Comfort Food at Its Best

Lets start out with a memory. Think back to your childhood. What kind of meals were served on a regular basis? I can think of a lot, but of course this is a blog and I can't list,well,I can,but that would take days and weeks to get done. One meal sticks out in my memories. When me and my brothers were all still living at home, there were certain meals that you could count on there being no leftovers. My mom and I swear that the boys could smell dinner from miles away, because no matter where they were, they seemed to always be home right as Mom was putting the food on the table! One of the no leftover meals for us was Mom's homemade mac and cheese. She used to make it in this big casserole dish and by the time we were done eating, there never was much left. I wanted to share that recipe with y'all.

This recipe is awesome for those cold nights we have all had this winter. Its high in protein, vitamin D and calcium and is always a favorite among kids. So let me walk you through it step by step.

you will need the following ingredients:

8 punces of elbow macaroni,cooked, rinsed and drained
1 16 ounce package of sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 16 ounce package of monterey jack cheese, shredded
3 cups of milk
1/2 teaspoon of dry ground mustard
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2-1 cup italian bread crumbs

first,heat your oven to 350 degrees farnehiet. Next,you want to cook the macaroni according to the package directions. bring to a boil and large pot of water. once that is boiling, put the macaroni in and let cook for about 10 minutes. elbow macaroni is a pretty dense pasta, so it takes a little longer to cook than some other pastas. you also want to stir it occasionally to keep from sticking to the bottom of the pan while its cooking. when its done, drain and rinse it with cool water. this rinses any extra starch on it, keeping it from clumping up. once that is done, in a small saucepan, melt the 1/4 cup of butter over medium heat. stir in the flour and stir til it blends together. then add the 3 cups of milk and dry mustard. when that comes to a soft boil, add your cheeses. I prefer buying the blocks of cheese and shredding them. The blocks are cheaper and generally retain their softness better than the bagged shredded cheeses do, at least in my opinion. once you add those to the milk mixture, let cook, stirring occasionally until the cheese is completely melted. while you are waiting on this, transfer the pasta to a large glass baking dish,I use a 12x9 sized dish. once that is done, take the other 2 tablespoons of butter and melt them in a small frying pan. once it's melted,add your bread crumbs. I like to brown them up some before I take them out of the pan. Once that is done, check your milk mixture. If the cheese is melted, go ahead and take it off the stove and pour it over the macaroni. Make sure you stir it in well, completely covering the macaroni. Once the breadcrumbs are done, pour them over the top of the macaroni. Use a spoon to spread them evenly over the top. Pop the whole thing into the oven for about 45 minutes. When its done, you will notice that the milk mixture has thickened, binding the macaroni together. Once its done, take it out of the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes. remember this is very hot, so you may want to let it stand a little longer than that. you can add cooked ground beef as a twist to this, or even broccoli or tomatoes. I highly recommend this for a winter recipe. Its comfort food at its best.

***shredding the cheese yourself may not save a whole lot of time, but it will save you money at the grocery store. you can also make the breadcrumbs yourself by toasting some old bread in the oven and adding italian seasoning to your tastes. breadcrumbs should be stored in an airtight container,in a cool dry place. I recommend if you make your own,labeling and dating them. I have made a rule in my kitchen to not keep breadcrumbs for more than a few weeks time at the most.

well its off to think up whats for dinner tonight! if you like this recipe, please leave a comment letting me know what you think about it, and if you added anything to give it a twist!

thanks yall! yall have a blessed day!

oh p.s. I will add photos next week as time allows to all posts here.