Bags of Gold

Sometimes thinking out of the box means thinking outside of that mac and cheese box. It is so easy to boil some water, toss in some hard pasta and then mix in some cheesy goodness. It is no wonder that it is a childhood staple! If you take a few more minutes you can create something beyond a bowl of mac and cheese. This is where these Bags of Gold come in. Please do not be freaked out by the phyllo dough. I repeat, DO NOT FREAK OUT! In your freezer section they have the premade dough which makes it is so simple and yet so fancy. It is fool proof! 

What you Need:

• Box of Macaroni and Cheese
• Thawed Phyllo Dough,4 sheets
• 4 TBS Butter, melted
• Cooking String

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a pot of water to boil and add in the uncooked macaroni. Cook according to the box's instructions. Drain and add in the cheese sauce and set aside.

Melt the butter. And get out a pastry brush (or a paper towel to dip in the butter.)

Open up the phyllo dough package. Take the first sheet out and place on counter and cover the rest of the dough with a damp cloth (it tends to dry out easily.) Brush the entire phyllo sheet with butter. Take the second phyllo sheet and place directly on top of the first. Brush that entire sheet with butter. Repeat with the next 2 sheets.

Cut the stack of sheets into 6 squares (ok, they are more rectangular shaped but you get the picture!)

 Now take about 2 TBS of the mac and cheese and lump it into the center of the squares.

Then gently fold up the sides of each square to cover the mac and cheese. Using the cooking string tie the tops together into a bag. It is so easy an 18 month old can do it!! Line them up on a baking sheet and pop them into the over for 10 minutes (or just until the tops get nice and brown.)

FOOD PLAY:

I know I should be have a craft idea here with lots of pictures of my little ones enjoying getting their hands a bit messy while they create their masterpiece. I keep delaying in posting this in order to have a craft idea orchestrated. Let's face it, its easy to get distracted as a mother. Heck, why organize a craft when I can be watching the next episode of Dexter on Netflix, right?! 

Don't worry, I am not going to leave you hanging here. I was going to do some sort of piggy bank craft (bags of gold = money bags = saving money.)  First I was thinking of getting a used plastic bottle and having the kiddos paint it like a piggy and put a slit on the side so they can start saving their pennies for college. Then I though that might be too much planning and work. So maybe just have the kiddos decorate a paper bag and then tie the top with a string leaving enough room to insert coins or that random $20.