Taco Mac n Cheese- Updates on Tuesdays

take a look at that there for a minute. you like that? well you should, but you will even more in a minute, because this isn't even it's final form.

(ba dum tsss. #dragonballreference #justme? #itsover9000)

we are going to come back to that in a minute though.

so, i think updates are going to be on tuesdays for a while. i have had (and will be having) quite a few of them off it seems, so look forward to it! ☺ today was a kind of busy day, or so it seemed.

ron and i got up early because our shower got torn apart this morning. it was all gross and bulgy (water damage from before we moved in), so they took down the walls and replaced them. the birds got to camp out in the bedroom for the day so we could keep them away from the sheet rock dust and debris. it works out for them, our room has more sunlight.

we ended up grabbing some breakfast, picked up a couple of games for a customer, and came home so ron could go to work. (this all started because we couldn't go in the bathroom- they totally woke us up, so no pee breaks unless we left the apartment!) after he left, i sat down and did some "spring" cleaning and cleared out a bunch of papers and things. see, mail and stuff pile up in random places (kitchen, living room, etc), and needs to be sorted. what happens sometimes though is "sorting" means neatly piling it up in one place instead of six places. so today was purge day, and now i need a paper shredder. i also washed the walls where the birds stay, because they throw food everywhere.

i didn't really do that much today after writing/thinking about it. i wanted to make some granola bites since the hubs and i are going to the gym again, BUT...the day is not over yet, and they don't take much time to make. ☺

lets come back to the mac and cheese though.

this actually spawned from a trip to wegmans with heather a couple weeks ago. they had it in their hot food bar, and oh my goodness. i knew this had to happen at home. (hot food bar is like 8.99/lb now! it cost me like $5 for a half a cup of mac and cheese!)

i had to look through pinterest for some ideas as well, and used this recipe from the frugal girls as a guideline, but also adapted from one that i have for regular baked mac and cheese.

Taco Mac n Cheese
makes one 9x9 pan

1 lb ground beef
half of a jalapeno, chopped finely (or more if you wish)
half of a roma tomato, chopped finely (or more if you want)
one quarter small onion, chopped finely (same as above...im just picky about veggies)
2-3 tbsp taco seasoning of choice (i had a half package of ortega on hand)
1/4 c water
8 oz (half a box) of macaroni uncooked (i used cavatappi noodles)
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter
2 c milk
2 c shredded cheese (i used extra sharp cheddar and monterey jack cheese, but your choice)
salt and pepper to taste
tortilla chips


lightly spray the bottom of a 9x9 baking dish or pan. preheat oven to 350F.

start out by cooking your choice of pasta as per directions on the box. drain, and set aside.

brown your ground beef. drain excess grease, if necessary, then add your veggies, sans about 2 tbsp of tomatoes, your taco seasoning and water. spread your ground beef mix on the bottom of the pan.

in another pot, melt your butter on medium heat. add the flour and whisk until there are no more lumps. add the milk, and raise heat to medium high, stirring occasionally until thickened. reduce heat back to low, and add your cheese. stir well until melted through. add salt and pepper to taste.

add the cheese to the macaroni (or vice versa) and stir until coated. spread over top of ground beef. crush a few tortilla chips and sprinkle on top, along with the tomatoes. (if you want to get fancy like wegmans, stick some tortilla chips on the edges of the pan!) bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, or until heated through. serve with some extra tortillas!

oh my goodness. i have been eating this at work for like a week. it is super yummy. the tortilla chips don't reheat as well, but that's why i bring extras with me. it kind of makes the "taco" part. ☺

i experimented with pesto, too!! a couple weeks ago, we went to see our friend kyle in cooperstown, and he brought us to his work where we had pesto fries. holy crap. i don't think i had ever had pesto before then, but i'm hooked. pinterest naturally explained to me what goes into it, and it is actually really easy!

basil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and olive oil. easy as pie is how it works!

oh, and a food processor. it is currently in my freezer awaiting something delicious. i bought some shrimp and angel hair pasta i am thinking of making with it!! although the fries were really good....i do have some potatoes hanging around!

we finally got to see star wars that day, too! it's bad enough work spoiled it on me, so i knew when a couple things were coming. it was depressing, but the movie was pretty good! it was good to see they got a lot of the original actors back.

speaking of originals, i just found out they are revamping red and blue for the 3ds in a special pokemon bundle in february. not that i am a diehard fan, but it's still pretty cool, none the less, and working in video games, it is good to know these things, to  know what to expect. that also leads me to this picture!

i made this for kristen for christmas, because a) she's obsessed with pikachu, and b) she's obsessed with coffee. it reads: PIKACHU used CAFFEINE! it's SUPER EFFECTIVE! (which i now realize i mispelled caffeine. i am a dumb ass.)

....but pikachu! that's all that matters.

i got to draw a picture. shut up, meg.

work is winding down, the holidays are over, which now means i can get back to a clean store. one less thing to worry about, i guess. i have been feeling a little depressed again lately, but hopefully things will be better. this picture makes me happy though.....

he was cleaning (vacuuming) and kairi jumped on his head. the little things. ♥♥♥

i will leave it at that for now though. check back on tuesday for more fun. i have some valentines plans, so look forward to some chocolate coming soon! have a good week, all! thanks for reading! ☺