Meatless Monday: Healthier Mac

This is my first attempt at Meatless Monday. If you like this blog idea, please let me know and I will continue to do these posts. :)

So everyone loves macaroni & cheese, right? But the crap in the box is just, well, gross... and the yummy oven baked stuff is high in calories. I set out to find a happy medium, and after just a little bit of trial and error I think I have succeeded. The pictures aren't the greatest (I haven't quite mastered cooking and photographing things at the same time yet), but the meal is nothing short of perfection. Try it out, and let me know what you think!

First, gather your ingredients:

-elbow noodles (you could do wheat noodles)

-12oz fat free small curd cottage cheese

-8oz fat free sour cream

-1/4 cup butter (I used Smart Balance light)

-1 cup broccoli

-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

-1/4 cup light parmesan

-1 cup bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 350*F.

Prepare your broccoli by steaming or boiling it. Set aside.

Cook the elbow noodles as you normally would (boil the water, add the noodles, drain).

Pour noodles into a casserole pan (9x9 works great). Add shredded cheese, parmesan, cottage cheese, and sour cream. Stir all of the ingredients together.

Cut broccoli up into small pieces and add to the macaroni mixture.

Melt your butter in a bowl, using your microwave. It only takes about 30 seconds. Mix in bread crumbs. Pour over macaroni mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and ta-da! Home made, healthier mac in under 45 minutes.

Regular recipe calories: About 600

Healthy recipe calories: Under 400

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The new schedule

Just wanted to give everyone a little run-down of the weeks to come! I have designated each day as a special one! Mostly so I can make myself blog daily, but also to hopefully have something for everyone that stops by!

Sunday -- FUNNIES -- Jokes, mostly cheesy ones... and hopefully a funny picture or video, courtesy of my kids.

Monday -- RESOLUTIONS -- How is everyone doing with their resolutions? I will ask, you will tell! I will also post my resolutions and how I am doing with them!

Tuesday -- RECIPES -- I will post at least one recipe, hopefully along with pictures!! I love to cook, and I love helping others with easy recipes. Pictures always help me, hopefully they will help you too!

Wednesday -- CRAFTS -- My favorite subject!! I will post a new craft, pattern, picture, whatever... something that has to do with crafting!

Thursday -- ODDBALL -- This will just be a random blog.. probably me griping.. I was thinking about "bitchin Thursday" but I just might not have anything to bitch about that day. We will see!!

Friday -- GIVEAWAYS -- I will do a giveaway every Friday. Eventually, I may do a review/giveaway because I'd love to review other hand made products... but it's a work in progress! Until then, I will give something away every Friday. Hair bows, knitted hats, maybe even a tutu. You must be following my blog to win. :)

Saturday -- SWAPS -- I will post my swaps for the week. What's going out, what's been sent, what's been received... and what I think of it all!!

I hope you will join me on my daily adventures!!

Crockpot Cooking

Rachel got me a crockpot for Christmas. I have wanted one for probably a year now but we just have never gotten around to buying one. So, I got one as a gift for Christmas. It was actually my favorite gift lol. I'm a nerd.

Anyway, I found an awesome recipe online for Sour Cream and Bacon Crockpot Chicken and fell in love. We will be having that for dinner this weekend! I'll be sure to post pictures!

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Ingredients:
•8 bacon slices
•8 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
•2 (10 oz) cans roasted garlic cream of mushroom soup
•1 cup sour cream
•1/2 cup flour
Preparation:
Wrap one slice of bacon around each boneless chicken breast and place in a 3-4 quart crockpot. In medium bowl, combine condensed soups, sour cream, and flour and mix with wire whisk to blend. Pour over chicken. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours until chicken and bacon are thoroughly cooked. Serves 8

I also just realized that there is an eHow widget we could add to our page. I still have to figure out how to do that on this layout. *Sigh* So, for now, here it is... on a blog post. -^-

How to Videos & Articles: eHow.com

We will be doing a giveaway within the next month or so. Anyone who is following our blog is elligible to win. Of course your chances are greater if you follow us on Twitter (nelliebugs), Facebook and Myspace (tutus@nelliebugs.com) -- every little bit helps.

We are also going to start doing reviews and giveaways on HAND MADE products. If you have a craft/product you create and sell (etsy shop? website of your own? on your blog? doesn't matter!), send us an email or leave a comment and we will get back to you!

P.S. I realize sometimes I say "I" and sometimes I say "we". That's confusing, I know. Sorry. "I" (Sadie) am typing this, but some of the things I say are on behalf of the business, or even the family, which is where "we" comes in (Sadie & Rachel, or Sadie, Rachel and kids). Try and keep up, will ya? ;)