Butternut Squash & Beer Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Hello, everyone! I’m having a great day because URI cancelled school due to Hurricane Sandy. So far, there’s been a lot of wind and a lot of rain around here, but luckily our apartment still has power. Brent’s parents, sister, and best friend weren’t so lucky, though. His sister has five feet of water in her basement!

URI even decided that they’re cancelling classes for tomorrow as well! As long as we don’t end up losing power, this is turning out to be an awesome week.

 

 

Well, it hasn’t been completely awesome. Brent and I actually had to take Wesley to the vet yesterday For the past week or so, he’s been sounding really hoarse and weird, so we finally decided to bite the bullet and take him, in case it was something serious.

They think it might be some kind of upper respiratory infection (they didn’t find anything like a tumor, thank goodness), so now we have to give him antibiotic medication twice a day for a while. The appointment ended up costing me $108 (yikes!), but it was worth it to keep him healthy.

 

 

Have you guys seen this infograph on sleep? I found it on Kat’s Health Corner (go check out her blog! She’s awesome) and it was such perfect timing because I’ve been thinking about sleep a lot lately.

I really want to get on a consistent sleep schedule, so I’ve been setting myself a “bedtime” recently, but it hasn’t been working as well as I’d hoped. It’s hard because I want to go to bed by midnight every night, but most nights we don’t even end up eating dinner until at least 8pm (because Brent doesn’t get home until 7:45pm and then has to take a shower).

I usually don’t even start my homework until after dinner (at least on Monday, Wednesdays, and Fridays), because I don’t get home until around 4pm and use the time I have before cooking and eating to do things like chores and errands.

I have an easier time on Tuesdays and Thursdays because my only class is in the morning… but two days out of seven isn’t really optimal. On the weekends, I have trouble getting to sleep so early because I have the mentality of “Oh, it’s not a school night, I can go to sleep whenever I want!” (Please tell me I’m not the only one?!). I have good intentions, but it never quite happens the way I want it to. Before I know it — it’s 3am and I’m screwed.

I’m going to keep trying, though! I’m even doing things like setting a “bedtime alarm” — I’m determined to have sleep consistency before the semester’s over!

 

For dinner tonight, I made my best hurricane food – Butternut Squash & Beer Mac ‘n’ Cheese!

I’ve seen this idea on a few different blogs recently and just had to try it out for myself. It’s exactly the kind of thing that’s right up Brent’s and my alley.

 

 

 

Butternut Squash & Beer Mac ‘n’ Cheese

(by Miranda Mowbray, Biting Life)

Ingredients (serves four):

1 box (13.25 oz) whole wheat elbow pasta

1 (1 lb) bag frozen butternut squash

1 bottle of Corona beer

1 cup fat-free milk

salt

pepper

1/8 tsp dried mustard

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cook pasta according to package directions, minus 2 minutes of cooking time; drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook frozen butternut squash according to package directions; drain.

Put butternut squash back in the pan and add the beer and milk. Bring to a boil and let cook for 5-8 minutes until sauce has thickened.

Using a blender, puree sauce until smooth and creamy.

In a mixing bowl, combine sauce, pasta, and spices thoroughly.

Pour pasta mixture into a glass baking dish prepared with cooking spray.

Sprinkle panko bread crumbs on top and bake for 30 minutes (or until bread crumbs are golden-brown).

Enjoy!