Mac-n-Cheese is quite possibly the most wonderful comfort food. There is nothing not to love about pasta baked with cheesy sauce topped with crunchy breadcrumbs. Personally, I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t adore this comfort food! The problem, of course, is that the dish can lean on the heavy side, so it is really more of a treat than a regular menu item. Unless, of course, you can sneak some vegetables in!

Something I tried recently is puréeing butternut squash into the cheese sauce to make a truly delicious, slightly healthier, vegetable-laden dish. The process is easy. It starts with softening the squash in Skim Plus milk on the stovetop. Then it is puréed until smooth and made into a delicious béchamel sauce. I use Skim Plus milk because it has a lovely creamy texture with 37% more protein than whole milk and 34% more calcium. The creamy sauce is then folded together with fresh cooked pasta and baked into a yummy casserole!

FOR HER:

The cutest shirt to wear all year long.

A super fun subscription to Birchbox so she can discover her new favorite lipstick.

The pouch she can use for just about anything.

Sea Salt Chocolate Truffles that are just about the best treats ever.

A luxurious candle that makes the whole house smell like roses.

FOR HIM:

The most amazing ski socks to enjoy for the rest of winter.

A lovely bottle opener and some good beer to go with it.

A computer sleeve to make business trips that much easier.

The roll that will finally solve his watch storage problem.

A best travel mug and plan a fun hike together!

Hi! It’s been a while since I’ve popped in for a big check-in. 2017 was a busy year, I’ve been planting lots of seeds, enjoying some non-Naptime Chef freelance work, and hanging out with the kids. I’ve also been thinking of the best way for this site to evolve since, obviously, my kids don’t nap any longer. I’ve decided to relaunch my newsletter in May 2018 with more helpful tips and recipes, and be fully upfront that my kids don’t nap any longer but I still cook a lot. Getting a good meal on the table definitely requires just has much maneuvering as ever these days!

Also, last fall my website was hacked and there have been some terrible re-directs taking place. I am so sorry! The malware has been removed and I am just waiting for Google to re-crawl my site and then it will be back to normal again. Hopefully the Google Gods will be on my side and do it soon. It’s never easy!

If you haven’t signed up for my newsletter yet do so right away because a big giveaway will be going out the first week of it’s launch in late May 2018. Also, you can still find me on Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram. As you’ll see, last week Krusteaz sent me an awesome box of goodies and we had fun making breakfast for dinner!

Happy 2018!