homemade mac and cheese

Word on the street is that mac and cheese season has officially arrived in blogland and as I'm always game for a little pasta throwdown, I'm going to throw my recipe in the ring. I actually have a whole list of unhealthy recipes I'm planning to share this fall and winter. I'm trying to decide if they get their own label in my side bar, something along the lines of *call your cardiologist* or *heart attack on a plate*. It's sad, but it's how we eat on a pretty regular basis. Gooey, cheesy, creamy, hearty, casseroley. That's how we roll. Throw in a salad a couple times a month, and we're good.

This recipe hails from my sister....a fabulous cook if there ever was one. It's a dangerous one for me to make because I eat twice as much as I should and end up in pain for the rest of the evening. But...it's worth it.



Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups macaroni - boil 8-10 minutes
6 T butter
4 1/2 T flour
2 1/4 C milk
6 slices American cheese
1 1/2 C shredded cheddar
1 tsp salt - adjust to your taste - we like things salty
1/4 tsp pepper

Melt butter in a large saucepan. Whisk in flour and stir till bubbly. Stir in milk and continue stirring until thickened. Add cheeses and salt and pepper.

Stir in cooked macaroni and place in a casserole dish.

Topping
2 slices bread, crumbled - I like to use whole wheat and I crumble it in the blender
1/2 cup grated parmesan
3 Tbs melted butter
Combine and spread over macaroni and cheese.

Bake 35-40 minutes at *350. I usually put foil loosely over the top for the last ten minutes or so as the topping gets pretty brown.

I also usually dice a ham steak and stir that into the macaroni and cheese. I get the ham steaks from Costco - they come in a three pack and are wonderful to have on hand in the freezer.

Oh, invisible friends, this is good stuff.

Serve with a Lipitor chaser and you're good to go.

firehouse chicken enchiladas

When I started this blog, I really thought I would post many more recipes than I have, but as it's winter, and dinner is usually ready after dark, and my family usually attacks the food before I can take pictures, it hasn't happened. Being the weekend, I was able to make dinner midday, so I thought I'd share.

My oldest spent two years as a resident firefighter while he went to college. Firehouses are famous for good food, and he did his fair share of cooking while there. These enchiladas are one of his creations, and they quickly edged out my old standby chicken enchilada recipe. That is probably due, in large part, to the block of cream cheese in the filling.


When I saw this photo, I was embarrassed by how big the sour cream dollop/blob looked, and tried to hide it with a sprig of cilantro in another photo. It ended up looking silly, so I ditched the cilantro and I am going to just proclaim my love of sour cream. I love it people, and I'm not ashamed!

Firehouse Enchiladas

Four chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I poach mine)
1 pkg chicken taco seasoning
1 8oz pkg cream cheese
chopped black olives
1 28oz can green chile enchilada sauce - must be green sauce!
shredded Mexican blend cheese - I use Costco's blend, but any combo will do
8 large flour tortillas

In a skillet, sprinkle the taco seasoning over the cooked and shredded chicken. Add recommended water and simmer about five minutes or so. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted and blended. We add chopped black olives as well, which I know isn't authentic, but I have a friend from Mexico, and she assures me that pretty much nothing I consider Mexican food is even close to the real stuff anyway.

Pour a layer of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Divide the chicken filling between the 8 tortillas, and sprinkle with cheese. Roll each tortilla, and place seam side down in the pan. Cover with remaining enchilada sauce and top with a ridiculous amount of shredded cheese.

Cook at 350* 35-45 minutes, until bubbly, or until it spills all over your oven, which happens pretty much every single time I make it. Top with an appropriate amount of sour cream, and in the name of all that is not authentically Mexican, enjoy!