REMIXES - Macaroni & Cheese, Stationery Pouch

"If at first I don't succeed, I'll usually try at least once more."

Remember this? 😩

I tried it again and things worked out a lot better. This time I used a recipe and I had all of the ingredients I needed. No shortcuts this time.

Here's the Remix

I've had this recipe for a long time and have used it on more than one occasion. 

I may not be the best cook but I can follow directions.😃

***

☹️REMIX-Stationery Pouch 

I enjoy crafting and sometimes things don't turn out the way I expect them to. I'll  put things to the side if I feel there is a chance they might be saved later on. And so it was with this stationery pouch which was supposed to be a clutch purse.

Anthropologie

Some time back, I'd observed a tote bag on the Anthropologie site made from canvas art with leather straps. 

As with most of their items price is an object and I prefer smaller handbags to larger ones. I still thought it was a unique idea. 

I headed to a couple of thrift stores to see what I could find. I didn't search high and low because I'm not a big fan of shopping. Jupiter has to align with Mars or something like that to make me WANT to shop.

😲 But, I digress. 

Nothing on fabric canvas was I able to find. I ended up with posters and fabric scraps that I had in my stash which  I cut to clutch purse size, sewed and glued together and sealed the paper with shiny Mod Podge.  

So basically I decoupaged it.💃Whatever.

I still wasn't satisfied so I put it aside until..

EUREKA!➡️➡️➡️➡️➡️ Stationery pouch. I hot glued a piece of grosgrain ribbon to the back to use as a tie closure and I was done.

That's It ***

I'm Not A Role Model

"I'm not a role model."
Do you remember that quote by  Charles Barkley?


In a similar vein, I'm Not a Cook.

There are those who can turn out the perfect dish on any occasion.  
Whenever asked if I can cook, I respond with, "You can eat it."
I'm basically a fast food person.

From time to time I'll have a burning desire to prepare home cooked food and try out new recipes. When I do, I try to prepare enough so that some can be portioned out and frozen for future meals.

The few times I've had guests over I make sure that what I prepare is foolproof, AND often I prepare it the day before so that in the event it's a bust, I have plenty of time to purchase a frozen entree and packaged salad from the grocery store to fill in for the mess up. 

                                                            ***

Macaroni and Cheese.....The comfort food
I wanted the real thing. Made from scratch.  I decided I'd make individual servings using my muffin tins. That way I'd be able to freeze the single servings, heat and eat when I had a taste for it.

There is no end product or Voila' !

WHY?

• I went by memory and didn't use a recipe.

• I didn't have enough whole milk to make the sauce. So, I tried to add Almond milk and cornstarch together to thicken the sauce. BTW-That doesn't work. The cornstarch    didn't even dissolve.

• When I took it from the oven it was a sloppy mess.

Sooooo... It went the route of other cooking catastrophes...

BUT,

The oven fried chicken thighs were delicious. I only oven fry. 

There are too many places that sell fried chicken for me to bother dodging Nth degree,

 hot, popping, cooking oil and maiming myself all in the name of fried chicken.

Another lesson learned in the culinary kitchen.

That's it***

NOTE: 5-30-2019 An update can be found here.

Wacky Mac

Needed some comfort food and so mac & cheese was the answer.  I had these colorful spirals left from making pasta salad a while back.
I cooked the pasta according to the directions.

This recipe was in a previous post under "Loose Ends."

Maybe I should call it wheat sauce since I used whole wheat flour.

This is the good part. Two cups of cheese. Mix well to make a creamy cheese sauce.
Add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and gently mix.



Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray. Add the pasta cheese mix.


















The other good part, adding the bread crumbs.

Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of the pasta mixture.

 Bake about 30 minutes on 350 degrees.


The dots on the crust are from the pats of margarine. I should have melted  and  drizzled the margarine before placing it on top

It was still very good and hit the spot. BTW, I didn't eat the whole casserole. I divided it into servings, placed in Press  and  Seal   and put it in the freezer.