Dish of the month (May 2022): macaroni cheese

I always have 2-3 of these in my deep freeze, their really good!
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I'll serve this with a Ham Steak, Hot Dog Coins or grilled Chicken.
 
kaneohegirlinaz said:
I'll serve this with a Ham Steak, Hot Dog Coins or grilled Chicken.
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C’mon, now - you’re just cutting up hot dogs. Don’t try and make them sound nicer than they are by giving them a fun name! 😬

Mom would cut hot dogs up in hers as well, or stir in a can of tuna. As far as hot dogs go, that was a frequent snack for us, cold from the fridge. One for the dog and one for me. :laugh:
 
TastyReuben I do cut up Hot Dogs and put them into a screamin' hot pan to brown first.
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A side of Peas & Carrots to make it somewhat healthy ☺️
I have to catch myself to this day and NOT eat Hot Dogs cold from the `fridge ... we don't have a dog any longer that I could attribute the disappearance of said Hot Dog :whistling: 🎶
 
Somewhere between macaroni-and-cheese and chili (con carne) lies a magical, mystery dish that looks like this:

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Some call it goulash, or American goulash to distinguish it from the totally unrelated Central European (Hungarian) goulasch, but most often, it’s just called “chili mac,” and I want to point out this is one instance where the shortened name is entirely appropriate. :laugh:

Mom made this a lot, and it was frequently different, because in addition to the standard ground beef, stewed tomatoes, and macaroni, she’d throw in whatever else she had on hand, just to make it interesting. Some leftover fried potatoes from breakfast? Sure! Some turnip greens? Why not! I paid homage to my mom by throwing in some pinto beans and roasted corn, leftover from last night’s salad.

Besides having this frequently at home, this was on the school cafeteria every 10 days or so, the entire time I was in school. I think, like sourdough starter, they just kept the same batch going all those years. :laugh:

Another memory that just hit me - this was the first full meal I had after arriving for basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, in 1985. If I close my eyes, I can still smell it.

The cheeses in this are a combination of cheddar and pepperjack.
 
TastyReuben said:
Somewhere between macaroni-and-cheese and chili (con carne) lies a magical, mystery dish that looks like this:

View attachment 85197

Some call it goulash, or American goulash to distinguish it from the totally unrelated Central European (Hungarian) goulasch, but most often, it’s just called “chili mac,” and I want to point out this is one instance where the shortened name is entirely appropriate. :laugh:

Mom made this a lot, and it was frequently different, because in addition to the standard ground beef, stewed tomatoes, and macaroni, she’d throw in whatever else she had on hand, just to make it interesting. Some leftover fried potatoes from breakfast? Sure! Some turnip greens? Why not! I paid homage to my mom by throwing in some pinto beans and roasted corn, leftover from last night’s salad.

Besides having this frequently at home, this was on the school cafeteria every 10 days or so, the entire time I was in school. I think, like sourdough starter, they just kept the same batch going all those years. :laugh:

Another memory that just hit me - this was the first full meal I had after arriving for basic training at Lackland AFB in San Antonio, in 1985. If I close my eyes, I can still smell it.

The cheeses in this are a combination of cheddar and pepperjack.
Click to expand...

Chili mac (AKA: American goulash or American chop suey) is certainly an American midweek home dish. Even my mom couldn't mess it up.

CD
 
Morning Glory said:
In some recipe photos it looks almost as if it could be cut with a knife.
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Here, if it’s a baked one, it’s like that intentionally. Creamy macaroni and cheese is from the stovetop, baked macaroni and cheese is meant to be cut out in squares, more or less, like lasagna.

The latter is frequently served room temperature as well, so you’ll see it a lot at potlucks and church suppers. It really holds its shape.
 
I had some cheese to use up and some broccoli stems to use (we don't throw those out and neither should you). I wanted to try something a little different so I made a chipotle stir-fry mac and cheese. The wife wasn't in the mood for any kind of experimental tomfoolery so this recipe is something that combines with a traditional mornay-sauce mac and cheese. For the stir-fry part, I rehydrated some chipotle chilies and put them in a food processor with some garlic cloves and oil. I stir fried the broccoli stems and then tossed them in this mixture. Add to this a traditional mornay sauce mac and cheese. Didn't bake it because didn't feel like waiting, not sure if it would have been better if I had.

I was very happy with the result. I used whole wheat pasta because it's what was in the house, but when I make this again I'd use regular macaroni. I'd also put in a lot more broccoli.

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