Loaded Mac and Cheese

-

Theres a story behind this recipe : - )
Warning: Nothing healthy about this recipe. But it is oh, so good...

I'm a southern girl at heart. I love my good old fashioned southern food, even though I'm from New York. You can never go wrong when it comes to that Southern Homestyle cooking. Yum...Things like collard greens, ribs, fried chicken, mac and cheese, dressings and all that good stuff. Here is a recipe that I tweeked and combined together from two people, who taught me how to make some good mac and cheese; (not the straight out of the box kind that I was used to) a lady named Mrs. Esther and a gentleman named Mr. Duke.

Heres a little story of how I used to do my mac and cheese. All my life growing up in the North, I've loved mac and cheese. So anytime I needed mac and cheese I would do what I assume, almost everyone does. I'd follow the instructions on the back of the box - boil pasta and then add the cheese that comes with the packet. That simple : - )

One day I made mac and cheese along with some other things for a party. When everyone ate the food, they loved it. But after the party. Mr. Duke came to me and said "Mrs. You are in the South now. Mac and cheese has a whole new meaning out here. Let me explain to you how to make mac and cheese the right way for next time." I started laughing but actually took his advice and tried it next time.

Then I met another lady named Esther who for the first time in my life, I'd seen that actually adds other things into the mac and cheese besides just the pasta and the cheese from the box. Thats where I got the loaded idea from. Two mac and cheese specialists, whom I'm not sure if my mac and cheese will ever deserve a table spot anywhere near theirs : - ) Thanks for the help.

Loaded Mac and Cheese
Servings: 8 Servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Source: Elise Jackson, Mr. Duke, Mrs. Esther

Ingredients
1 box shell Pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
1 8oz can cream of mushroom soup
1 pack shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese cut into small cubes
1/2 cup cheddar cheese cut into small cubes
1/2 onion diced really small
1/2 pepper diced really small
1/4 cup chives diced really small
1/2 tomato diced really small
1 pack of bacon
bread crumbs (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
In a small pot sauté  for about 1 - 2 minutes in a little butter or oil, your onion, pepper and tomatoes. Set aside.

Set a pot full of water on the stove on high heat and when it starts to boil, add in your pasta for the directed time on the back of the box. Should be between 6 - 10 minutes more or less. Once boiled and soft, drain and rinse the pasta in cold water (this helps it to cool but most importantly stops the cooking)  set aside.

Preheat your oven to 400F and bake your pack of bacon until crispy and set to cool. Once cooled crumble your bacon. (This can be done with any meat. Chicken would be a great alternative. Cooking the chicken and then shredding it.)

Once your bacon is already cooked and crumbled and all of your cheese are cited and  your vegetables are diced tiny as mentioned in the list above. Get big bowl and mix in all of your ingredients (except for the shredded mozzarella cheese) together into the big bowl. Add a little salt and pepper and mix well.

Now reduce your oven temperature to 350F, Get a pyrex and sprinkle a little  olive oil on the bottom just to prevent the pasta from sticking.  Place all of your mac and cheese mixture into the pyrex and sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top. (Optional: You can sprinkle some bread crumbs on top also. With the mozzarella cheese, for a uniquely different taste and a nice crunch)

Cover with aluminum foil and Place in the oven for about 20minutes, remove the foil and set oven to broil for about 1-2 minutes(only) just to allow cheese to brown on top.

Remove from oven and serve warm.
Goes great with everything

Print Recipe
From my kitchen to yours
Enjoy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Do you get a white ooze when cooking Salmon?

-
Image
Does your salmon often look like this when you cook it? Tried baking, frying, poaching it but this stuff keeps coming out? Quick tip: when cooking salmon it is common for a white sort of cream to come oozing out all around the fish. Though it does not affect the taste. It can be found to be annoying and not pretty. But I found the trick to solving this problem, it happens because salmon is an oily fish, there are many oils within the fish itself. When cooking all of these oils come out in the form of this white ooze, normally from my own experience, when this happens the fish tends to become dry. Because now all of that moisture and oils meant to keep the fish succulent and juicy was just taken out. I found a solution to this problem. To keep all the oils locked in, you need to dry out the surface of the fish.  Before seasoning drizzle a little bit of vinegar on the fish and rub it in well. Continue your seasoning process. You will see that your problem will be resolved. ...
Read more

Cuscus from CaboVerde

-
Image
Mommy Grandma Here is my beautiful mother and my grandmother both of whom I love dearly. Oh, yes. And look at my darling twin sister. My mirror, my look alike. which one am I? Do you know? Well my mom and grandma were  both born in Furna - Brava, Cape Verde also known for its portuguese name as CaboVerde. A portuguese speaking Island off of the coast of West Africa. Me in CapeVerde In CapeVerde just like in any other Country there are many traditional dishes such as 2 of the main ones. Cuscus - a breakfast bread and Cachupa- a heavy soup for lunch. These are 2 of my favorite Capeverdian foods along with others such as funginho, gigacida, and the list goes on. Cuscus is a breakfast food. For those of you who don't know what it is, its similar to a corn muffin or a corn type of bread. It is made fresh and eaten whilst hot off of the stove spread with loads of butter to melt nicely on top. I love eating this with my favorite rasberry tea. Some of you might hate i...
Read more

How do I make hominy corn porridge?

-
Image
Ingredients 2 cups hominy corn 1/2 cup evaporated milk 1 1/2 cups coconut milk 1/2 cup water 3/4 cup condensed milk 1/2 cup cornstarch 1/2 tsp nutmeg 2 tsp vanilla extract pinch salt How to make it: Soak hominy corn in water for a few hours or preferably overnight (If you are making this in a rush and don't have time to presoak your hominy corn. No problem it will just take a little longer to cook because soaking softens the corn.) Put your hominy corn in a pot with about 2 1/2 to 3 cups water and boil on medium high heat for about 30 minutes or until they are very soft that you can cut it with a knife or poke it with a fork. and the water is nearly gone Lower your heat to medium low and take half of your coconut milk and mix in the cornstarch to it until smooth. Put that in the pot as well as the rest of your coconut milk. It will automatically thicken your hominy corn mixture now add in nutmeg, vanilla evaporated milk and condensed milk. Bring to a light boil and...
Read more