Traditional Southern Macaroni and Cheese!

 

I had a shocking revelation about macaroni and cheese about a year ago.  I was talking to a woman I worked with at the time and she was telling me about her mother's macaroni and cheese and that she always made the cheese sauce and put it in the casserole and baked it.  I guess I looked at her like she had horns or something, because she went on to say, "you know nobody does that anymore...bakes it in the oven and all of that".   Then I went on to say that I  still did.  I thought everybody did. She said no you don't, nobody does that anymore.    Did I mention that this woman didn't really like me and this might have been the longest conversation we ever had and it was going downhill fast...lol?  I once again told her that I did bake my mac and cheese in the oven and I even put eggs in it.  Her final words to me on this subject were that I was a little different and everyone knew it.  Okay, I see how this is going now. 

So I replayed this conversation to my mother, because I knew I would get my idea that people still make macaroni and cheese the proper way reinforced.  However, when I told her what was said, she said nobody does that anymore.  Does what?  Nobody makes a sauce and bakes it in the oven and all of that she said.  WHAT?  She goes on to tell me that she stopped doing that when the grandchildren were little, because they liked it just as well made on the stove and served right from the pan.  THE GRANDCHILDREN!  They were children.  What did they know about the future of the traditional macaroni and cheese?   How had I missed the fact that my own mother had stopped doing it the right way? The youngest grandchildren are a set of twins that are 19 years old!   This travesty of the mac and cheese has been going on for over 20 years right in my own family and I didn't notice?     I told my mother that Paula Deen still makes her macaroni and cheese the right way.  She said,  'you do know that is just a tv show, right'?  So I said, 'Well, why do I still make mine this way?'   My mother said, well you are a little different.  Are we seeing a trend here?  lol  I do tend to get a little passionate about my causes I guess...oh, well!

Different or not, I am on a mission to get people to make the macaroni and cheese the way it is supposed to be made.  No blue box, no dump the stuff in the pot on the stove and eat it...but make it the dish it should be.  The dish your grandmother made or your great- aunt or even Paula Deen on the show. It's really not a hard thing to make and the results are well worth it.

Here is what you will need:

2 cups elbow macaroni (or penne), milk, half and half, salt, pepper, butter, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Velveeta cheese, Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper,  garlic powder and flour.

Boil the macaroni in salted water for the time it says on the box and drain.  Some recipes say to rinse it off, I don't do this.  I think it removes the flavor.  Also don't under cook it because if you do the macaroni will soak up all of your sauce and you will end up with dry mac and cheese.

Put the macaroni back in the pan with 1 Tbs of butter and let it melt and coat the macaroni.

Now we make a cheese sauce which I like to do in the microwave.  It is much easier to do and doesn't stick or burn.  Melt 1/2 stick of butter in the microwave and then add 1/4 cup of flour to that.  Blend the flour into the butter with a whisk and microwave for about 30 seconds. 

 Add 1 cup half and half, 2 cups milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce.  Whisk well and microwave for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Whisk again to remove any lumps and then add 8 oz. of Velveeta cheese.   Microwave for 2-3 more minutes until the cheese is melted and whisk again until smooth. 

Beat 2 eggs in a bowl.

Put the macaroni in the cheese sauce and gently mix, then pour the eggs in and mix.  Make sure the cheese sauce and pasta are not too hot or it will scramble your eggs.  If it is still hot, you can temper your eggs by adding a little of the hot cheese sauce a spoonful at a time to the eggs and mixing to bring them up to temperature.  After you mix, pour 1/2  into a 2 quart casserole dish you have sprayed well with cooking spray.

Lay about 3-4 slices of Swiss cheese on this layer and then cover with 1 cup cheddar cheese.  Pour the other half over this and lay 3-4 slices of Swiss cheese over and the other 1 cup cheddar on top.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until it is bubbly and just starting to brown on top.

This sort of results in the best of both worlds of macaroni and cheese...it's creamy and custard -like because of the addition of the eggs.  That is southern macaroni and cheese!

Ingredients:

2 cups elbow macaroni or penne

1 cup half and half

2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) plus 1 Tbs.

1/4 cup flour

8 oz. Velveeta cheese ( you can use American, but nothing beats Velveeta in this)
2 eggs, beaten

about 4-6 slices Swiss cheese

2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (may sound strange but it adds a hint of flavor)

Four Cheese Barbecued Chicken Pasta!

I really love barbecue and the taste of barbecue sauce.  I have rarely met a barbecued 'anything' I didn't like.  Of course, some barbecue is far superior to others and I do prefer my homemade barbecue sauce to the store bought, but I use the store bought sometimes also.

 I had some chicken breasts and I had some barbecue sauce and a taste for pasta of some kind, so I decided to try a barbecue chicken pasta dish.

 The results turned out better than I expected and even the pickiest of eaters loved it.  My husband, who doesn't care for a lot of barbecue sauce flavor even loved it and I ate some leftover for lunch today and it was even tastier.

 Here is what you will need:


3-4 boneless chicken breasts

1 bottle barbecue sauce of your choice

1/2 can or about 1 1/2 cups Coke

10 oz. pasta (bowtie, penne, rotinni)

1/2 stick butter

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

1 cup Parmesan Cheese

2 cups cheddar cheese  ( 1 for cheese sauce and 1 for topping)

8 oz cream cheese

6 slices Swiss cheese

8-9 slices bacon

salt

pepper

blackened seasoning

garlic powder

Sprinkle some chicken breasts with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and just a little blackened seasoning (optional).  You only need about three chicken breasts.  I cooked a whole package and will use the rest for another meal.  I am thinking about a barbecue chicken salad...yum! 

Pour 1/2 can of Coke over the chicken.  You can use Diet Coke.  Cover with any kind of barbecue sauce you like.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour.  These were large so I cooked them for an hour.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Once cool chop about three of them into bite size pieces.

Cook about 8 or 9 strips of bacon until crisp. 

Make a cheese sauce.  I do this in the microwave.  Melt 1/2 stick butter, add 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, microwave for 30 seconds.  Whisk in 3 cups milk and microwave 3 minutes.  Whisk again removing any lumps.  Add cream cheese (softened and cubed), Parmesan cheese, and cheddar cheese.  Microwave 3-4 more minutes and whisk again to remove any lumps.  It should be thickened somewhat at this point and the cheeses melted.

Add 2 Tbs. of barbecue sauce to the cheese sauce and whisk well.  If you like the taste of barbecue a lot, like I do, you could add 3 Tbs. to the sauce at this point.

Boil 10 ounces of pasta just until it is al dente. I use bowtie, but penne or rotinni would work well also.  This will be a little more than 1/2  of a 1 lb. box.  Add the drained pasta to the cheese sauce and mix together.  Pour half of it into a 9"x13" baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.  Layer about 1/2 of the chicken over this.

Layer the rest of pasta/cheese sauce next with the rest of chicken over this. Drizzle this layer with more barbecue sauce. I just used about a 1/4 of a cup.

Layer Swiss cheese slices over the last chicken layer.

Finish with the chopped bacon and the rest of the cheddar cheese.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven until bubbly and the cheese is starting to brown...about 30-40 minutes.

So delicious!!!

Three Cheese Mac & Cheese with Bacon!

This is my baked Macaroni and Cheese, dressed up just a bit with a few additions. This is creamy and delicious and the addition of bacon is never a bad thing!  I used Gouda, Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses in this and it was so creamy and good. The bacon gives it a nice smoky flavor.

 Overall, this is a bit lighter sauce than my other traditional recipe.  Everybody loved this!   I served it for a side dish, but you could serve it as a main course also.  Here is what you need:

2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked

6 Tbs. butter, divided

3 Tbs. flour

3 cups milk

2 cups shredded Gouda cheese

3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. Creole seasoning ( I used Tony Chachere)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

6-7 slices of bacon, cooked crisp

Cook the macaroni in salted water according to the package directions and drain well.  After it's drained place it back in the pan off of the heat and add half of the butter to melt.   I like to cook the pasta the full recommended time for baked macaroni and cheese, because if you leave it al dente, it will take in the sauce and be dry.

Now to make the cheese sauce, I do this in the microwave, because it's much easier.  You can do it on the stove top though.   Melt the other 3 tablespoons of butter in a glass mixing bowl in the microwave...about 1 minute.  Whisk in the flour until smooth and microwave for 30 seconds.

 Add the three cups milk and whisk again.  Microwave for about 3 minutes.  Remove and whisk until smooth.  Add the 2 cups of Gouda cheese, 2 cups of Cheddar cheese, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese.  Add the Creole seasoning and black pepper.  Microwave for another 3 minutes.

Whisk until smooth.  This should be thickened at this point.  If it seems too thin, microwave for another minute or two.   

Pour the sauce over the macaroni and mix to coat it all.  Spray a 2.5 to 3 quart baking dish with nonstick spray.

 Pour the macaroni and cheese into the dish and sprinkle the top with the other 1 cup of cheddar cheese.   Place in a 350 degree oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until bubbly around the edges.  Crumble the bacon and sprinkle over the top!  

This was a big hit with my family and it's a great side dish with most anything!  

Traditional Southern Macaroni and Cheese!

I had a shocking revelation about macaroni and cheese about a year ago.  I was talking to a woman I worked with at the time and she was telling me about her mother's macaroni and cheese and that she always made the cheese sauce and put it in the casserole and baked it.  I guess I looked at her like she had horns or something, because she went on to say, "you know nobody does that anymore...bakes it in the oven and all of that".   Then I went on to say that I  still did.  I thought everybody did. She said no you don't, nobody does that anymore.   

 Did I mention that this woman didn't really like me and this might have been the longest conversation we ever had and it was going downhill fast...lol?  I once again told her that I did bake my mac and cheese in the oven and I even put eggs in it.  Her final words to me on this subject were that I was a little different and everyone knew it.  Okay, I see how this is going now. 

So I replayed this conversation to my mother, because I knew I would get my idea that people still make macaroni and cheese the proper way reinforced.  However, when I told her what was said, she said nobody does that anymore.  Does what?  Nobody makes a sauce and bakes it in the oven and all of that she said.  WHAT?  She goes on to tell me that she stopped doing that when the grandchildren were little, because they liked it just as well made on the stove and served right from the pan. 

 THE GRANDCHILDREN!  They were children.  What did they know about the future of the traditional macaroni and cheese?   How had I missed the fact that my own mother had stopped doing it the right way? The youngest grandchildren are a set of twins that are 19 years old!   This travesty of the mac and cheese has been going on for over 20 years right in my own family and I didn't notice?    

 I told my mother that Paula Deen still makes her macaroni and cheese the right way.  She said,  'you do know that is just a tv show, right'?  So I said, 'Well, why do I still make mine this way?'   My mother said, well you are a little different.  Are we seeing a trend here?  lol  I do tend to get a little passionate about my causes I guess...oh, well!

Different or not, I am on a mission to get people to make the macaroni and cheese the way it is supposed to be made.  No blue box, no dump the stuff in the pot on the stove and eat it...but make it the dish it should be.  The dish your grandmother made or your great- aunt or even Paula Deen on the show. It's really not a hard thing to make and the results are well worth it.

Here is what you will need:

2 cups elbow macaroni (or penne), milk, half and half, salt, pepper, butter, Tabasco sauce, Worcestershire sauce, Velveeta cheese, Swiss cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, pepper,  garlic powder and flour.

 

Boil the macaroni in salted water for the time it says on the box and drain.  Some recipes say to rinse it off, I don't do this.  I think it removes the flavor.  Also don't under cook it because if you do the macaroni will soak up all of your sauce and you will end up with dry mac and cheese.

Put the macaroni back in the pan with 1 Tbs of butter and let it melt and coat the macaroni.

Now we make a cheese sauce which I like to do in the microwave.  It is much easier to do and doesn't stick or burn.  Melt 1/2 stick of butter in the microwave and then add 1/4 cup of flour to that.  Blend the flour into the butter with a whisk and microwave for about 30 seconds.

 Add 1 cup half and half, 2 cups milk, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce.  Whisk well and microwave for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Whisk again to remove any lumps and then add 8 oz. of Velveeta cheese.   Microwave for 2-3 more minutes until the cheese is melted and whisk again until smooth. 

Beat 2 eggs in a bowl.

Put the macaroni in the cheese sauce and gently mix, then pour the eggs in and mix.  Make sure the cheese sauce and pasta are not too hot or it will scramble your eggs.  If it is still hot, you can temper your eggs by adding a little of the hot cheese sauce a spoonful at a time to the eggs and mixing to bring them up to temperature.  After you mix, pour 1/2  into a 2 quart casserole dish you have sprayed well with cooking spray.

Lay about 3-4 slices of Swiss cheese on this layer and then cover with 1 cup cheddar cheese.  Pour the other half over this and lay 3-4 slices of Swiss cheese over and the other 1 cup cheddar on top.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 25-30 minutes or until it is bubbly and just starting to brown on top.

This sort of results in the best of both worlds of macaroni and cheese...it's creamy and custard -like because of the addition of the eggs.  That is southern macaroni and cheese!

Ingredients:

2 cups elbow macaroni or penne

1 cup half and half

2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter (1/2 stick) plus 1 Tbs.

1/4 cup flour

8 oz. Velveeta cheese ( you can use American, but nothing beats Velveeta in this)
2 eggs, beaten

about 4-6 slices Swiss cheese

2 cups cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. Tabasco sauce (optional)
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (may sound strange but it adds a hint of flavor)



King Ranch Mac n' Cheese!

  If you love the King Ranch Chicken Casserole  and you also love Traditional Southern Macaroni and Cheese  you cannot help but also love this "King Ranch Mac n' Cheese recipe.    It's just a nice blend of the two.   This casserole, with a salad and bread,  is a complete meal!  This recipe is not so spicy that the kids can't eat it, but you can spice it up some if you choose to by adding some cayenne and a little more hot sauce!    Just adjust to your tastes.  If you have teens, they will devour this!

Here is what you will need:

8 oz. rotinni or elbow pasta  (penne would be good also)

3 Tbs. butter

1 medium onion, diced

1/2 large bell pepper, diced (red or green works well)

1 (10 oz.) can tomatoes with green chilies (Rotel)

1 (10  3/4 oz.) can cream of chicken soup ( can use cream of mushroom)

8 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed

1 cup sour cream

1 cup milk

4 cups cooked, diced chicken

2 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

dash of hot sauce (Tabasco)

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper ( optional)

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to the package directions and drain well.

In a large skillet saute the onion and bell pepper until just tender.   Add the can of Rotel, the cream of chicken soup, and the Velveeta.  Heat on medium low until the cheese has melted, stir together well. 

Temper the sour cream by adding some of the hot liquid to it.  This warms it up so that will blend without curdling.   Add the milk and stir.

Add the seasonings and hot sauce, the chicken, and the drained pasta.   Gently stir together to mix.

Spray a nonstick 9"x13" baking pan with nonstick spray.  Pour the casserole mixture in the dish and sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese!  

Place in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes!  The top should be starting to brown!





Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese!

This delicious "Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese" is basically a one skillet meal.  It's an easy and quick meal to cook when time is short.  It's also a great way to get your kids to eat their broccoli.  Here is what you will need for this:

4 boneless chicken breasts diced in bit sized pieces and seasoned with a sprinkle of salt and pepper
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 can chicken broth
2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 cups macaroni, uncooked
1 head fresh broccoli cut in bite sized  pieces, stems removed or 10 oz. frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1/4 cup red or yellow bell pepper, diced small
12 oz. Velveeta cheese, diced in cubes (can substitute shredded cheddar cheese)

Brown the chicken in oil in a large skillet with a lid.  Cook until it's no longer pink.  Add the chicken broth and water and bring to a boil . Add the seasoned salt, salt and pepper.  Add the uncooked macaroni, broccoli, and bell pepper.  Turn the heat to medium and cover to simmer for 10 minutes.

Uncover and stir well.  The macaroni should be just about done now.  Add the cheese and stir well. Turn the heat to low and allow to cook just until the cheese melts.  Stir a couple of times once the cheese is added because it can stick. 

When the cheese has melted, dinner is done!  Broccoli Chicken Mac and Cheese!