Monday, July 19, 2010

Housewarming Success, Mac & Cheese Recipe, Sunday Vegday

SO GLAD you guys liked the video too! haha It seriously cracks me up - like, can't get enough of it! While obviously it was an over exaggeration, which to me made it all the more funny, parts of it did truly ring true but to me in funny ways - sometimes it's a blast to be silly like that with your girlfriends!

So Saturday was such a great day! I got lots done at the house, ran errands for everything from new shoes to bachelorette party gifts to birthday party gifts and then it was time to get ready for my sister's housewarming party! We got ready, loaded up the car, and me, Austin & Reuben headed over to East Atlanta. Stacy and Shane came early, too, and we all set up, got my mac & cheese going in the slowcooker, made chocolate strawberries and before we knew it it was 6 p.m. and guests were arriving! They had such a great turn out and everyone really seemed to enjoy seeing their house! They had done SO much work in the yard and it looked awesome. The food went over well and everyone self served on these cool vintage cafeteria-style trays my sister had found. Very cool! As it got later we got our drink on, played some cornhole and hung out. Here's some pics!

Cornhole!
Peeps checking out the backyard!
Me, Devon & Stacy!
Stacy, Crystal, Me and Mar!
Me & Austin - i'm getting better at remembering to take pics of us!
Dinner time...
Great turn out! And I loved the punch containers - can't wait to use mine!
Zach grilled up SO many kabobs in this awesome marinade from Trader Joe's
Stacy & Shane!
Lots of food!
Chatting
Late night group shot with self timer - love it!
Devon got artsy!
Dev & Crystal!
These trays are so cool - they went over great
Devie & Sadie girl - I didn't think she was looking but I caught her!
Austin, Shane & Jason!
Loved the outdoor lights - SO cute!
Cornhole time - little blurry but I think they came out cool
More cornhole

GREAT night! I estimated that I ended up at 1,940 calories, 125 carbs, 59 fat grams and 103 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Here is the Slowcooker Mac & Cheese Recipe I used (closely based off of Paula Deen's):

1 cup fat-free milk (she used full fat)
¾ tsp dry mustard (she used less)
1 tsp salt (she used less)
4 tbsp light butter with canola oil (she used full fat)
1/2 cup fat-free sour cream (she used full fat)
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can campbell’s Cheddar cheese soup
3 eggs, beaten
2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese (next time i'll try light)
1 16-oz. box elbow macaroni (she used less)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Boil macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until cheese melts. In a slow cooker sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, combine cheese/butter mixture and add sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Add eggs. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.
Whole Recipe: 3,293 calories, 395 carbs, 228 fat grams and 137 protein grams. Makes 20 "side" servings: 165 calories, 20 carbs, 12 fat grams and 7 protein grams; Makes 10 "large" servings: 329 calories, 40 carbs, 23 fat grams and 14 protein grams.

Sunday we got up early at my sister's and headed back home. My picture (prints) I had ordered had come in, so I set out and framed everything - YAY - one thing down. Then me and Austin hung out, watched 24, and rested. Then Austin left for Counting Crows at Chastain and me/Reuben held down the fort watching Cheerleader Nation. What a cute little show! I thought about blogging. Or doing laundry. Or working out. Or doing something creative. But instead I just vegged out and I have to admit - I enjoyed it! Wonderful Sunday! I ended up at 1,778 calories, 224 carbs, 43 fat grams and 118 protein grams. Here's what I ate.

Q: Have a mac & cheese recipe? If so, what's in yours? This was my first time making this but you guys - it was a huge hit! I will definitely make it again, but plan to try it with light grated cheese rather than full fat! (i'll let you know if it works!) I LOVE this recipe mostly because it's slow cooker - easy peasy!

Q: Ever hosted a housewarming party? I haven't - I enjoyed helping out with this one though!

18 comments:

lee said...

Is Cheerleader Nation still on or was it old episodes. I used to really like that show!

I've hosted a housewarming before and we will probably do another in September for our new house. You are invited!

Big Pissy said...

Great pictures, Kel!

Now I want some mac-n-cheese! :)

homecookedem said...

What a fun housewarming party!! It definitely looks successful!! :) Love the tray idea, so clever and fun! And your mac and cheese recipe sounds delicious!! Thanks for sharing! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh I love Paula Deen - so Southern and wonderful! We actually like another one of her mac and cheese recipes that doesn't involve a slowcooker but I'm super interested to try this version out.

I love all your pictures and seriously CANNOT WAIT to have a backyard to play/grill/etc in.

Erica said...

oh yes....I hate mushrooms. It makes it tough to be a veg too- because restaurants want to put mushrooms in all of my dishes- yikes!

The party looks like so much fun. Cornhole is always a blast. And I'm glad your food additions turned out well. Can't go wrong with delicious mac and cheese. I make Ellie Krieger's four cheese mac (aka squash macaroni and cheese) - it is amazing.

We have had two housewarming parties- one in MD, one in SC. They're a lot of fun!

Unknown said...

Thanks for the recipe! Looks fabulous....I love all Paula Dean's recipes!
I had a house warming party when we bought our first house.

Pam said...

It looks like you had a great time! Thanks for sharing your photos. The mac & cheese sounds tasty!

Anonymous said...

Love that mac and cheese recipe! I'm always looking for a good one!

haute.teapot said...

My mom's recipe for mac n cheese has cottage cheese in it, might sound weird but it's amazing and baked in the oven. Yum! And nope, I've never hosted a party but this one looked like a ton of fun, love all the photos!

Kacy said...

That looks like a great party! And the mac and cheese looks awesome!

april said...

That Mac And Cheese sounds delicious! I saw a recipe the other day that involved eggplant for the noodles.. I've been wanting to try it!

Lea @ Healthy Coconut said...

The food spread looks really yummy. Which marinate did you use from Trader Joe's? I've been grilling a lot lately and using Garlic Gold for veggies, so yummy!

Jenny said...

Cute idea with those little tray plates :-)

lol- Ole Cornhole. I think of Cornholio everytime I hear it used-and Beavis and Butthead.

Your dress is SO CUTE! Love it!

Anonymous said...

I will definitely try your mac n cheese - sounds amazing! :D

Glad you had such a fun weekend!

prettyface said...

Cute idea with those little tray plates :-)

lol- Ole Cornhole. I think of Cornholio everytime I hear it used-and Beavis and Butthead.

Your dress is SO CUTE! Love it!

Lea @ Healthy Coconut said...

The food spread looks really yummy. Which marinate did you use from Trader Joe's? I've been grilling a lot lately and using Garlic Gold for veggies, so yummy!

april said...

That Mac And Cheese sounds delicious! I saw a recipe the other day that involved eggplant for the noodles.. I've been wanting to try it!

haute.teapot said...

My mom's recipe for mac n cheese has cottage cheese in it, might sound weird but it's amazing and baked in the oven. Yum! And nope, I've never hosted a party but this one looked like a ton of fun, love all the photos!