Mac-n-Cheese if You Please...

It has been another busy week in our household, I just stopped to think of why it has been busy & can't actually remember, but it has just been non-stop. Jeff has been working longer hours because Spring is our busy season in landscaping work, and I have been equally busy at home.
Yesterday, I did have the privilege of taking a meal to some friends who have just had a new baby. Little Ava joins a big sister & big brother, and so I know that when there are already little ones at home, the meals are especially precious...at least they were for us. Truly, the meals we have received have been a tremendous blessing with every baby, but when you have toddlers/older kids walking around all day saying, "I'm huunnnngry!" it is nice to know that someone has your back in the meal department! What a joy to be able to return the favor!
So yesterday the menu was all about comfort foods, YUM! Brown Sugar Meatloaf, homemade Mac-n-Cheese, Green Bean Bundles, salad & rolls. I was going to make Lemon Bars for dessert, but ran out of time...Trader Joe's to the rescue! I purchased some ready-made Lemon Bars the frozen section...gotta love that store!
I had posted on Facebook about the meal I was cooking & received quite a few requests for the recipes, so I decided to post them here.

Brown Sugar Meatloaf

Now, I know that meatloaf isn't very exciting sounding, but I stumbled upon this recipe a couple of months ago & it has quickly (and somewhat surprisingly, but I'm not arguing!) become a kid-favorite.  I actually really enjoy it, too! I found the recipe here at AllRecipes.com. The comments were very helpful on this recipe as the original says to put the brown sugar/ketchup glaze on the bottom of the pan, but all of the reviews say to put it on top & it does turn out much better as a glaze. (I have made the recipe both ways.)
Now I have to tell you guys that I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly...I generally make modifications & substitutions, so I will list the recipe as given & then put my modifications below. 
Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup ketchup* 
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 3/4 cup milk*
• 2 eggs 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 small onion, chopped*
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 cup finely crushed saltine cracker crumbs*

*Instead of ketchup alone, I usually use half ketchup/half bbq and a splash of Worchestershire

*ALL of the comments say to use less milk & I agree, I only use about 1/2 a cup.

*I often substitute a pack of Onion Soup mix for the chopped onion. If I do that, I omit the extra salt. I still do add the pepper & ginger.

*I have used Italian breadcrumbs instead of saltine cracker crumbs.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
2. Press the brown sugar in the bottom of the prepared loaf pan and spread the ketchup over the sugar.*
3. In a mixing bowl, mix thoroughly all remaining ingredients and shape into a loaf. Place on top of the ketchup.*
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour or until juices are clear.

*Again, I recommend using the ketchup/brown sugar mixture as a glaze on top.

Melanie's Mac-n-Cheese

Okay, I LOVE to make homemade mac-n-cheese...it is rather funny because I didn't eat it at all growing up. Perhaps I only knew of the boxed stuff which I continue to dislike, but I would not touch the stuff...I also didn't eat pizza as a child...crazy! Anyway, somewhere after college & perhaps starting around the time we got married, I started liking mac-n-cheese. Honestly, I can't remember where I ever tried it, but perhaps it has something to do with Martha Stewart. As a young wife, I enjoyed watching Martha Stewart Living for recipes, tips & decorating ideas. So my very first foray into making my own mac-n-cheese was after seeing a MS segment on Macaroni & Cheese 101. It is the mac-Daddy of mac-n-cheese recipes, and boy is it good! It also costs about $400 to make when you buy all of the special cheeses and such. And somehow, when I would make that recipe, every pot & pan in my kitchen would end up dirty! But it is a great primer & I made it for years...but over time I have streamlined that recipe a bit to make it more manageable & a little less time consuming. So, here goes:

I use one pound of pasta...rotini, shells, gemelli, penne, elbow, or my personal favorite, cavatappi (corkscrews.) I also sometimes like to use whole grain pasta, but it has a more dense texture. Cook the pasta slightly past al dente per package directions.

To make the sauce, you start by making a basic bechamel/white sauce. First comes the roux: For one pound of pasta, melt about 3-4 Tbsp of butter & a little olive oil (a turn or so in the pan) in a large sauce pan. When the butter is melted sprinkle in an equal amount of flour (i.e. 3-4 tablespoons of flour.) So you basically have a 1:1 ratio of butter to flour (this is the roux.) Do NOT burn the butter/flour. Stir constantly until the flour just starts to turn golden & bubbly. If you under-cook the flour it will taste, well, raw & flour-y, not good. To the roux gradually add milk whisking constantly. I think I probably end up adding at least 2 cups of milk. Add about 3/4 of a cup & whisk constantly until the sauce starts to thicken...it may seem thin for a while, but like magic the milk will be absorbed into the roux & the sauce will thicken, then add more milk. Continue doing this until all of the milk is added. At this point I will also add a few turns of freshly ground black pepper & some freshly grated nutmeg. 

The cheese! I generally use at least 1 pound of grated cheese, usually a combination of sharp cheddar, white cheddar and Gruyere. I will use my food processor shred a bunch of cheese & then save any that I don't use. You probably cannot add too much cheese!

Add about 2-3 cups (or more) of the shredded cheese to the bechamel sauce & stir until melted. 

Add the cooked & drained pasta to the cheese sauce mixture & stir to coat, mmmmm! (By the way, this cheese sauce also makes an excellent fondue!)

Mmmmm, mouth-watering!

Pour the mac-n-cheese into a baking dish & top with more grated cheese & pop it into the oven on 350 degrees until the cheese is melted. Or if you like a bread topping you can top the cheese with breadcrumbs & then bake. Pret-T yummy if I do say so myself!

Note: This is only half of the batch I made yesterday & the dish is very large/deep. This recipe makes a TON of mac-n-cheese! 

Green Bean Bundles

I discovered this recipe over at Kelly's Korner recipe blog & I tasted it for the first time at Jenny's house about a year ago. I have not made the recipe until this week & I've made it two times in one week! 

Ingredients:
2 or 3 cans of whole green beans
Bacon slices, cut in half
1 stick of butter
1 cup of brown sugar
tsp of garlic salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter and stir in brown sugar & garlic salt/powder. (I also added onion powder & fresh ground black pepper.)

Wrap a handful of green beans in half a slice of bacon. Continue until you have used all of the green beans. Arrange the bundles in a baking dish. Pour butter mixture over bundles. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes; then broil for about 5 minutes. Wow, these are GOOD!

Before baking

The first time I made this recipe, I used the canned whole green beans like the recipe calls for, but the second time I picked up a bag of fresh microwaveable green beans from Trader Joes & used those. Either works fine! I liked how they fresh beans kept their bright green color. Also, I actually reduced the butter to 1/2 a stick and reduced the brown sugar to slightly more than 1/2 cup. I found that one whole stick of butter just produced way too much glaze for the amount of beans I had (and I used 3 cans.)

After baking, look at all that carmelized goodness!

Well, there you have my recipes. Hope that you enjoy! And if you decide to give them a try, Bon Appetit!