Forever Beloved

Faith, Love & Truth

Super Creamy Mac and Cheese

Is there anything that screams comfort food as much as creamy mac and cheese? This is one of my fav meals.  I love me some homemade mac and cheese!  If you make it, I will eat it. I mean seriously, pasta, cheese, a little milk, a little salt, what’s not to love?  And that “crusty” top, oh my goodness. Does anyone else love that crunchy topping?

I like adding some different ingredients into the mix – including bacon or shredded chicken. The reason I love this recipe so much is because its the perfect base mac and cheese to experiment with while being perfectly delicious on its own. I really hope you enjoy it!

Cook macaroni as normal and drain.  Sooo, I’m not a fan of doing dishes, so we want to dirty as little dishes as possible.  Leave the macaroni in the strainer and use the same pot to make your cheese sauce.  

First we are going to make a roux. A roux is a mixture of fat (usually butter) and flour that makes the base of the sauce. In this recipe we start by combining the butter and flour first. To do this, add butter into pot and melt over medium heat. Once melted, add flour. Continually whisk for a few minutes, until it looks like the picture below.
Now slowly add in the milk. The trick is to add the milk slowly, while stirring, to try and avoid clumping. Whisk constantly until the mixture thickens.
Next you add the cheese and spices.

Mix until cheeses are melted.

Turn around to grab the bench to stand on so you can get a better picture of you pot.  Oh, hey puppy.  

Add macaroni back to pot stir to mix it well.  Pour it into your greased pan.

This is where I like to get creative!  I had a bit of bacon left in the fridge, so I added it to the top.  I always sprinkle some cheese on top so my breadcrumbs will have something to stick to.

I also grabbed a small handful of Durkee french friend onions, crumbled them up and added those.  

Cover the top with either breadcrumbs, crunched up potato chips or panko crumbs (which is what I used here).

Add a few pats of butter to the top.  Pop it in the oven.

Ingredients

1/2 lb. Standard Macaroni
2 cups milk
1/2 t salt
1/2 t dry mustard
1/4 t garlic powder
1/4 t paprika
1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
4 oz. cream cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place a pot of salted water on to boil for pasta.
When water comes to boil add in pasta until just al dente.
Drain pasta from water and set aside.
To make the roux: Equal parts butter and flour to make a roux.
Let the roux cook for 1-2 min to cook out raw flour taste.  You’ll notice it start to smell “nutty”, that’s when it’s done.  Slowly whisk in milk to avoid any lumps.
Once you have the mixture to desired thickness add in cheese.
Gently fold in pasta to the sauce and place in oven safe dish. 

Add whatever toppings you want (bacon, chicken, french friend onions, different cheeses, etc.).
Add a few pats of button on top, if desired.  
Cook for about 20 minutes or until golden on top and bubbly.
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Convos With The Kids

I absolutely adore the convo’s I have with my littles.  Normally, they have me in stitches.  And Miss Jade, oh Miss Jade, always so innocent.  I want to remember every single thing about our conversations {and let you enjoy them too}.  That’s why I document them here  🙂  Someday, I’ll look back on these days and, with tears in my eyes, appreciate these times.

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Jade:  Hey Joey.  Are you putting your contacts in?
Joey:  Yep
Jade:  What if we were in a scary movie and when you put your contacts in, they turned into needles and poked your eyes?

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Joey:  Wow, the dogs snout smells horrible like onions.  I could almost taste them when I was kissing her.  Jade get down and smell it.
Jade:  No!
Joey:  Oh, wait.  Jade’s eating salsa.  Never mind.

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Jade:  But you yelled at me in front of everyone.
Me:  I never raised my voice once.
Jade:  You were yelling with your eyes.

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Jade:  What is a placenta?
Joey:  It’s what the fetus is attached to.
Jade:  Wait, isn’t that poop?
Joey:  No Jade, that’s feces.
Jade:  Oh, sometimes I get fetus and feces mixed up.

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Jade:  Sometimes I get confused when I see Chris Bosh and think it’s a velociraptor.

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Jade: I really hate learning the patriotic table
Me: Dying

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Me:  Where are my headache pills?
Joe:  In my glove-box
Me:  All you have in there is headache pills and tons of ammo
Joe:  Necessities

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Me: Jade, please don’t stare at that guy. We aren’t in Clearfield County anymore.
Jade: But he is brushing his beard with a toothbrush

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{Jade dropping phone…back flying off…battery sliding across floor}
Jade: SIGH…this is why I can’t have nice things
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thankful…25/30

I am so completely thankful for music.  It’s such a HUGE part of our lives in this household. With one note it can take you soaring back to a moment in time. It can lift your soul. It can make you shed tears of grief or music can make laugh. Music is a universal language, you don’t even have to understand the words if the artist is pouring their soul into the song.

Just as books have always always always been a huge part of my life, so has music. I can remember singing along with my dad to a Statler Brothers record when I was just a wee one. He gave me my love of southern gospel quartets. Every summer, we would pack up the car and head an hour away to the Gospel Singing Convention. It was always one of my FAV days!

As a young girl, i can remember standing beside my parents every Sunday in church and waiting impatiently to sing a hymn. Singing was always my favorite part of the service. The song leader would announce the hymn number and I would quickly grab my hymnal and stand, always being one of the first ones up. As soon as the hymn would start, my Dad’s voice could plainly be heard above the rest of the congregation. When he would start singing, I would stand a little taller. I was so proud of my Dad’s singing voice, his ability to harmonize easily and his knowledge of virtually every verse of every hymn.

As I got older, my love of this Sunday morning moment never changed. If there was a Sunday my Dad had to work, I would still stand tall and proud, doing my part. My Dad taught me how to harmonize, how to pull the melodies from the music and how to hear the piano over everyone’s voices.

As I grew up, my love of music transpired into learning to play the piano, clarinet and bass clarinet.  I was lucky enough to have a piano teacher that was also a Christian, so many of my weekly lessons were learning to play hymns. I can assure you there were many a night spent around the piano (not always willingly on my part), playing hymns with my Dad singing melody and me singing harmony. I can remember the neighbors saying how they enjoyed sitting on their porches in the summer listening to us. And Sunday mornings when the song leader would call out a hymn that I KNEW we had practiced at home, I would do a little victory dance inside. I would stand up and sing beside my Dad as loud as I could.

Music for me was always a way to let my emotions out. There are songs to this day that still invoke the memories of what it meant to me years ago. Hold on by Wilson Philips takes me back to my freshman trip. To be with you by Mr. Big takes me to a dance after a wrestling match one cold, winter Friday night. And we can’t forget Friends by Michael W. Smith. Oh, so so many tears were cried at church camp while singing that song.  Funny, years later (we won’t discuss just how many years it’s been, please.and.thank.you) I still get teary when I hear that song come on.

I am so super thankful for music and all the memories it has given me over the years and the way it has left mile markers along my journey.

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