Mel'z 20 Minute Parmesan Mac & Cheese

A few months ago after a family camping trip I got sick & was in a rush to get dinner done. 

Matt was almost home, the kids were grumpy, & I was physically & mentally drained. 

So i grabbed a few staples & decided to see what happened. 

20 min later dinner was served!

This happened & i think its quite good. 

So ill share with you all & you can tell me what you think. 

Yeah? 

Cool. 

Here we go.

Ingredients:

1 LB Fusilli Pasta

4 Tsp Garlic Powder

3 C. Parmesan

1 C. Cheddar

Broccoli Florets (to taste)

2 Tbs Italian Seasoning

1 Tsp Cayenne

1Tbs Butter or Margarine

3 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream or 3 cups Half & Half for a lighter version

1 Cup Water 

Directions:

Boil pasta until its half way done & drain

Add Butter & all wet ingredients.

Turn to Medium Heat. 

Add Cayenne, Garlic Powder & Italian seasoning to pot

Once the liquid starts to boil again add 1/2 the cheese & stir frequently adding the rest of the cheese in slowly. Sauce will thicken pretty fast after this so stir diligently until pasta is done. 

Add broccoli on top pr mix in (as I did) 

Add Salt & Pepper to taste.

This is a pretty versatile recipe & i have added fresh garlic & chopped sauteed onions to it, green onions top it very well as well. 

Get creative! 

As always if you use this or any of my recipes please let me know how it came out. 

I love feedback!

Enjoy!

Melodys Lip Smackin Crockpot Meatballs

I love meatballs. Yes I do. They are pretty much the only way ill eat ground beef anymore, aside from the occasional taco or meatloaf. There is so much you can do with these bad boys! Heres the recipe i made tonight for dinner. My kids were pleased! My husband thought they were a bit too spicy so definitely adjust to your (or your S/O's) own spice tolerance.  These were just bursting with flavor & even before I started cooking them they smelled heavenly. Enjoy ya'll! 

This recipe makes ALOT . 

We have leftovers for the next day so be aware of that so you can adjust your servings.

Ingredients:

4lbs of Lean Ground Beef

1 1/2  tbps of Ground Ginger

1 1/2 tbsps Cayenne Pepper 

3 tbsps Garlic Powder

1/2 package of Ritz Crackers crumbled

2 tbsps Basil

1 tbsp Rosemary

2 tbsps Parsley

1 egg

1/4 cup Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce original

1/4 cup Bullseye BBQ sauce (sweet & spicy)

1/4 cup Honey Mustard

1/2 jar of concord grape jelly 

1 can ocean spray cranberry sauce (jellied) 

Meatball Instructions:

Combine all dry ingredients & egg with ground beef and roll into meatballs. 

Sauce Instructions:

In large bowl (or in the crockpot) mix all wet ingredients until combined well. 

Combine meatballs and sauce and cook on low for 6-7 hours. Or on high for 5-6

This recipe was written by me. Any similarities to other recipes is purely coincidental.

Fruity Pebble Treats

As a kid I loved eating rice krispies .

 I mean , They TALKED man!

As an adult with a pretty well refined palette....not so much.

I know people had used different cereals before so I decided id use some fruity pebbles because

A: I love them! and B: They were on sale at Winco . SCORE!

I have to say the kids were so excited to eat these that half way through dinner I was being asked

"Mommy are you still making fruity pebble treats?"

I did I did.

Here's my recipe, which yes does have an extra special ingredient that most will find weird, but I assure you, It kicks up the flavor!

Ingredients

5 cups Marshmallows

6 Cups Fruity Pebbles

4 Tbs of butter

1/2 tsp  Cayenne

You Will Need: Baking Dish, Large plastic bowl, Saucepan & Ingredients

Spray baking dish with non stick spray, set aside.

Place Fruity Pebbles in large plastic bowl.

In large saucepan , melt butter on low heat until its completely melted.
Add cayenne and stir.

Add marshmallows and stir constantly until marshmallows are melted and combined with butter.

Turn off heat.

Add the melted marshmallow mix into the large plastic bowl & combine quickly.

Then put into the greased baking dish & pat down until desired thickness/and/or shape.

Chill in fridge for 1 hour.

Voila!

Easy Peasy.

Hope you enjoy!

XXXOOO

Melody

This recipe was written by me. Any similarities to other recipes is purely coincidental.