Sunday October 9, 2011 at 2pm, The Jeffrey Arnold Foundation is performing a Franz Liszt concert. I went to the last concert in July, and it was fabulous.
Saturday October 8, Lampasas Herb and Art festival on the square. Last time I went it was a great way to spend the day. There is a good German restaurant downtown and wineries just outside of town.
Just a reminder for anyone new to the site, I post everyday and when a post leaves the home page, it is archived in one of the headings above: Recipes, Pantry, Food For Thought, or In the Garden. Click on one of the headings and you’ll see the list of what’s there! Please feel free to leave a comment or contact me (click on the Contact heading above). Thanks for visiting, and come back.
It looks like a lot of the seeds I planted last weekend have germinated. I’m seeing little green tops everywhere – very exciting (I’m pretty easy to amuse!).
I’m afraid to say this too loud, but I do think fall is finally here. One of the great things about that is I can use my oven more, and then there’s all the great fall, winter foods like stews, soups, potato casseroles, all kinds of root vegetables, greens, hearty pastas and mac and cheese. Now that I’ve made myself sufficiently hungry, let’s do mac and cheese.
Sure there’s a lot of recipes that use different cheeses and I’ve made some of those, but still none as good as my old standby, Velvetta. Cheeses like cheddar, Gruyere, Colby, etc. just don’t stand up to the baking process, they separate. Yes, we like our mac and cheese baked. I’ve used this recipe for 20 years and it still is a big hit with everyone that tastes it, especially my father-in-law. If we have any kind of get together, he works it into the menu somehow!! I don’t make it on a regular basis, and when you read the recipe, you’ll know why. One of my husband’s favorite meals is meatloaf, mac and cheese, and greens or green beans (we’ll be getting to meatloaf soon).
Oh, you know, I’ve never talked about pasta brands. The kind of pasta you use does make a difference. Barilla and DeCecco are the best and most readily available. Occasionally, I find a great specialty Italian brand at Big Lots or Marshalls. In the grocery stores in Italy, there are whole aisles of pasta, a good bit of it Barilla.
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni*
- 1 1/2 - 2 pounds Velvetta®, cut in chunks
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed small
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup whole milk (I use cream and half and half too)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 cup or more bread crumbs (I use panko or fresh)
- 1/2 cup melted butter
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni according to the package directions, except less about 2 minutes. You want it chewy. Drain well.
- I'm really trying to get away from non-stick pans, but this recipe is too hard to handle without one. So,while the pasta is cooking, in a large non-stick pan over medium heat melt together Velvetta, cream cheese, sour cream, butter, and milk. Stir frequently.
- When ingredients are melted and blended together, add salt and pepper, then toss in the macaroni. After you combine the cheese sauce and macaroni, if it doesn't look pretty runny add milk, cream or half and half, whatever you are using. The macaroni is going to absorb some of the sauce. (If you don't want it baked, stop here, just heat thoroughly).
- Turn into a large greased baking pan.
- Combine bread crumbs and melted butter.
- Spread on top of macaroni
- Bake 350 for 20-30 minutes until slightly brown and bubbly.
- Note: *I use rigatoni, penne, or any pasta that will hold the cheese sauce.
My In-laws came in to see George play football. After the game we had a BBQ, and I made this. Michael saw it and asked if these were the same kind that Lanie made us. When I said it was your recipe he put another heaping spoonful on his plate. Everyone LOVED this recipe!!!!! thank you