The All Time Favorite…Mac & Cheese

I remember when Grumpy and I were dating and I decided to make him dinner. I asked him what he wanted to eat and he said Macaroni and Cheese. I was pretty shocked, but went and got a couple of boxes of Macaroni and Cheese. When he arrived for dinner and saw I had made boxed mac & cheese he was very rudely amused. I asked him what he expected and he said you know - cook the noodles and make a sauce and it goes in a casserole pan to be baked in the oven. I didn't know these things as we never had mac & cheese at our house. (Papa was not a fan of pasta dishes in those days). So I decided to learn to make "real" mac & cheese. Found a recipe for a basic cheese sauce and came up with one of our families favorite comfort foods. It is the number 1 requested item for birthday dinners, hands down. I will be making this for Ryker on Sunday for his birthday dinner, so thought I would post the how to. I no longer use a recipe, so went online to find a basic cheese sauce recipe and tweaked it to be what I do. I usually make Mac & Cheese in an oversized casserole pan, like a lasagna pan as leftovers are never a problem. 

Fill your baking pan up to a generous half full of your dry macaroni. Regular size elbow roni works, but we have found we like the larger elbow roni pasta. Put your water on to boil and pour a little olive oil in it. Boil the noodles until tender. Remove from heat and rinse throughly in cool water. Return noodles to your large pasta cooker, or put them in a large bowl. Set aside. 

Make the Cheese sauce. The recipe below will make enough for a normal 9x9 cake pan size. Adjust the quantities according to the size pan you are making.

Basic Cheese Sauce Recipe 

Yield 2 Cups (I double this and then some for our large pans of Mac & Cheese)

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black or white pepper
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup grated mild Cheddar Cheese

Preparation:

Melt butter; remove from heat. Stir in flour and seasonings. Gradually add milk, stirring until well mixed. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and smooth. Cook for 5 minutes longer; add cheese. Stir until smooth and well blended. If you want a thicker sauce increase flour, if a thinner sauce is required add more milk
Makes 2 cups. I always put in a bit more cheese than called for. I like a cheesy sauce. 

Pour Sauce over noodles and mix well. If the sauce is fairly thick, I sometimes add a little water to get it consistency I like to bake. Spray your baking dish with Pam or some kind of cooking spray. I put half the noodles in the pan and layer a generous amount of grated cheese on top. The rest of the noodles go in and a really generous layer of cheese tops it off. Bake at 350º uncovered for about 30 minutes. I sometimes let it bake a little longer to get a lightly browned, crispier cheese on top. 

The other shocker that night at dinner long ago with Grumpy was to find that he liked ketchup on his mac & cheese. I couldn't fathom that, but then again don't knock it 'til you try it. I have grown very attached to my ketchup and roni. All our kids and many of our grandkids are fellow addicts. Grumpy graduated to salsa instead of ketchup which is not bad, but I like the ketchup still. 

Of course we must have frozen peas with Mac & Cheese because that is just how it's done. Still and forever I suppose. Nana used to like to come over and eat when I made this. I think even Papa Kanaga likes this now. Gramma Dorothy still makes her version (the one she grew her family up on) of Mac & Cheese for the many times she takes dinner in to people. I'm happy I get to make this for Ryker, and all the other grandkids who love their Mac & Cheese. 

Crazy Aunt Charleen

We called her that because she was. It is a term of endearment for us as she has a special place in our hearts. Talented, sweet, musical, and very much like her mother, Opal. It was always an adventure to visit her in Colorado. After college graduation Grumpy and I were stationed at Lowry AFB in Denver,Colorado for 6 months. We had quite the trip getting there with 3 small children in the car for 2 days. Not the most fun I ever had. Upon our arrival there Papa’s sister Charleen had dinner waiting for us. It was so very nice, and oh so appreciated. The casserole has come through the years with us and is now a favorite of our children and grandchildren. She also had fresh strawberries for us that night. We dipped them in sour cream and then into brown sugar. Also a family favorite. Thanks to Aunt Charleen, we have these good things on our tables still.


The Noodles…
Charleen’s Casserole
I especially like that it is meatless for lighter summer meals. Ingredients can be varied and encompass many left-overs for a new dish. Great for a side, or for the main course.

Extra wide egg noodles, or noodles of your choice. Quantities are for 9x13 pan. Cook noodles until tender and rinse. Set aside.


The Vegetables…
In a pan, sauté:

• 1 ea. Green, Red, Yellow Pepper (chopped)
  
• 1 Onion (chopped)
  
• 2 Cloves Garlic (minced)
  
• 3 Carrots (sliced about 1/8”)
  

Optional Vegetables to add or substitute: Corn, Green Beans, Broccoli, Zucchini, Fresh Spinach, mushrooms, it’s all good.

The Sauce…
In a large mixing bowl combine:

• 2 Regular Cans Cream of Chicken Soup (1 can if you like your sauce thicker, or if you want to thin with milk.)
  
• 1 Regular Can Cream of Celery Soup
  
• 1 8 oz. Can Tomato Sauce (or El Pato Sauce for a spicier taste).

Optional Cream Soups are Mushroom, Cheese, and any others your family likes.

Finishing…
When vegetables are tender, add to sauce and mix well. Fold in noodles and at least 8 ozs. of grated mild cheddar and 8 ozs. of another kind of cheese (sliced thin or grated). Pepper Jack, Mozzarella, Monterey Jack, whatever you like or have on hand. Toss in 1 1/2 C. Frozen Peas and mix well.


Spray casserole dish with PAM and pour mixture into it. Top with more cheese if desired, or even bread crumbs work fine. Bake uncovered at 350º for 30 - 45 minutes depending on how brown you like the top. Serve with Garlic Toast or any number of things.


This casserole has feed many a family that needed dinner brought in and I love for the summer. It is easy and fast and kids generally like it. There are lots of possibilities with it, so use your imagination and make your favorite things in it.

I have a PDF version of this if anyone is interested. Just leave a comment with your email address.

My Favorite Lasagna

This lasagna recipe has been with us since 1978.
As the story goes…
Grumpy and I were stationed in Okinawa, Japan and I had gone back to Arizona to have R.B. When it was time to return to Okinawa, R.B. was about 6 weeks old. It was the trip from hell. I had three little girls and a newborn to wrestle, the Air Force dependent travel policies to contend with and some major budget concerns. I won't go into the details, but by the time I got back to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa I had been traveling (or trying to) for 2 weeks. I was frustrated, tired, and “on the edge”. Grumpy had moved our things into a nice house in Awase and it was good to finally be somewhere. As we straggled in the door it was nearly dinner time and I wasn't sure what was in the house. Grumpy went in the kitchen and pulled this wonderful lasagna from the oven complete with garlic bread and a salad from the fridge. I was amazed. He said his new commanding officer's wife, Ellen Stellmar had provided the dinner for us. I started crying and I don't think she ever knew how deeply I appreciated her dinner. “Thank you” just didn't cover how nice it was. She was a wonderful woman. I am grateful for all the really great people we rubbed shoulders with in our Air Force experience. Very tender memories of them all. I've used this recipe all these years and it is a family favorite.

The Meat Sauce…
1# Italian Sausage or lean ground beef
1 clv Garlic (minced)
1 lg Onion (diced) (optional)
1 Tb. Basil
1 Tb. Parsley Flakes
1 1/2 tsp. Salt
1-1# Can whole tomatoes (cut up)
2-6oz Cans (1 1/3 C.) tomato paste

The Cheese Mixture…

3 Cups Cream Style Cottage Cheese (or Ricotta, or a mix of the two)
2 eggs (beaten)
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Pepper
2 Tb. Parsley Flakes
1/2 C. Grated Parmesan Cheese

Cooked Noodles…
10 oz. Lasagna noodles cooked al dente. Rinse in cold water and allow to drain. I always lay the uncooked noodles in the pan I'm using (x2 for 2 layers) to make sure I have enough noodles. I throw in a couple of extra just for fun.

Mozzarella…

1# Mozzarella cheese (grated). Of course more cheese is never bad. I have used the fresh mozzarella sliced on one of the layers and it turned out really well.

Preparing the layers…

Brown meat with minced garlic and (optional) diced onion . Drain off excess fat. Add next five ingredients for the meat sauce and simmer uncovered until sauce is thick stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes). 

Combine the cheese mixture ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir well.

Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and layer:
half the cooked noodles
half the cottage cheese mixture
half the mozzarella cheese
half the meat sauce

Half the noodles, half the cheese mixture:


I used fresh mozzarella in the first cheese layer and it was good. I used regular grated mozzarella on the next cheese layer and it was a good combo. Just ignore the spots of meat sauce. I goofed and got a little meat sauce in before I realized it was the cheese layer. Oooops.


The last layer of meat sauce (good thing, cuz the dish was full)


As an option you can layer some fresh spinach leaves on top of the mozzarella and under the meat sauce. It is really good if you like a little spinach. 

Repeat layers and top with a layer of grated parmesan if desired.



Bake in moderate oven (350º) uncovered for 30-45 minutes.
Let stand 15 minutes to set before serving.

Serves 12

Picture is from our Mama's and Papa's dinner on my blog. I added a spinach layer to it this time and it was really good. A little more watery than usual, don't know if it was from the fresh mozzarella, or the spinach, or both. I didn't mind though as a little juicier is okay with me. (I'm a saucy gal)
Lots of fond memories with this Lasagna recipe. Thanks to a sweet woman who went out of her way to make life a little easier. She left quite an impact on our lives with her lasagna. You just never know…

Spaghetti Sauce - So Gooooood!

October just seems to be the month we eat spaghetti. Probably because we would take all our kids to Papa and Nana's house to trick or treat. We all lived there at different times, so knew the neighbors well. It was and is still a great neighborhood to trick or treat in. Nana would always make spaghetti for the kids to eat before they went out. It sort of evolved into a tradition and after a few years we all came looking for the spaghetti dinner on Halloween. We would hand candy (gobs of it) out the side gate of their house to all the trick or treaters. Good stuff to the little ones, penny candy to the ones too old to be out. We have our standards after all. Hope you like this recipe, it is really good.

Of course spaghetti is good anytime and we eat a lot of it during the year. October just inspires the good memories of time spent at Nana's bar eating a quick dinner before the sugar buzzz began. My family loves spaghetti, but as you know, everyone has their own little twist when they make it. There are many great recipes out there for spaghetti sauce. Taya married into a really good sauce recipe (thanks Kevin), but I am basically lazy, so I have simplified it, but kept the general flavor. Taya and Kevin will put their version in our file too, but in the meantime…

Everything in it could be on your pantry shelf, or in your garden. 

Spaghetti Sauce  in a Hurry

In a stock pot combine:

1 jar approx. 4# spaghetti sauce (I use Prego because that’s what Costco carries and I like it)

1 28 oz can tomatoes (already chunked or whole and you can cut them however you like)

a pinch of basil, (fresh is good if you have it)

a pinch of oregano (also good fresh if you have it)

In a large skillet brown:

2# lean ground beef

optional: can substitute 1# hot spicy Italian sausage for 1# ground beef 

2 cloves fresh garlic chopped as fine as you like

2 onions

Red onions are good, I use brown or mayan sweet, but they all work

Salt to taste

Brown until onions and garlic are very tender and beef is well done. If your beef is lean enough, by the time it is well done there should be very little if any fat left in the pan. Drain if necessary and add to stock pot.

Deglaze the skillet if necessary and add a little extra virgin olive oil. Saute together:

2 medium green peppers cut as fine or chunky as you like

1 medium red, yellow or orange pepper same cut as above

1 yellow squash

2 zuchinni

(I cut the squashes into 2” sections, then once in half from the top and then in slices for long thin pieces (like sticks). You can also coin them, it’s just whatever you like)

Salt to taste

When tender add to stock pot and simmer on low at least 30 minutes. Serve over spaghetti noodles, angel hair, linguini, or even ziti. If you like your sauce really thick you can add a 12 oz. can of tomato paste, to thin it down and stretch it a little add a small can of v-8 juice. 

This recipe serves 10-12 really hungry people. It would serve 15-18 normal appetites. Who knows how many it would serve if everyone were on a diet!

(is easily multiplied for large groups since you would times the ingredients by however many Prego jars you are using.)