If it's not broke...

In the spirit of better living, I tried a new recipe last night. It was for baked macaroni and cheese (from scratch) which is something that evokes all kinds of ooo’s and ahhh’s from my crew…

As well as second, and sometimes even third helpings consumed at a rapid rate… Usually…

When I took it out of the oven, it was a beautiful sight to behold!

I was so excited that not only was I about to serve a family favorite, but I had found a way to make it healthier for them and the secret ingredient held a promise, and I quote, “Don’t tell and no one will ever know. They’ll just thank you for making their favorite cheesy comfort food”

I had thoughts of telling all of my friends that I had discovered a better way…

They would gather round with anticipation written all over their faces and scrap paper and pens poised to record history.

That would come later… After it passed the taste test of professionals, a.k.a. my husband and kids.

I’m sure you are at the edge of your seat wondering what this fantastic health tip/miracle compound is, so I won’t keep you waiting any longer.

Frozen winter squash.

You know, the kind that comes pureed, is packaged in a frozen block and if you were in a pinch and were stranded in the arctic with no tools, but happen to have a duffle bag full of these babies, you could build yourself an igloo to escape the elements.

Come to think of it, I’m not sure that I could actually build an igloo because the round-roof- shape-part, puzzles me and I wouldn’t even know how to begin to construct it.

I would probably make a square-ish shaped fort, because THAT I can do. It would be roofless though, and I would probably freeze to death (hopefully before the polar bears found me)

Where was I again?

Oh right… squash.

It made perfect sense to me and quite frankly, I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t thought of it myself. It’s the right color, and the perfect consistency to mix right in there with all that cheese and be totally camouflaged!

PLUS – BONUS! I love squash! Perfect!

As I mentioned before, it did look beautiful.

I served it up with another, not so healthy favorite. Baked cheese-stuffed hot dogs wrapped in crescent rolls.

I tried not to think about the hot dog part and why I love them so…

My friend tells me that they contain eyes, lips and another ingredient that I will spare you from hearing
(but it rhymes brass-poles)

I tell myself it must be the seasoning I love, and not all those disgusting ingredients.

It makes me wonder why they can’t just sell it in a bottle with the rest of the McCormick spices so that we could season chicken or any other more palatable meat with it.

Back to the subject at hand.

We sit down to eat and I try not to look too anxious as everyone takes a bite of their mac and cheese. They usually will mistake me looking at them eating, as an invitation to critique the meal, which never goes over well with me, so I purposely look at my own food and proceed to eat.

‘Hey Mom… what’s in this mac and cheese?’ my daughter inquires.

“LOTS of cheese and stuff”

Notice how I say ‘and stuff’ instead of ‘squash’…. I’m so tricky!

‘I thought I tasted something different’ she adds.

More looking at my plate without making eye contact…

We all eat without any more discussion about the meal.

I’m the only one who goes back for seconds…

Because I love squash-

and that’s what it primarily tasted like, with barely a hint of the $8.00 worth of cheese that was in there as well.

The claims made in the magazine where I found the recipe were inaccurate.

I didn’t tell, but guess what?

They knew.

My husband quietly came to me after dinner and said “the mac and cheese…” and pointed his thumb towards the floor.

He did say it was worth trying though, and that it could have been a success,

if it hadn’t tasted so bad.

I wasn’t offended… which is weird for me, because I am quite sensitive about my cooking skills. But I knew that it was his way of being supportive.

I won’t say that I won’t keep trying new things, but I might think twice about changing up something that everyone feels so passionate about.

So don’t even think about sending me a new & improved recipe for something my family already loves.

As my mother always said, If it’s not broke – don’t fix it!

But now that I’m thinking about it, does anyone have the address of McCormick Spice Company’s R & D department?

I’ve got an idea to share with them!