It feels like a crowd, anyways. Both boys have been at home for the past few weeks, one on his way out to a new apartment and one home from university for part of the summer. Plus the big boy, the constant in my life.

I’ve tried a few new recipes lately, ones with leftover potential for those late night snacks. Here are a couple.

I’d been craving a warm and cozy one pot pasta and meat dish. Normally, for plain old macaroni and cheese, I make Alton Brown’s fabulous and tasty Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese, into which we can add peas, sausages, or just eat plain. It’s great to use up leftover bits of cheese, but don’t use a stringy cheese like mozzarella or it becomes a bit of a mess to eat. If you’re looking for something to wean you off the blue box, this is it.

But this time I wanted something heartier and I found this Beefy Macaroni Casserole that turned out to be seriously addictive. It’s the kind of recipe that is easy to make because it uses things I typically have on hand. I didn’t have any ready-made stock, so I just used more canned tomatoes and it worked out just fine, although I overcooked the macaroni a bit. It should be quite firm before you mix it with the other ingredients.

Finally, I saw this recipe from Chef Michael Smith in the paper. Apparently he’s a big fan of Canadian lentils and the website has a series about them featuring Smith. I prepared the Umbrian Lentils and Sausages using spicy Italian sausages. While I thought the recipe would be under-flavoured, it was pretty much perfect. I confess to NOT using Canadian lentils as I had a bunch in my cupboard. I didn’t even realise we grew lentils in this country, so will endeavour to find some next time.