Alton Brown's Stovetop Mac n' Cheese

1/2 lb. elbow macaroni
4 Tbsp. butter
2 eggs
6 oz. evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. hot sauce
1 tsp. salt
Fresh black pepper
3/4 tsp. dry mustard
10 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain. Return pasta to pot and melt in the butter. Toss to coat. Whisk together eggs, milk, hot sauce, salt, pepper, and mustard. Stir into the pasta and add the cheese. Over low heat continue to stir for 3 minutes or until creamy.

I have about a million macaroni and cheese recipes saved that I have been wanting to try. I have this idea in my head of exactly how I want the dish to taste, and I think I've ultimately built myself up for failure, in a way, because the last time I made macaroni and cheese from scratch I was so disappointed, and it was because it didn't taste perfect (in my opinion). I felt the same way about this recipe at first, to be honest. It tasted really good, but the mustard threw me off, and I had to come to terms with the fact that it actually WAS delicious, it was just a different taste than I had expected. I guess I'm a boxed macaroni snob. I am perfectly pleased with a $0.50 box of Great Value mac n' cheese that you add the butter and milk to. And on nights when we are feeling super fancy, we'll get a box of Velveeta mac n' cheese. In my mind, I wanted it to taste like that, but even better. My husband made a valid point, though, that if that's what I want my macaroni and cheese to taste like, then we should just buy the box and be done with it. Touche!

This really is a delicious recipe. Even better, it is wonderful the next day, and even the next! We were both a little thrown off by the eggs, but I made sure to thoroughly cook everything long enough to warrant no worries. If you are like me and completely look over the fact that evaporated milk is needed to make this, half and half works great! (I learned the hard way!) And if you can, add a little bit of Velveeta to the pasta. It really put this mac n' cheese over the top!

Spasagna

24 oz. spaghetti
32 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
8 oz. ricotta cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 1/4 cups half and half
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
1 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. salt
1 (26 oz.) jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. ground beef

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain. In a large bowl, stir together mozzarella, ricotta, sour cream, half and half, oregano, basil, pepper, salt, garlic, and half the parmesan cheese. Add spaghetti and mix until well coated. Pour spaghetti mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Top spaghetti with remaining parmesan cheese. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, brown beef in a skillet. Drain and return to heat. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer on low until pasta is done. Remove pasta from oven; cut into squares and top with meat sauce.

This was absolutely incredible! I halved this recipe, because there is no way that we could eat that much pasta. I have to say that I didn't really measure anything. I just kind of eyed it and tasted it along the way. We didn't have any oregano, so I added Italian seasoning and parsley, and I even added garlic powder. Delicious! We are even having the leftovers for dinner tonight, and I can't wait! Thank you pinterest and plainchicken.com. This is going in the permanent dinner rotation for sure!

Cinnamon Roll Cake

For the Cake:
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the Topping:
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. cinnamon

For the Glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
5 Tbsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla

To make the cake: Mix everything together except for the butter. Slowly stir in the melted butter and pour into a greased 9x13 pan.

To make the topping: Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Drop evenly over the batter and swirl with a knife. Bake at 350 degrees for 28-32 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

To make the glaze: Combine all ingredients. Drizzle over the cake while it is still warm.

I know that this picture is horendous, but I'm ok with that, because this cake was absolutely to die for. Vann's bachelor party was this past Friday night, and I wanted to make something that the guys could snack on while playing pool and having a few beers. At first I was going to make cookies, but then decided that it would take a little too much time, and so I settled on this. Courtesy of Pinterest and cookinupnorth.blogspot.com (who got this recipe from life as a lofthouse....see? I'm no the only one getting recipes from her blog!), I was able to whip this up in no time, and it made the house smell like Heaven. I have never been so sad to watch a dessert walk out the door. I can't wait to make this again when Vann and I can have it all to ourselves!!!