Dinner and Dessert...for 1.

Another Lonely Day.
I like to mope around the house and listen to Ben Harper when Brad travels excessively for work. Suddenly two of my favorite things, eating and sleeping, are no longer exciting. Sleeping alone in our house makes me feel like I'm in a horror movie- I lay in bed, my heart racing, waiting to hear the breaking glass or creaking footstep. I really don't like cooking for myself either, I like cooking for other people then enjoying the food together. Eating good food is one of my favorite ways to spend time with people I like. Eating alone is lonely. I do things I wouldn't normally do when I eat alone. Things like eating count chocula for dinner.
Since Brad goes out of town frequently, I've come up with a few things to make that are very convenient for 1-2 people.

*I will tell you I've made time consuming mac and cheese: making roux and blending it with milk, grating onions in, adding dry mustard, topping with bread crumbs, baking it in the oven. Then I made up this crazy easy mac and cheese that I like more! Its as easy as making kraft from the box, but it tastes better (and I've never even added butter to this).
 Maybe my children won't grow up with of love of powdered cheese because of this. 

AGED WISCONSIN MAC AND CHEESE
fusilli (curly) pasta- boiled to al dente
≈2-4 Tbs milk per bowl (want creamier? add ≈1 Tbs cream to the milk. want richer? add 1 Tbs butter)
≈1/4 C shredded sharp cheddar cheese per bowl
Just before draining pasta add milk/cream to a flat bowl and microwave 1 min, or until it begins to boil. Remove and add drained pasta. Top with cheese and stir until cheese melts into a sauce. (Yup, thats it. As long as you salted the water good and used sharp cheese it's very flavorful.)
 

*I can't stress enough that you'll want sharp cheddar, even if you think you don't like sharp. When you cook with it it's dulled down, the flavor spreads out over pasta, milk, etc. Kraft has a great, cheap shredded cheddar that is sharp aged wisconsin. It makes things yummy.

Now I want to share my invention of personal dessert. This is dangerous, but I really don't do it that often. It's great because you don't dirty any dishes or end up with a whole pan of brownies or batches of cookies. This is if you're feeling selfish and want to feed yourself, and maybe one other person. (if you don't devour the dough it easily makes 2 ramekins)


PERSONAL MINI COOKIE
1/8 C Crisco
2 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs white sugar
1 egg yolk
¼ tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp soda
1/8 tsp salt
¼ C flour + ½ Tbs
chocolate chips
Whip ingredients in order with a fork in a ramekin sprayed with pam. (careful with the flour) Bake at 350° ≈8 min. Top with a scoop of vanilla icecream if you want the pazookie effect.

PERSONAL MINI BROWNIE
2 Tbs butter
¼ C sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs cocoa
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/8 C flour
¼ tsp vanilla, (can swirl in peanut butter at the end, or ≈1/4 tsp orange zest and a pinch cinnamon.)
Melt butter in a ramekin, add remaining ingredients in order, whipping with a fork. Bake at 350° ≈8-10 min.

                                                                      Buen Provecho!