Menu This Week

My goal this week is to amp up my kid's plant point intake! The more plant points the better, their immune system this time of year! Plant points - fruit, veggie, nuts​.

Sunday - Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden copy cat) - this was soooo good. I added carrots for an extra plant point!

Monday - meatloaf, leftover mac n cheese (viral Tini's is best ever!) from a Sunday evening get together and French green beans for something different. My Mom's meatloaf is something like this - 2 lb ground beef, half sweet onion chopped, 1/3 cup ish Italian breadcrumbs, few tablespoons ketchup, couple teaspoons minced garlic and tablespoon dried parsley. Mix all together, put in loaf pan and put ketchup on top. Cook 40 min or so at 350. 

Tuesday - chicken bowls (chopped rotisserie chicken on Sunday when I meal prepped).

Wednesday - shrimp nachos with blue corn dipper chips. I'll just cook some shrimp the night before and then chop them and put them on the chips with cheese and other good toppings.

Thursday - leftovers 

Baked Beans - I made this recipe on Sunday too. I was skeptical of the amount green peppers but they were good. 

Tini's Mac N Cheese

​My sister in law told me about this recipe and she was not wrong. I don't have tik tok but it's some viral recipe on there! It is sooo good. You must grate your own cheese - yes 2.5 pounds with 1 pound of pasta. Trust it!

Tini’s Famous Mac and Cheese 

Ingredients:
1 lb. cavatappi pasta, cooked
16 ounces of mozzarella cheese, grated
16 ounces of Colby jack cheese, grated
8 ounces of cheddar cheese, grated
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1 teaspoon of smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of pepper
3 Tablespoons of butter
3 Tablespoons of flour
1 can Carnation Evaporated Milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish

Cook cavatappi according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.

Combine all 3 shredded cheeses in a bowl and divide half into another bowl. Set aside

Combine garlic powder, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Divide in half and set aside.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add half of the season mixture and flour. Stir until the mixture becomes paste-like, about 3-5 minutes. Add evaporated milk and whisk until thick. Add heavy cream and the rest of the seasoning mixture and mix until combined. Whisk in Dijon mustard until thick. Slowly add in half the cheese, allowing it to melt before adding more.

Stir in cavatappi until coated with cheese sauce.

Add a layer of cavatappi and then a layer of shredded cheese to prepared baking dish. Repeat layers.

Bake in preheated oven until cheese is melted and bubbly, about 25-30 min. Finish by broiling until top is golden brown, about 2 min.

New Years in OIB

We went down to the beach on the 30th after knocking some work out Monday and part of Tuesday. We arrived just in time for the gorgeousness.

Immediately "gem mining"

Dinner at a new to us place - fibber mcgees. 

A quick stop for an annual pic at the OIB!

Our annual hibachi NYE night was a huge success for year five. Key to it was going to Costco before leaving Charlotte and getting much better meat. Thank you Hilary!

Other pics from the week... Grady swimming at Jen and Jades pool which they had heated. It was toasty!

Smash burgers 

Great times with dear friends! Lots of walking, lunches out, playground time, kids played putt putt by themselves. They're gaining lots of independence in our little town during the off season. It's so wonderful. We love OIB. 

Grateful for the fun, relaxation and memories.