My birthday

I havent been doing a very good job at keeping up with this. I am going to try to start doing better.
Today is my 29th birthday, and I just dont understand where the time has gone. I cant believe this is my last year in my twenties. I dont feel almost thirty. For some reason thirty just seems really old to me. I know its not really all that old when you look at the scheme of things, but none the less it still feels old to me. I am going to try and make the best of this next year and get my life where I expected to be by this age. Maybe that will make things easier for me next year when I do hit the big 3-0!

Italian Mac and Cheese

This is the recipe I made up for the latest recipe contest I entered. It was a Mac and Cheese contest, and this is what I came up with.

Italian Mac and Cheese

2 cups dry elbow noodles (cook as directed on box and set to the side)
3 tbs flour
3 tbs butter
3/4 cup chicken stock
3/4 cup milk
2 tsp dijon mustard
3/4 cup asiago cheese
3/4 cup extra sharp white cheddar
salt and pepper

1/3 cup fresh parsley
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 large clove garlic
1/4 cup onion
2 tbs olive oil

1 cup cherry tomatoes washed, seeded and quartered

1/2 cup fresh sourdough bread crumbs (works best if bread is a few days old)
1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese
1 tbs olive oil

In a medium size sauce pan, melt butter and add flour cooking about a minute until golden brown. Add chicken stock and milk and whisk well. Add mustard. Salt and pepper to taste. Continue to whisk until sauce is thick. Add cheese and whisk until melted.
Remove from heat and add noodles and tomatoes. Place in a greased 9x9 pan.

In a food processor add parsley, basil, onion, garlic and olive oil. Pulse until combined well. Add to Mac and Cheese mixture.

Combined bread crumbs, parm, and olive oil. Sprinkle on top.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown.

For some reason that didnt work the first time I tried to add it. This is Josh, Cadyn and I at the beach in June. We went to Gulf Shores for the first time with his whole family. It was lots of fun, but I dont know if we will do it again..lol.

Josh, Cadyn and I at the beach.

My first blog

I am totally new to this. I'm not really sure how to start, or even what I'm supposed to do. I wanted to start this to keep everyone up to date on what is going on in my life and the lives of my family, as well as share recipes and my thoughs in general. Cooking is my passion and I thought that this might be a good way to share it with others. More to come soon....I'm going to play around on here for a little while and figure out how all of this works.