Hello friends and visitors! Last Saturday, November 5th, my daughter Kimba http://kimbas2cents.blogspot.com/2011/11/naturals-night.html#comments hosted a night of fun. She called the gathering ” Naturals Night.”

Those of us who attended talked about the ways in which we care for our hair. When we weren’t doing that, we ate tons of yummy food and had delicious drinks as well. The best  part of the evening was a visit by a manicurist who did all of our nails. Kimba topped the evening off with adorable gift cartons filled with homemade lip gloss, chocolate lollipops, and a “Be Natural” candle.

Now I don’t want to brag, but I’m going to- that was my daughter who gave that great party!  I did make a contribution to the awesomeness though, I made baked Mac & Cheese. Here’s the recipe:  

For a 9×11 pan of mac & cheese you will need:

1 box of elbow or little shells pasta
4 oz yellow sharp cheddar cheese- shredded
4 0z mild cheddar or colby  cheese- shredded
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
4oz canned skim milk& 4oz water for 8 oz total of milk

For seasoning use black pepper, garlic salt and any salt free herb mixture amounting to about 1 tbsp combined.

Cook the pasta and drain it. You can make the sauce while the pasta is cooking.

For the sauce, melt the butter in a sauce pan on medium-low heat, add the flour and about a tsp of the spices. Stir and add about 1/4 of the milk, keep stirring to prevent lumps, add another 1/4 of the milk and about  1/2 of the cheese till the cheese is melted and the sauce is thickened. Add the rest of the milk till smooth. Continuous stirring is important to prevent the sauce from burning. You can always add more milk if you think the sauce is too thick. Add in the rest of the spices and give it a good stir. Turn off the heat.

Pour the sauce into the pasta and stir it up covering all of the pasta then transfer to a baking dish. Pour the remaining cheese over the top of the dish and cook in a 350 degree oven until the cheese on top is melted and the dish is bubbly. This usually takes about 30 minutes. Enjoy!