Mac N' Cheese to the Rescue Review and Giveaway

Mac n cheese is a staple pantry item around here.  I'd love to blame that on my kids, but the truth is, I have had a long standing love affair with mac n cheese myself!  My favorite kind of mac n cheese growing up was this brand called Leonardo's Macaroni and Cheddar.  My parents bought it at Sam's Club, and I remember at first I was skeptical that this non-Kraft mac n cheese would be a good, but really I think it's soooooo much better!  I'm sure my parents were trying to pinch a few pennies buying it.  Boy, did they luck out huh?  I haven't seen it in any stores for a log time but I just Googled it and you can buy it right here at this link!  I may just have to do that! Ahhh!  The power of the internet!

As you can see, I LOVE mac n cheese so, when I got the chance to review with new cookbook Mac N Cheese to the Rescue by Kristen Kuchar I couldn't have been more thrilled!

The cookbook is full of 101 recipes that use leftover or box mac n cheese.  They take a regular pantry item like mac n cheese, which is awesome all on it's own, and give it a fresh spin and added flavor!

The first recipe we tried was Amore Mac!  It was very simple and easy to make!  You probably have all the ingredients in your pantry or fridge already!

 

You can see the page is doggy-eared.  My husband went through and picked out all the recipe he wanted to try.  Sounds like mac n cheese with a facelift will be a weekly menu item for awhile for us! 

We took the Amore Mac to a church pot luck and there wasn't much to bring home!  I barely got a taste of it but it was surprisingly delicious for such a simple meal.  The great thing about this recipe in particular is that you could use any kind of jarred marinara to add a little something extra to the dish.  Personally, I think a sauce packed with mushrooms would be amazing!  Doesn't all that cheese have you drooling?!

You could win your very own copy of this inspiring cookbook!  Check out the Rafflecopter link below!

Here are a few more recipes from this cookbook from other blogger friends of mine:
Jalapeno Mac Corn Bread
Southern Fried Chicken Mac N Cheese
Carolina Pulled Pork
 Little Island Studios

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This is a sponsored post.  I received a copy of this cookbook free of charge but all opinions are mine. 

Mommy Confessions: Mother's Day Edition

Mother's Day is Sunday! Wow!  The last couple of weeks have gone by really fast!  Actually, the last year has gone by really fast!!!  This June it will have been a year since I became a stay at home mom.  Some of you might remember that last August I wrote a post about leaving the working mom world and becoming a stay at home mom. You can click the link to read that post.  I had only been a SAHM for about 2 months at the time and I included this top ten things I has learned so far.  Here is it to recap:

10.  Sneaking into the room where children and screaming at each other is much more effective than yelling "quit fighting!"

9. A schedule and a plan are necessary for sanity but truly must be flexible

8. It seems safer to stay home all day but getting out is needed for everyone not just mommy

7. I have more time to do things I want to do than when I was working 

6. The things I want to do have changed A LOT

5. Being needed by someone is really nice!  Even if they don't always say thank you

4. I had forgotten how to have fun

3. I really didn't know my kids as well as I thought

2. Time for stress relief and exercise is even more important than when I was working.  Sometimes even Mommies need a time-out!

and drum roll please...

1. I LOVE being with my kids!  Sometimes I get really mad at them and sometimes I want to squeeze them so tight because they make me so proud.  Every moment is equally as important and an amazing blessing!

 

All of these are still true almost a year later.  I am still figuring out how to do all of this and I have learned some new things.  Some of them are surprising even to me and some of them are just plain funny!

 

10. I miss my kid when he's at school.  In fact, we've decided to homeschool next year, not just because I miss him, of course.  There are LOTS of reasons but what it boils down to is that we have decided it's the right thing for our family.  I don't believe it's right for every family or that it will for sure be the right thing for ours down the road but it's right for now.  In case you need more of an explanation than that, we resonate with a lot of the thoughts in this article, http://childrensmd.org/uncategorized/why-doctors-and-lawyers-homeschool-their-children-18-reasons-why-we-have-joined-americas-fastest-growing-educational-trend/.

9. I've learned I say no A LOT and I'm trying to say yes a little more.

 

 

8. I am very rarely in pictures!  Read here for how I plan to change that.

 

7. Not working has caused parts of my brain to turn to mush!  I'm working to change that.  Read more about that here.

 

5. I recently got a pedometer.  I thought I was more active staying at home but um... not really!  Working on getting off the couch and watching less Dora the Explorer and Doc McStuffins.  My daughter says my new job is "chalk drawer."

 

4. There are apparently infinite ways to arrange and rearrange furniture in a room.  I used to get the itch to rearrange every six months or so but with being home all the time, I feel the need to reorganize much more often!  Good news is that my house is getting really organized!

 

 6. I now have a secret mom only chocolate stash! I am IN LOVE with pretzel M&Ms.  Shhh! Don't tell my husband.

 

3. I say some REALLY bizarre (and hilarious) things to my kids.  Of course I have also learned that kids do some super bizarre things... check that out here.

 

2. I have a lot more time to make homemade treats for my kids.  I am addicted to this cookie batter recipe from Sally's Baking Addition!  It's for triple chocolate chip cookies but I have been using all different kinds of chips, M&Ms etc!  Good thing I'm on a new plan for exercise with all these cookies I've been baking!

 

And # 1. Apparently, I wear mom jeans...  http://www.graspingforobjectivity.com/2012/07/gap.html Whatever, I love my Old Navy Jeans!  They fit me and my pocketbook. HA HA HA!

Hope you all have a wonderful Mother's Day!

Facebook Frenzy Blog Hop #7

WELCOME TO THE FRENZY!

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Facebook Frenzy hop #6

Let's keep it growing! Last week we had a total of

202

Participants link up their Facebook pages with us! We have new pages every week and so many different pages to explore. What a blast!

ALSO!

A Little something extra for our participants today!

For today's Frenzy, We will be offering 25% off any ad space for ALL Facebook Frenzy participants!! Simply click HERE and enter promo code: "Frenzy" Upon checkout!

Reminder:

All sponsors will have the opportunity to link up their Facebook page prior to the hop going live for the duration of their sponsorship! (See sponsorship page for details)

It's an exciting day at the frenzy! Let's get the party started!

Please follow these instructions carefully for a successful hopping experience:

1. Go to your blogs facebook page. Copy the URL displayed in your browser

2. Head back over to the Frenzy. Paste the Facebook URL into the linky tool DO NOT LINK UP YOU BLOG!

3. Now go to your PERSONAL Facebook page (Not your blogs Facebook page) to "like" the pages of others. Facebook will not count "Likes" from other "PAGES".

4. Get into the habit of "Liking" someone's page "BEFORE" you leave them a comment, or the like may not be counted

5. If you would like someone to "Like" you back YOU MUST LEAVE A LINK TO YOUR BLOGS FACEBOOK PAGE in the comment you send to them.

6. Grab a Margaritta

7. Go!

Here are the classic rules:

1. "Like" Your Host and Co-hosts pages

2. Grab the hop button and place it on your sidebar (or hop page)

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Meet our fabulous April co-host team!

DYSFUNCTION JUNCTION (HOST)

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