Smoky Mac 'n Cheese
photo by DianaEatingRichly
- Ready In:
- 1hr
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni
- 3⁄4 cup evaporated milk (about 1/2 can, see note 1 in description)
- 3⁄4 cup whipping cream (or heavy cream, see note in description)
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- 1⁄2 teaspoon kosher salt (or other coarse salt)
- 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 8 ounces smoked cheddar cheese, grated
- 8 ounces medium cheddar, grated (see note 2 in description)
- 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
- 4 green onions, diced
- 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1⁄3 cup breadcrumbs
- 2 -4 hot dogs, cooked, sliced (optional, see note 3 in description) or 2 -4 Little Smokies sausages, cooked (optional, see note 3 in description)
directions
- Preheat oven to 375-degrees F.
- Cook macaroni according to package directions, drain.
- Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan with Pam (cooking spray) or grease pan and set aside.
- In a large saucepan heat cream and evaporated milk (see note 1 in description), mustard, salt and pepper to boiling.
- Reduce heat and stir in cheese (see note 2 in description)with a whisk or a wooden spoon until melted and smooth.
- REMOVE FROM HEAT.
- Stir in tomatoes, onions and hotdogs or little smokies(if using).
- Put macaroni in baking pan and pour sauce over, mixing in the cheese sauce well so all the macaroni is well covered (this can be done in a separate saucepan or bowl but by mixing in the pan there is one less dish to wash).
- In a small bowl mix together bread crumbs and Parmesan (or if you are making your own bread crumbs in a blender you can add the Parmesan and just whirl the bread crumbs and Parmesan in the blender -- one less dish to wash).
- Sprinkle breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture over the macaroni/cheese in the baking dish.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
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Reviews
-
Going to try this. My mom was from a very poor family. She used to make elbow macaroni, and add a can of peeled, stewed tomatoes, chopped. If it needed any liquid, it was either milk or a touch of mayo. They could not buy cheese. Reading of your mom's mac n cheese w/ tomato reminded me of this as a hard times poor man's casserole in the past. We still make it only mac and tomatoes as a pleasant comfort food of our childhood days. Kudos.
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<p>I love cooking and trying different foods, but my favorite cookbooks are now Weight Watchers or low fat/low cal cookbooks as I tend to try and make low fat/low cal recipes. I lost over 90 pounds on Weight Watchers and have maintained for over a year now -- so my cooking/eating habits have changed drastically following my weight loss and to keep it off!</p>