The Cheesiest

Today was one of those days when the mercury didn't climb much above freezing for most of the day. Now this certainly can't compare to the frigid temperatures endured by the Packers and Giants fans at last night's football game, but hey, this is Virginia we're talking about, not the great frozen North. So it's fair for me to say that it's cold. Especially knowing that my husband, working in Phoenix today, was enjoying weather in the 60's with winds light and variable! The kids and I spent most of our day on the couch, snuggled under throws and catching up on our history reading. When I did emerge from my cocoon, I had the irrepressible desire to make some comfort food to combat the cold in my bones. Several hours later I had a roasted chicken resting on the counter and I was preparing some homemade mac and cheese. Enter the peanut gallery:

"What are you making, Mom?"
(Translation: "That doesn't look like something I'm going to like; I wish I had eaten more at lunchtime.")
"What do you mean that's macaroni and cheese?"
(Translation: "Where is the cheesy powder packet?")
"You mean you have to bake it in the oven?"
(Translation: "Something is seriously wrong! Macaroni and Cheese is ALWAYS prepared on the stovetop via the Classic Prep method! Abort! Abort!")
"That doesn't look like macaroni and cheese!"
(Translation: "Why isn't it the color of irradiated pumpkins?")

Disclaimer: I must confess that we do eat Kraft Mac and Cheese. At least my kids do. My babysitter probably wonders if I ever make anything else for dinner, but that's what I usually pull out on date night when I know I'm getting dinner somewhere else! So I'm not a mac and cheese snob, but if given a choice, I would definitely pick homemade over prepackaged! Especially given the fact that "The Cheesiest" lists "cheese" as the very last ingredient, and even then it's only "cheese culture." What does that mean, anyway? But I digress...

Well, 30 minutes later my 5, (almost) 7 and 9 year-olds managed to polish off several helpings of salad, three quarters of a roasted chicken, and, oh, yeah, just about an entire 2-quart dish of pure, cheesy comfort:


Enough said!