Mac 'N Cheese

Who in the world does not love homemade macaroni and cheese? I know I do!  I have made this recipe multiple times and it is always a hit. In fact, my work expects me to make this for every potluck! It's actually very simple and quick to whip up, but would beat any boxed mac 'n cheese any day!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz box of elbow macaroni
• 1/2 cup of butter, cubed. 1 Tbsp set aside
• 1/2 cup all-purposed flour
• 1 1/2 cups 2% milk
• 8 oz sour cream
• 8 oz Velveeta cheese, cubed
• 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, divided (1/4 cup for cream sauce, 1/4 cup for topping)
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• ground black pepper to taste
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided (2 cups to mix with elbows, 1 cup for topping)

Cook the elbow macaroni as directed on the package, but decrease the time by 1-2 minutes. Drain the macaroni and toss with 1 Tbsp of butter and 2 cups of cheddar cheese. 

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the cubed butter on medium heat. Stir in flour till smooth and then slowly add the milk. Bring the mixture to a boil, stir continuously until it thickens (about 2-4 minutes). Reduce the heat to low and stir in the sour cream, Velveeta, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese, ground mustard and pepper until completely melted and smooth.

If I am making this for a potluck, I like to placed the drained macaroni tossed in cheddar cheese into a crock pot, fold in cream sauce, sprinkle on top with the remaining cheddar and parmesan cheese and finish it at work. That way, it is hot and nice and fresh for the party. I usually put it on high for about hours before serving.

If I am making it for dinner at home, I place the the macaroni tossed in cheddar cheese in a large baking dish, fold in the cream sauce, sprinkle the top with the remaining cheddar and parmesan cheese and bake uncovered at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or until the top is brown and golden.

Eventually I would like to incorporate some smoked Gouda in this dish since that is my favorite cheese! I will let you know how that goes. Enjoy!

~Hong

Rescued

Growing up, my family never owned a pet. So when I "grew up" and got married, the first thing I wanted was to add a pet to our family. My one and only requirement was I wanted to adopt a pet from a rescue or humane society. I simply could not justify paying hundreds of dollars to buy an animal from a breeder when there were so many animals abused, abandoned, and left in a predicament that they had absolutely no control over. I viewed owning a pet as seriously as having a child and I could not comprehend how people could choose to hurt and neglect their pets. So I was determined to give one a true forever home.

If you have read an earlier post, you know that we previously adopted a Siamese cat named Simon and a German Shephard/Rottweiler mix dog, Bandit. We lost Bandit in July after a grueling battle with leukemia and Simon just seemed a little lonely and sad. We were not quite ready for another dog, so we decided to search for a little girl kitty and here is our new addition:

We named her Ava! She is a two months old Calico, domestic lynx mix, her coloring is absolutely gorgeous and she has these mesmerizing green/yellow eyes. She is just the sweetest thing and a vicious cuddle bug! Of course she is from a humane society and the staff was overjoyed to adopt her out! They were concerned that she may not find a home because of her short tail, which is literally about two inches long. They are still unsure whether this is due to a congenital birth defect or her lynx blood, but we loved her nub of a tail.

We were told it may take weeks to months for two cats to tolerate one another and it is recommended to take the process extremely slow. To help ease Simon into having a new little sister, we kept Ava in a large kennel in our guest bathroom for the first few days when we were not home to physically hold her as we walked around the house. We also exchanged blankets so they would get use to each other's scent. Starting on the third day, we had supervised play time and after a few hisses from Simon, they were good to go. Simon warmed up a lot faster than we expected and Ava just loves her big brother!

So rescue a little one for a lifetime of love and fun!

~Hong