Macaroni and cheese | My Daily Bread Body and Soul

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Macaroni and Cheese, The Ultimate Comfort Food

Posted on May 28, 2012 | 4 Comments

“However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.” Acts 20:24 NIV

Macaroni and cheese seems to be near the top of the list for ultimate comfort food! Whether you are browsing through a favorite cookbook or surfing the internet you will find as many different variations of mac ‘n cheese as stars in the sky! I tend to use one basic recipe and then change-up the cheese or sometimes add some meat. In the recipe I posted last fall, Mac n’ Cheese, instead of using cheddar cheese I used three different cheeses joined to make an outstanding flavor.

In today’s recipe I wanted to make a one-dish meal so I started with one of my very favorite healthy foods, aidells Chicken & Apple Sausage. First of all, it has chicken instead of pork (healthier) and when they threw in the apples, in my mind, that has to put the healthy meter over the top, right?

I started out by a quick saute’ of the thinly sliced sausage. I put a bit of a crunchy browning (looks burned, but it’s not) which will add awesome flavor to the macaroni and cheese.

While those were cooking I cooked up some elbow macaroni. I cooked them just to under done. They will finish cooking in the oven and this keeps them from going mushy. A quick mix all together.

In the meantime I made the cheesy white sauce. Yum. This particular time I used 4 cups, which is 16 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese.

Everything gets mixed together, topped with some crushed Ritz crackers (or whatever you have on hand) and into the oven for 30 minutes.

You will find the full recipe at the bottom of this post. In the meantime, please don’t forget to stop by my new Facebook Fan Page and click the “like” button! www.facebook.com/praycookblog . You don’t have to have a Facebook account to view fan pages!

Also, if you are walking through the Bible this year with me, here are the links to this week’s reading. We are at week 18 and going strong!

Walk Through The Bible In One Year
Week 18 reading plan 1 Chronicles 27 – 2 Chronicles 29
Click on the colored link to read each day’s scripture.
Monday 1 Chronicles 27-29 , Tues 2 Chronicles 1-5,
Wed 2 Chronicles 6-9, Thursday 2 Chronicles 10-15,
Friday 2 Chronicles 16-20,
Saturday 2 Chronicles 21-25,
Sunday 2 Chronicles 26-29
Blessings as you read!

Macaroni, Chicken Apple Sausage & Cheese

Print recipe

Macaroni, Chicken Apple Sausage & Cheese

Serves	6-8
Prep time	40 minutes
Cook time	30 minutes
Total time	1 hours, 10 minutes

Make a family-pleasing one-dish meal by adding a healthy chicken apple sausage to this ultimate comfort food.

Ingredients

16oz Elbow pasta
1/2 cup Unsalted butter
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic, minced
Salt and Pepper To Taste
5 cups Milk, whole or 2%
4 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese
5 aidells Chicken Apple Sausage, sliced thin
Butter to Saute' Sausage

Topping

15 Ritz Crackers, crushed

Directions

1	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2	Thinly slice chicken sausage and saute' in small amount of butter.
3	Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
4	In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, then add the onion powder, garlic, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and the mixture begins to bubble slightly. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts.
5	Add the cooked pasta and nicely browned sausage. Pour the mixture into a slightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Mix together the crushed Ritz crackers and the melted butter until add the crumbs are moistened, then sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. (Pulsing on and off in a food processor will crush your crackers nicely and then it is easy to add the butter too!)
6	Bake for 30 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes and serve,

Note

aidells sausage is low in fat as well as loaded with flavor.

Saltine crackers can be substituted for the Ritz crackers.

Pepperjack, Monterey Jack, Mexican Mix or any of your favorite cheeses can be substituted for some of the cheddar cheese.

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Posted in Chicken, Main Dish

Tagged aidells sausage, Apple Sausage, Baking, Casserole, cheese, comfort food, Healthy, Macaroni and cheese, main dish, one-dish meal, Pasta

Nothing Says Comfort Food Like Mac n’ Cheese

Posted on November 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

Psalm 86:11

¹¹ Teach me your way, LORD,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

Happy Friday! Has fall arrived in your part of the world? It has in mine. Leaves are raining down and the beautiful golds, reds, and yellows are quickly fading into a memory. I love fall and this has been one of the best I can remember. I am thankful for the change of season. In the summer we BBQ more, eat more cold dishes, salads, and ice cream. But now that fall is here I like settling into comfort foods that bring warmth and smiles all around. Earlier this week my husband remarked that a baked macaroni and cheese sure sounded good. He had been eating his own cooking for the past 10 days while mother and I did some traveling and so I am quite eager to oblige him!

I have several macaroni and cheese dishes that we like but today I settled on a Three Cheese Macaroni that blends the best of sharp cheddar, Pepper Jack, and Gruyere cheese. Gruyere is a fabulous cheese for baking. It sweet but has a slightly salty flavor it is a good melting cheese. I always try and use whole wheat pasta so you will see the macaroni is a little darker than white macaroni.

Macaroni and cheese is one of those main dishes that you can easily dress up with the addition of meat (sausage, hot dogs, ham) or throw in some chopped broccoli for flavor and color. Because my husband is quite the purest when it comes to the seriousness of Mac and Cheese, I made the bulk of it pure. But I couldn’t resist spooning a bit into a small dish, adding some leftover cooked Jimmy Dean sausage and topping with a bit more cheese. Mom gave it a thumbs up and I enjoyed the added flavor as well.

This recipe makes a BIG batch – be prepared to feed a crowd or eat it for awhile:)
My three cheeses:

One month ago today: Alice’s Chicken Salad

Macaroni & Cheese Casserole

Print recipe

Serves	6 to 8
Prep time	25 hours
Cook time	30 hours
Total time	55 hours

Baked macaroni and cheese starring sharp cheddar, pepper jack, and Gruyere cheeses.

Ingredients

16 oz Elbow pasta
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter
1/2 cup All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Salt
Salt and Pepper To Taste
5 cups Milk (whole, 2% or 1%)
2 1/2 cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1/2 cup Pepper Jack Cheese, shredded
1 cup Gruyere Cheese, shredded

For The Topping

15 Ritz Crackers, crushed
1 tablespoon Butter, melted

Directions

1	Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2	Cook the pasta according to the package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
3	In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour, then add the onion powder, garlic, salt and pepper. Gradually whisk in the milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens and the mixture begins to bubble slightly. Add the cheese and stir until the cheese melts. Add the cooked pasta and stir to coat the pasta.
4	Pour the mixture into a slightly greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Mix together the crushed Ritz crackers and the melted butter until add the crumbs are moistened, then sprinkle over the top of the pasta mixture. (Pulsing on and off in a food processor will crush your crackers nicely and then it is easy to add the butter too!)
5	Bake for 30 minutes, until golden and bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes and serve,