Mac N' Cheese, Please

Kristin has been with her Mom in Florida since Saturday. I've taken off work to spend some time with the kids. We miss her a lot, but we're holding our own. For example, I'm happy to say that I've been feeding the kids a pretty healthy diet...fresh fruits, carrots, raw cheese (from the Amish at the local Farmer's Market), almonds, etc. 

That said, as the kids and I were heading back from the local GM dealer (I had one of the front hubs replaced because the bearing was going out) today, I asked them what they wanted for dinner. Mac n' cheese was the most popular response. 

As we were making this classic dish, I noticed a box of pudding in the cabinet. Since we already had the milk and measuring cups out, we decided to make some pudding, too. It's fun to see how much the kids liked joining in on the food preparation action. (I wish I had captured on video some of little details of the four Arnold cooks in the kitchen. Kristin would've been proud!)

So, here was our final menu: a little salad to begin, shells and cheese as the main course (Sam, Chase and Ava all had two helpings), ginger ale and instant vanilla pudding with vanilla wafers and banana slices. 

They loved the meal...go figure. Grandaddy even joined us. Everyone had a big smile on their face at the beginning of (well, actually, they weren't too fond of the salad part), during and after the meal. It's probably good if this menu is only served occasionally, though...

I wasn't sure how to spell mac n' cheese. So, before writing this post, I did a quick Google search and inadvertently stumbled upon this article likening mac n' cheese to a cigarette. I was drawn into the debate, which left me feeling a bit guilty afterwards. Not guilty enough to forget this memorable evening and meal any time soon, though.