You can't really mess up Mac & Cheese and will likely always have the ingredients on hand!

​Macadoo has always been my Mac n' Cheese fan and over the years I've made about as many different types as their are cheeses.  I always welcome his feedback and I think we've pretty much nailed it with this version.

Mac- aroni & Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 lb box of macaroni noodles - I prefer small (but not tiny) elbow noodles
• 1/2 stick of butter
• 1 Tablespoon of flour (any kind is fine)
• 1 cup of heavy cream
• 8 oz of shredded cheddar.  I prefer to shred my own or use thicker shreds like Tillamook.
• 4 oz (half block) of cream cheese softened and cubed
• 1/2 cup of grated parmesan 
• 2 teaspoons of dry mustard
• Salt and Pepper to taste.

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°
• Cook macaroni al dente (subtract 2 minutes from suggested cooking time on box) and drain reserving pasta water.
• In a heavy skillet melt butter over medium heat and let it just begin to brown.
• Sprinkle flour over butter and gently stir to combine.
• Pour in heavy cream and stir well allowing to lightly simmer before lowering heat.
• Blend in all cheeses, stirring to combine.
• Add dry mustard, salt and pepper.
• Add noodles and stir well.
• The mixture shouldn't be too thick so add in a little pasta water if it is.
• Transfer to a greased casserole and bake in oven until top is bubbly and golden.

​Love,

Lasagna
Serves 4-6 and can easily be doubled for freezing

​Ingredients

• ​1 box of lasagna noodles cooked per box instructions
• 2 lb of ground beef
• 2 jars of spaghetti sauce - I like to use one nicer brand jar like Rao's or Newman's Own and one jar of Publix brand
• 2 - 8 ox bags of shredded mozzarella cheese - I prefer a nicer shred like tillamook or kraft with creamy philadephia blend
• 4 oz (1/2 of a block) cream cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan

Directions

• Pre-heat oven to 400°
• Cook lasagna noodles according to box directions in a large pot and rinse under cool water after draining.  To avoid noodles sticking together put them back in a pot of cold water once they are cooled.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook ground beef that has been seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic powder, to taste; drain meat.
• Return meat to cleaned skillet and add in jars of sauce and cubes of cream cheese.
• Cook meat and sauce mixture on low and stir to incorporate cream cheese.
• In a deep casserole dish spray cooking spray in bottom of dish and spread about 1/2 cup of sauce onto bottom
• Begin making layers by shaking excess water off of noodles and laying in bottom of pan, slightly overlapping edge of noodles.
• On top of noodle layer add enough meat sauce to cover noodles, It's ok to see a little of the noodle.
• Next sprinkle mozzarella cheese onto sauce mixture
• Repeat layers until you have used all of the sauce.  You may have noodles leftover, this is when you want to roll one up and dip into the leftover sauce in the pan.  YUM!
• Top final layer with remaining shredded cheese and grated parmesan cheese.
• Spray the underside of a piece of aluminum foil and cover lasagna.  This will help the foil to not stick to the cheese as much.  Gently press down on the foil so that the lasagna layers are a bit more compact and dense.
• Bake covered for 30 minutes and then uncovered until cheese is bubbly and brown.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving. 

TIP:  Once cooled off this can be placed in refrigerator for several days or frozen for up to 3 months.

Love,

This dish is great for a weeknight meal because you can start the chicken in the crockpot and cook on low all day.  The chicken alone is so delicious and can be used for many other recipes.  

​White Chicken Spaghetti

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts (frozen if using crockpot) Click here to see instant pot method.​
• 1 small bottle of zesty italian salad dressing
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt & Pepper
• Pasta of choice (I use spaghetti)

Directions

• Spray crockpot with cooking spray and place frozen breasts in bottom
• Pour bottle of salad dressing over chicken
  
• Cover and cook on low for up to 6 hours
  
• Remove chicken from crockpot and shread or dice
  
• Cook pasta per instructions on packaging reserving pasta water
• In a saucepan add cream cheese, soup and spices and cook on low stirring to combine
  
• Once sauce is creamy add shredded chicken and spaghetti and stir to coat noodles
• If sauce is too thick add some of reserved pasta water to thin

Tip: Serve topped with crunchy chow mein noodles.

Love,

This delicious dish is so easy to make , but tastes like you're dining out! It is one of those meals that I tend to forget about, but when I make it it's always a hit.  And it's SO simple too!

​Creamy Sundried Tomato Tortellini
Serves 4 and takes less than 15 minutes to make

Ingredients

• 1 bag of frozen cheese tortellini (approx 16 oz)
• 1 package of ground sweet italian sausage
• 1 small jar of sundried tomatoes in oil chopped finely (drain and reserve 1 Tablespoon of oil)
• 1 garlic clove crushed
• 1 Tablespoon of flour
• 2 cups of heavy cream
• 1 cup of grated parmesan
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (to taste)

Directions

• Bring a pot of salted water to boil, once it comes to boil add frozen tortellini. Once the pasta floats, remove from heat and drain.  Be sure to reserve some of the pasta water by placing a bowl under the strainer in sink.
• While water comes to a boil; In a large skillet saute crushed garlic clove in the reserved sundried tomato oil. 
• Cook garlic until it begins to brown, and then add sausage and stir, cooking until no pink shows.  
• Sprinkle flour over the sausage mixture and stir.  
• Next pour cream into pan and stir and add in sundried tomatoes
• Sprinkle parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes over sausage mixture and combine.
• Once pasta is drained add to the pot and combine.  If the sauce is too thick, add a little of your reserved pasta water.
• Garnish each serving with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Love,