Macaroni & Cheese...

[supercarrie]

This is a well-timed thread for my family. We've never served it before at Christmas, and won't be with our prime rib tomorrow, but are picking up Macaroni Grill's mac and cheese in a little bit and serving it with Honeybaked Ham for Christmas Eve dinner!

 

[leebee]

Glad to!! I got this from a friend. I was a little skeptical, having tried the Martha Stewart/Alton Brown recipes, but this is awesome!!

8 oz box macaroni, cook according to directions
1 12 oz can evap milk
1 1/2 cups whole milk
2 c sharp grated cheddar
1 cup Velveeta, cut into slices
1/4 cup butter
2 eggs

Blend all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Pour into crockpot and cook on low for 2-3 hrs.

This would be perfect for the pot luck lunches we have at school on half-days! Can you explain the "cup of Velveeta" please? Do you cut the velveeta into chunks and then measure it? Is it 8oz of Velveeta, cut into slices? I really want to make this!

I ADORE macaroni and cheese, and will eat it from almost any source (although the canned is a little much... and I prefer Kraft over store brand boxed m&c); Stouffers is a favorite. However, people ask me to bring my homemade m&c to dinners- I make it from a basic white sauce with extra sharp cheddar and velveeta, sometimes adding a smoked or blue cheese for a different edge. I've even brought it to other's homes for T-giving for my non-meat eating child, so she can have a special holiday meal. Once again, it's the m&c side that disappears first!

 

[tvguy]

This is a well-timed thread for my family. We've never served it before at Christmas, and won't be with our prime rib tomorrow, but are picking up Macaroni Grill's mac and cheese in a little bit and serving it with Honeybaked Ham for Christmas Eve dinner!

They closed our Macaroni Grill, torn it down, and built an In and Out Burger. Only in California.

 

[leebee]

They closed our Macaroni Grill, torn it down, and built an In and Out Burger. Only in California.

My sympathies. We will drive 2 hours to Portland, just to go to Macaroni Grill! Sorry about yet another burger joint instead of great Italian food!

 

[Granny square]

They closed our Macaroni Grill, torn it down, and built an In and Out Burger. Only in California.

I'd take in and out over average darden fare any day of the week.

 

[Gumbo4x4]

For the kids table, yes. Kids are picky eaters, and mac and cheese is a safe food that most kids will eat if nothing else appeals to them. I don't want any kids have meltdowns because they haven't eaten enough all day.

For the adult table, probably not. I don't think it really goes with what we serve on Christmas. We do basically the same thing as on Thanksgiving. Turkey, potatoes, corn, stuffing, and the like.

Interesting. I can't remember the last time we had a large gathering that had food ON the tables. We always set up buffet style if it's too many to all sit at one table - actually, we usually do that even when we do all sit together

 

[Swimnoid]

This was never on our Holiday table while I was growing up or when my DD25 was growing up. But she loves it and makes a mean homemade mac n cheese so it has been added to our Holiday table when she is home to make it.

 

[tianna26]

I thought holiday dinners were about comfort foods and sharing a relaxing meal. The idea that a food doesn't look festive enough to be served at a holiday meal is just ridiculous.

I think its a culture thing.

 

[meggiebeth]

No, we'd never have macaroni cheese for Christmas. Most people here have turkey, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, other veggies and pigs in blankets. Macaroni cheese is to us very casual and simple, and we prefer a bit of indulgence at Christmas.

My grandma makes a great macaroni cheese and I can't wait to try it on new years eve...

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[Gumbo4x4]

No, we'd never have macaroni cheese for Christmas. Most people here have turkey, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, other veggies and pigs in blankets. Macaroni cheese is to us very casual and simple, and we prefer a bit of indulgence at Christmas.

Funny how perspective is different - I would definitely consider pigs in blankets a very "casual and simple" dish

 

[kirstenb1]

This would be perfect for the pot luck lunches we have at school on half-days! Can you explain the "cup of Velveeta" please? Do you cut the velveeta into chunks and then measure it? Is it 8oz of Velveeta, cut into slices? I really want to make this!

I ADORE macaroni and cheese, and will eat it from almost any source (although the canned is a little much... and I prefer Kraft over store brand boxed m&c); Stouffers is a favorite. However, people ask me to bring my homemade m&c to dinners- I make it from a basic white sauce with extra sharp cheddar and velveeta, sometimes adding a smoked or blue cheese for a different edge. I've even brought it to other's homes for T-giving for my non-meat eating child, so she can have a special holiday meal. Once again, it's the m&c side that disappears first!

I agree, it's perfect for potlucks!!! I cut off 8 oz of Velveeta (the smallest I can find locally is 12 oz), then just slice it, or cut it into chunks to help it melt faster. I was very surprised at the texture; I thought the crockpot would turn it to mush, but this recipe really turns out well every time!!

 

[kirstenb1]

Funny how perspective is different - I would definitely consider pigs in blankets a very "casual and simple" dish

Same here!! I giggled when I read that. Anyway, to me, mac n cheese is just another starch, like rice or potatoes. Ironically, although I make it for the kids, it always appears on the adults plates too!!

 

[North of Mouse]

It is good, but I see it as more of a super-casual lazy type dish, like something I would make if I don't feel like cooking. we enjoy the traditional meals even when it's just the two of us.

I think mac & cheese is mostly a Southern thing as far as serving it with a holiday meal.

It's not a Southern thing to serve it for Holiday Meals where I'm from (Louisiana), at least no one I know does it. I like the traditional meals, and that's what we always have.

Mac & cheese is more of a comfort food for us - love it, but mostly spur of the moment when the urge hits.

 

[LBIJim]

Around here it is only something you serve children. Never, ever on a holiday table.

That's pretty much my experience too. Mac & cheese was something for the picky kids, but nobody served it as part of a holiday meal.

When I was a kid and Catholics were still forbidden to eat meat on Fridays, a fairly common meal was some type of fried fish with mac & cheese and stewed tomatoes as side dishes.

My wife had a bad experience with mac & cheese. Apparently the lunch lady once forced her eat the school's gross M&C and to this day gets the willies just THINKING about it.

Jim

 

[BearcatsFan]

I agree, it's perfect for potlucks!!! I cut off 8 oz of Velveeta (the smallest I can find locally is 12 oz), then just slice it, or cut it into chunks to help it melt faster. I was very surprised at the texture; I thought the crockpot would turn it to mush, but this recipe really turns out well every time!!

Thank you for your recipe and the clarification - I was wondering, too. Hopefully this one will turn out for me. Keep your fingers crossed!

 

[Micca]

I love mac & cheese, but in our family I am the maca-ronly* It wouldn't make sense to make it just for me for big family occasions.

Instead, I will prepare this peasant dish to feast in solitude. I shall savor the soft elbows soaking in the mellow, creamy dish, and dream...that I am not alone.




*term I invented for a mac & cheese fan in a family of dedicated carnivores.

 

[kwelch10377]

I usually make it for whatever holiday meal we have a baked ham. It is a baked mac and cheese with bread crumb topping that is hardly a simple/lazy dish to make. Most kids in my family actually won't even eat my mac and cheese because according to them it isn't real mac and cheese since it is made in the oven and you can cut into it and you don't spoon it from the po on the stove into a bowl.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

We're having mac & cheese for the first time at Christmas. I've always made a huge ham & turkey & dressing Christmas feast, but my older kids are over that. All they want is simple fare, like finger sandwiches, raw veggie plater, cheese & cracker, etc. DD19 is vegetarian, so i decided to make her some hearty mac & cheese this year. We'll see how it goes over.

I was digging in my folder of my Mom's hand written recipes to get the sweet potato casserole recipe when I stumbled across her mac and cheese recipe as well. I decided to add that to the menu as well, partly to add something else for my DD19 (who is a sometimes vegetarian) to eat. I have never served it at a holiday meal before but it is a sentimental dish for my family because it reminds us of my Mom and her cooking so I think it will be a welcome addition.

 

[minniebride]

We are having it as a side this year. We ordered holiday food from Whole Foods for Christmas dinner this year & I LOVE their store made mac and cheese!

 

[tvguy]

My sympathies. We will drive 2 hours to Portland, just to go to Macaroni Grill! Sorry about yet another burger joint instead of great Italian food!

Well, I have 2 In and Outs that are closer. We enjoyed Macaroni Grill, however, to get honest our area is overrun with great Italian restaurants. What we don't have any more are any restaurants that offer German food.

There is something funky that happened with that Macaroni Grill, we ate there one week, it was boarded up the next, but Macaroni Grill was still paying the rent. There was an article in the paper about In and Out wanting to build there, but Macaroni Grill refused the end their lease early even though it was vacant.