Stories

Have you ever seen the way kids walk? I noticed it again today while at the grocery store. Kids don't really walk, it's more of a spastic skipping while flailing their limbs about. If one hand is attached to an adult, they still manage to flail their other three little limbs about! It's pretty funny, and got me thinking about how kids just get SO EXCITED about everything! I mean, when was the last time you got so excited about something you literally spazzed out? Where in life do we lose that? I mean, I'm not saying that adults everywhere should be flailing about every time we get paid or anything, and as a society there are times we can act like kids (think, sports games or Vegas I suppose). Big, drunk kids. But there's definitely something that gets pushed down.


I think we get lost in the stories in our own heads. Don't tune out yet, hear me out! Think about it, there is reality, and there is OUR reality. Our reality is just the story we tell ourselves about the world around us. Yes, there are unavoidable truths (gravity, traffic signals), but most of our life experience is dictated by what we tell ourselves. I was listening to the voice in my head (my mind) today, as one negative thought led to another, and another, until I yelled "STOP!" (Yes,outloud, I was stuck in traffic on the 405).....And then I listened to the silence, immediately feeling better. There was no reason to be feeling crappy aside from what I WAS TELLING MYSELF. And I can control what I say to my own mind, my own body, and the people around me. It's my responsibility.


Needless to say, I turned my own evening around. I skipped (ok, ok I WALKED) through the market after that, noticing people, and picking up some stuff for my recipe tonight. Mac & Cheese, but with cauliflower and some other small twists. I've made Mac & Cheese so many times, some better than others, but this was the perfect mix of that kids comfort food and things I've learned to love as an adult, like cauliflower. Here goes!


First let's check out our lineup!

Whole Wheat Pasta (1 Box)
8 oz Cheese (I don't like only cheddar, I used cheddar-jack but you can use whatever cheese you like best)
1 cup Greek Yogurt, plain
A bit of butter (I used about a tablespoon)
1 cup skim milk
About a tablespoon of flour
Almost a whole head of Cauliflower (like how specific I am?)
2 Garlic cloves (I skipped out on onion, but if that's your thing by all means add some onion in the mix!)
1/4 cup parsley
A few handfuls of panko crumbs and parmesan to make it crunchy in the oven :)


So, throw some water in a big pot and boil it. Also preheat the oven to 350.

Chop up the Cauliflower and throw it in the pot with the pasta when the water starts to boil.

 

Chop the garlic (and onions if you wish) and parsley.

 
Melt the butter and saute the garlic and parsley in there (This is where it starts to smell AMAZING)

 
Little bit of flour, thicken it up..

Go ahead and throw in the Greek Yogurt and Milk annnnndddd..

Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! Oooops got too excited there, let's go check on the pasta...

Mhmmmm....Ok time to mix the sauce in, it looks awesome enough to eat already, but wait! It will be worth it I promise, put it in a baking dish (or 2 if you're like me and always make more than necessary)

Mix the Panko and Parm (Parmesan, for those who didn't read my last post) and sprinkle on top. I threw in some black pepper too, because I put it on pretty much everything.

That's the before picture, here's after about 20 minutes in the oven at 350 degrees:

Yummmmmmmmmmm

And I'm a happy happy girl. As you can see, I also added some red wine, because something inside me still says it's hearth healthy (Shhhhhhhhhhh).

So until we meet again, go find something that makes you truly happy and relish it, goodnight friends!