With all that’s been going on with my dad & trying to get in the minimum number of words every day for NaNoWriMo I’ve been finding it hard to find time for my blog. So to help I reached out to a few friends and asked if they’d want to share a great recipe with everyone!
Today on the Monday Menu we have a great friend of mine who also happens to be from Michigan! Welcome Rusti from My Life as an Officer’s Wife!
Take a few moments to check out her blog or follow her on Twitter.
First off I’d like to thank Jackie for inviting me to share one of my favorite recipes on her blog (especially as she knows I’m no Emeril or Rachel Ray! Which of course means that anyone can make this meal!) 😉
Rusti
please excuse my messy kitchen
Second, I’ll tell you what I’m making – and why it’s one of my favorites J This is the recipe for my mother-in-law’s homemade macaroni & cheese. It’s fairly unconventional, it’s delicious, and it might be the only thing that I make that Hubs never comments that it’s “not like his mom’s” 😉 It’s also so simple that it’s impossible to do it wrong! Perfect for me!!
What you will need – and bear with me, the first time I learned what was in it I said “really? Uh, that does not sound… normal (thinking – I am so not going to like this) and was pleasantly surprised when I found it delicious. I even take pride & feel satisfaction when someone eats it and asks me for the recipe. Anyway – here’s what is required (well, suggested, some items can be subbed in for others)
Ingredients:
1lb macaroni (or pasta of your choice)
1 small can of cream of mushroom soup*
1 small can of cream of celery soup*
1 small block, or half of a large block of Velveeta cheese
Milk
*either soup could be subbed with a different cream soup, I just can’t guarantee how it will taste, I’ve never differed from this recipe!
Instructions:
boil macaroni as directed
while macaroni is boiling, cube your cheese, then open your soups
when macaroni is finished cooking, drain…
then in your now-empty pan melt your cubed cheese…
add your soups…
add ½ can of milk for each can of soup…
(I usually use the milk to help rinse out any remaining soup from each can)
mix well over low-heat as cheese melts until the mixture is the consistency of a cream soup
(not too thick, not too thin) add more milk as needed to reach desired consistency
stir macaroni into sauce mixture…
sauce will thicken as it stands, you may want to add more milk if it’s too thick
(this is personal preference of course – some like it more soupy – I like it thicker)
I usually stop here and serve with milk (and often buttered bread, we just happened to be fresh out of bread – which I discovered after I’d already gotten a knife full of butter – OOPS!) because I’m lazy and starving by this point almost every time I make it J
If you are not lazy or starving – you can do as my mother-in-law always did, which was to layer more chunked cheese, mac & cheese mixture and milk into an oven-safe bowl and bake for 30 minutes or so. This makes the top golden brown and the whole mixture is bubbling-hot & tasty.
Other variations – add bread crumbs or croutons on top before baking, also – adding chunked ham, turkey, chicken, bacon or even tuna to your mixture for more flavor is a hit with the meatlovers. You could probably also add broccoli or other veggies if you’d like – I don’t discriminate 😉
I hope you try my recipe, and love it! Please let me know if you do, and if you try any other variations and how it turned out! I’m always interested to hear what people like!
Thanks again to Jackie for having me (and my limited cooking expertise) in to cook for y’all! It was all my pleasure (especially as this makes enough for 2 nights of leftovers – or enough to freeze for another meal. This recipe makes enough for 4-6 adults to have seconds – most often – and freezes well if you don’t have that many eating. I often take it as a dish to pass as it is a big favorite and there is plenty to go around!)
