Neko's Birthday Dinner Date!!

Amazingly my little girl (who seemed to be 2 FOREVER) has turned 3!! In honor of the special occasion I planned a dinner date that was sure to make her happy.

Even though Neko will happily eat things like sushi, calamari, tofu, sardine nuggets and spinach smoothies (honest to god she will) she is still a kid and if I ask her "What would you like for dinner?" almost always her response is "macaroni and cheese". I've tried many different variations of mac and cheese and thankfully there are even hundreds more I haven't tried. This help keep this kid favorite fresh.

I decided to try a version featured on Kara's friend Ana's blog: Our Veggie Family because it looked so yummy. It was super easy to make and WAS very yummy indeed! The butternut squash blended right into the cheesy goodness and the dish tasted like mac and cheese should.
I also served steamed and buttered green beans which I don't have a picture of or a recipe for since they are pretty self explanatory. The only thing I will add is that I let Neko and Abby snap off the ends of the beans before I cooked them which they both really loved doing. Kara said she had not previously gotten Abby to eat green beans but she scarfed them all down at dinner date. I'm guessing she liked them better after having had a part in making them. :o)

We have too many birthdays in July/August in our house and we are caked out (which I didn't think was possible). So for dessert I decided to do build-your-own-sundaes instead! For toppings we had: sundrops, blueberries, sliced strawberries, Funky Monkey Bananamon chips, whipped cream and homemade agave butterscotch.
Agave Butterscotch

Ingredients:
1/2 c. agave nectar
3/4 c. brown sugar
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 c. heavy cream
2 tsp. vanilla

Instructions:
1. In a med. saucepan combine agave, brown sugar and butter over medium heat, stirring frequently. Bring to a boil and cook for another minute.
2. Remove from heat and stir in cream and vanilla.
3. Serve warm or keep in fridge until ready to serve. Yum!

Happy Birthday Neko!!