Katie's Kitchen: Mac and Cheese

This is one of my favorite meals because it is so comforting and tasty. 

Plus it is easy to make with only a few ingredients and dishes!

I have adapted this recipe from a country cookbook my mom had for years. 

I simplified it to about half of the ingredients in the original recipe and it is finally perfect. 

I like to make this for get-togethers or just when I am craving comfort foods.
This recipe is great because you can feed about 8 people, or have it for dinner and lunch the next day and feed 4 people, twice! I love it even more when it is reheated for lunch.
So make it when you have guests or just for yourself.

See recipe below:

Mac and Cheese

1 Box of Elbow Noodles
4 Tablespoons of Butter
3 Tablespoons of Flour
2 Cups of Milk
4 Cups of Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese, separated

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Boil water and then add elbow noodles, turn down heat slightly and cook. Drain noodles and rinse. Set noodles aside. In a pot at medium heat, melt butter. Mix in flour until incorporated. Slowly add milk, then bring to bowl stirring occasionally. Turn heat to low and gradually add and melt 3 cups of cheese. Add in noodles and mix until noodles are coated. Pour into a casserole dish and spread 1 cup of cheese over the top of the mac and cheese. Place in oven and bake for 15-20 mins. Cheese on top should be melted and slightly brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 mins before serving.

Makes 8 large servings or 12 small servings

This is delicious right out of the oven, but even better reheated! YUM.

Katie's Kitchen: French Breakfast Muffin

Who is snowed (well, iced) in and loves baking muffins?
I do!
I found this recipe while strolling Pinterest the other week and I was in the mood for donuts this morning. 

Yes, these are not donuts. Donuts would have required a trip to the store.

 So I happily settled for this recipe that I had all the supplies for and did not need to leave the house.

These are crazy delicious, the ingredients are simple, and they whipped together super quick!

I enjoyed mine with some Toffee Nut Coffee.

A splendid way to start the day!

French Breakfast Muffin

Recipe adapted from Velvet Lava

Muffin:

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/3 c. unsalted butter, melted

1 egg (preferably room temperature)

1/2 c. milk

Topping:

1/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. butter, melted

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a medium-large bowl, mix together all dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and stir just until combined, but still a bit lumpy. Do NOT overmix; overmixing will ruin the texture of the finished muffins. Spray muffin pan with cooking spray. Using a large ice cream scoop, I made 6 medium/large muffins out of this batter; My muffin pan is for 6 large muffins. You could get 10-12 muffins by using a smaller muffin pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until they just start to turn a bit golden at the edges.

For the topping, mix sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Melt butter in a separate bowl. Dip the top of the warm muffins into the melted butter, then dip/roll the muffin in the cinnamon sugar. 

So go. Make yourself some muffins. And then sit down, relax and think spring.
Perhaps begin shopping for a few new spring pieces in spring colors while visiting my spring color inspiration boards. Or maybe browse my summer Pinterest board.

Enjoy!

Love, Katie

Katie's Kitchen: Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer

Today is one of those much needed days.
A day where I am at peace. 

I have been very busy lately. So busy that nothing else around the house has really gotten done.
And if you know me, you know how I cannot stand stuff sitting around.
The simple look of misplaced items or unorganized clutter stresses me out. 

So you understand how I either need to ugly cry and let it go or suck it up and persevere.

I have decided to go with the latter. And I am going to take my time. I am finally going to take the few minutes to do those items that have been pushed down on the to-do list. (Like unpack the boxes in the back room which I have been dreading since the day we moved in...)

And then I am going to do whatever I want! 

Like wrap Christmas presents!

(Oh yeah. That's right. I am already finished Christmas shopping!)

This recipe is adapted from Shugary Sweets.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream, divided
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 1/4 cup pure pumpkin
• 1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk

Instructions

1. In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1/2 cup heavy cream, cinnamon, allspice and pumpkin puree. Simmer over low for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely.
2. Once cooled, whisk in the remaining heavy cream and sweetened condensed milk. Pour into jar. Keep for up to one week in the refrigerator.
3. SHAKE WELL before using

Enjoy! 

Love, Katie

Katie's Kitchen: Apple Cider Donuts

When I was a young child I use to spend hours running my restaurant in my parent's basement. 

I called it Katie's Kitchen and I was known house-wide for the tasty toy food dishes I cooked up in my pretend oven. I still enjoy playing in the kitchen, but now I actually cook some things you hopefully will find edible. Hence the title of a new blog series. 

We visited my brother and sister-in-law this weekend on our way to Clover Markets, which is fabulous and I totally recommend! Since we were spending the night I offered to make breakfast for everyone before we hit the road. I recently was on Pinterest and pinned every apple cider/pumpkin recipe I could find. I immediately knew I wanted to test out my brand new donut pan and make these delicious baked apple cider donuts. 

They look daunting, but I promise you they are easy to make and bonus, you can mix everything in one bowl! I used a heart-shaped donut pan I bought at Joann's when it went on clearance after Valentine's day. I am sure you can use any regular-ole donut pan, but I personally think heart-shaped anything tastes way better!
Happy Baking! 

Love, Katie

This recipe is from the blog: The Marvelous Misadventures of a Foodie. 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Yield: 1 dozen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ tsp apple pie spice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ cup apple cider
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
Cinnamon-Sugar Topping:
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Lightly grease a doughnut pan.

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, apple pie spice and salt. Stir in cider, milk, eggs, vanilla and melted butter. Beat together until well blended.

Fill each doughnut cup 3/4 full. Bake 8 to 10 minutes until doughnuts spring back when touched. Allow to cool slightly before removing from pan.

In a shallow bowl mix together white sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon until well combined. Brush each doughnut with melted butter then toss in cinnamon-sugar mixture until evenly coated.

At Home: Kitchen Sink

I finally tackled our dirty sink!

Boy! I tell ya!

This has been on my to-do list from the day we moved in! 

I tried cleaning the sink the before we finished moving in, but I could not get it clean!

I started doing some research for ways to make our stainless steel sink in our apartment shine again.

The sink was covered in water stains and grime.

But now it sparkles! 

 

It was shocking how clean it got with just ordinary kitchen ingredients! 

You will need: 

• White Vinegar - Apply this first, using a spray bottle. Spray all over sink.
• Baking Soda - Then sprinkle the powder over the vinegar. I then scrubbed the sink.
• Hot Water - Wait 10-15 mins and then Rinse the sink with HOT water. Spray with vinegar once more and then wipe clean with a paper towel.
• Lemon - Cut in half and scrub the sink, squeezing the lemon. I sprinkled baking soda on the lemon juice to help it remove the water stains. Rinse again with hot water. Then wipe clean with a paper towel.
• Cooking Oil - Using a paper towel to apply, rub some oil onto the sink to bring out the shine and help preserve your hard work! 

And tah-dah! 

Back to doing dishes in a CLEAN sink!