the stress level stays low.  I don't plan each meal, each week but I do spend weekends making things ahead of time to freeze or use as leftovers for a few, more simple meals. 



And Mr. Hungry knows what's going on too - so he can have dinner ready by the time I get home from work (or the gym) and I can do the same when he's working late.  Even Biggie Wiggie and Loo Lee eat them!



So, this weekend the project was to make meatballs.  These are very versatile because you can cook them in large batches and freeze for super simple supper plans.  They are also not cooked in any sauce, so you can use them a variety of ways - they can be added to your favorite spaghetti sauce (you can alter the Spaghetti Night recipe to omit the beef and do meatballs instead), BBQ sauces, stews, soups or served by themselves.  And our favorite way to use them has been Meatball Subs!

Spaghetti Night

So I wanted to make spaghetti.  Lots of spaghetti.  Enough spaghetti to feed the whole neighbourhood AND more!

Isn't that a good looking pot of spaghetti?

OK (let's be honest here), I wanted to make spaghetti to feed us, some friends and (because we're a working family) some to put in the freezer for a quick meal.  I usually make things like this in huge bunches, because coming home and heating something yummy is far better than hot dogs and grilled cheese - although the kids never complain when it's hot dogs and grilled cheese.  But then, some days neither do the adults!

So, prepare to witness the biggest pot of spaghetti EVER.  Massive.  And honestly, I'd have made more if I had a bigger pot.  *Note to anyone interested in what to get me for -insert holiday here-, I want a pot.  A big, huge, like-grandma-used-to-use pot.