Baked Macaroni & Cheese

It’s Wednesday. Where does time really go? I mean, really. I lose track of time a lot and {poof} stumble into a new day with a cloud of dust swirling in behind me. Sometimes it is hard to believe this is my life. I never imagined it to be this way. In fact, I thought that I would be queen of the universe by now {apparently I had a vivid imagination as a young {only} child}. Please do not be fearful, I easily let go of those aspirations years ago, but if I was measuring my life on those dreams I once had, especially of being queen of the universe, I would consider myself a failure.

I remember being young and thinking how easy life must be and I wanted it to start immediately. Let me take you back to a very vivid moment in my childhood. Picture this: an overweight little girl with no brothers or sisters is sitting Indian – style on her bed with a notepad, playing school like ordinary kids do {with their brothers & sisters}. However, this little girl was all alone with her thoughts and notebook. She imagined she was graduating from high school and was just accepted to Notre Dame, where she would be wildly brilliant and popular. The four years she spent at Notre Dame would be magical and filled with football games, late night study sessions and aspirations of the future. She would go on to graduate with honors and have a slate of acceptance letters from prestigious law schools across the country. She was who they wanted. And she giggled with excitement over the prospect of changing the world. Eventually this young girl would march down the cobblestone roads of one of the most prestigious areas in this country and excel in human rights and international law studies at Georgetown University’s School of Law. There she would find her soul mate; she would find her reason for being and her drive to do some good in this world. After numerous corporate offers she would accept one, cringing all the way to the 30^th floor of some God-Forsaken corporate law firm where nobody had a heart. There she would stay until she successfully paid her student loan debt. After several years of corporate damnation, she would wave her theoretical middle finger to the corporate world as she skipped off to do what she loved, to do what she was born to do – she would march off into the international world ready to actually help people. She would fight for human rights, she would demand security and civil privileges allotted to those most powerful countries in the world, but she would do it for those whose voices were discarded. Full of whimsy and hope, of prestige and accomplishment this young girl, without any brothers and sisters, would set off to change the world and do the right thing.

Enter today: she blogs.

See how time gets away from a young kid? Here I am, sitting at my computer, listening to some movie in a foreign language and sipping on my iced caramel latte wishing I was off on a foreign adventure securing the lives of people in crevices of the world once forgotten. My passion remains. My hope is dwindling. I feel oppressed by my current situation. It is not good for the human psyche to hear the words I whisper in my head every single day. Those words kill dreams.

Wow, did I really just type all of that?! I actually want to backspace the hell out of my entire page of ramblings, but I will not. I will leave it in hopes that somebody who reads it will be thankful to know a piece of who I am; to know who I wanted to become; to know what my aspirations still could be.

Today I blog. I blog about food. It’s so weird. In my daydreams I thought I would hire somebody to cook for me or eat at prestigious restaurants in modish towns across the world. I have been lucky enough to eat fabulous food from around the world, but instead it was on vacation or learning some remnants of a political system that suppressed its citizens and impoverished its country.

In light of all I just revealed about my personal thoughts, I feel a need to give you a delicious recipe. If you do not know already, I love macaroni and cheese. I am always on the lookout for new renditions or twists on macaroni and cheese. I have encountered some very delicious versions and some not so delicious versions. It’s always a disappointment to me when macaroni & cheese is not good. It is very similar to a crushed dream. Today I have a new-to-me version of Macaroni & Cheese. I will render my critique after the recipe!

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: 1/6^th
Calories: 336.6
Fat: 16.2 g
Carbohydrates: 32.6 g
Fiber: 3.6 g
Protein: 14.5 g
Points+: 9

 Here is what you will need:

Recipe adapted from the Southern Plate

• 2 cups uncooked Rotini
• ¾ tablespoon flour
• Salt, garlic powder, pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon red pepper flake
• 4 tablespoons faux butter
• 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese powder
• 2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
• Cook pasta until tender, drain
• Mix all dry ingredients together, set aside

• Grease baking dish
• Place half of the macaroni inside
• Sprinkle with half of the flour mixture over top and top with half of the margarine, sliced into small slices*
• Sprinkle 1 cup cheese over it
• Repeat
• Pour milk over all*

• Cover with foil & bake for 35 minutes
• Remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes

* This recipe was fairly easy to follow and simple to make. However, I learned that I am not a huge fan of adding dry ingredients {like flour} to noodles and baking it. The problem comes if the milk does not mix in with the dry ingredients after you pour it over the macaroni. I would suggest pouring milk over each layer to make sure the flour mixture is completely wet.

I hope this advice helps you a little bit in your macaroni & cheese adventures! Aside from that little issue, this version of one of my favorite dishes was delicious and packed full of yummy flavor.

I hope you give it a try {but I suggest you making sure the flour mixture is completely wet so you don’t get a bite of flour after you take it out of the oven!}

Until Next Time,

Happy Macaroni & Cheesin’

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Comments

[Bobbi]

I love your honesty Mel and I want you to know that you do make a difference in peoples lives, even if it is just friends you meet on Facebook. I am one of those friends :) I have given you an award so stop by my blog and pick it up!!

http://bobbiskozykitchen.blogspot.com/2011/10/my-first-award.html

[Dave at eRecipeCards.com]

Hello... I am visiting from Bobbi's Kozy kitchen (I am also one of her award nominees). Just a terrific looking blog. SO many details, so many photos... exactly what we are looking for... Anyway, I just love your blog, and hope you will consider this heartfelt invitation...

Greetings. This is my first time on your blog, but you have a terrific one. I am always on the look out for new blogs, new ideas. I especially appreciate all the details you do. Great photos makes it seem like anyone can replicate the recipe!

I am asking, would you please consider posting a few of your favorite recipes on erecipecards.com
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It is a tool for bloggers to see and to be seen. Your posts would fit in perfectly.

in addition, all photos, recipe titles as well as your blog name would link directly back to your blog. Thus giving you new attention and potentially new readers.

Or, if you just want to take a look at a lot of fellow food bloggers all in one place. A great learning experience to get ideas about how to establish your own blogging voice!

Please take a look. If you have any ideas or questions, please do not hesitate to write

Dave
http://erecipecards.com/
Contact@eRecipeCards.com

[Nisreen Hawley]

Here is a little suggestion for the flour issue. When I'm making mac n cheese I first make a roux, so if you take your flour and spices, add your smart balance or butter to make the roux then add milk, whisk until it begins to thicken and pour the whole mixture over the pasta, toss it around, add to the pan, top with the cheese, it should be nice and smooth :)

[Isabelle at home]

OK so maybe one day you could hire me to be your personal cook (see I didn't say chef because....well because we both know I am not a chef!) I like your dreams. I had such weird aspiration as a child I dare not say out loud...maybe one day :) If you want to and believe me you TOTALLY don't have to but go check out my mac n' cheese recipe...I think you might like it. I do add flour but I make a bechamel and then LOTS of cheese. Just a thought. Although I am curious about the cheese powder...interesting...OK I am taking too much of your time ;)