Macaroni & Cheese

Growing up my mom made macaroni and cheese, homemade of course, with elbow macaroni.

When we moved into our stepmother’s house after my mom passed, my little sister Ruthie and I made Kraft Macaroni and Cheese.

As I grew older and had children of my own, I’d make homemade macaroni and cheese and Kraft Macaroni and Cheese—as kids like that.

When I started to date current husband, we went to his folks on occasion. Maurine (mother-in-law) was ‘famous’ for her macaroni and cheese (and her potato salad). She used what she called “macaroni macaroni” noodles. Long macaroni noodles—like thick spaghetti hollowed. You could drink through the noodle like a straw. I never knew they made such a noodle—and it does make good macaroni and cheese. It’s what I use now… unless I don’t have any on hand and want to make mac and cheese, then I might use any kind of noodle.

My husband’s folks are no longer living, but when the rest of the family gets together, you can bet there’s usually Maurine’s version of mac and cheese.

Cook a package of Macaroni Noodles (I can only find these noodles at Schnucks—here in St. Louis, MO). Butter a casserole dish, add a layer of noodles, sprinkle with salt and pepper, top with hunks of cut up Colby cheese, dot with a little of butter and repeat. Top the noodles with some slices or shredded Colby cheese, dot with butter. Add milk—enough that when you tip the casserole dish you will see the milk starting to appear. Maurine always liked to use more milk, so give it an extra splash if you want. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for about a good hour, or longer, until golden brown and bubbly.

Some folks like the top of this to be crunchy, which I’m not a fan of, however even leaving the lid on makes a crunchy top. But you could take the lid off the last 10 minutes of cooking for any extra crunch.

Ingredients:
Macaroni Noodles
Milk
Colby cheese
butter, salt and pepper

Rating & Type: E/V

Tuna Casserole

Our first Casserole Wednesday is: Tuna Casserole

I have a version of tuna casserole and then my husband has a version of tuna casserole. His seems to be more like someone who has Alzheimer’s and couldn’t remember if they were making tuna casserole or tuna salad.

I’ll start with mine:
1 can tuna (whatever type you prefer) drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
milk – fill up the empty can of soup
Elbow macaroni noodles, but I’ve used shells, corkscrew, egg—whatever's on hand.
Cheddar cheese (amount is up to you)

While you boil the noodles, drain the tuna, put in casserole dish and add the soup and milk and stir together. After the noodles have cooked and drained, add to the tuna/soup mixture. If you use shredded cheese, you can mix whatever amount you want in with the mixture or if you use hunks of cheese, then take pieces of cheese and place throughout the casserole. Top with additional cheese or bread crumbs or crushed up dried onion rings or corn flakes or… you get the idea. I use cheese.

Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. The pictures are all from my recipe. The reason it doesn't look as golden brown is probably because instead of topping it with cheddar cheese, I used Guyre cheese (that's what I had on hand).

Husband’s Tuna Casserole:
Boil noodles and while that’s cooking, open a can of tuna (drained), dump in bowl along with some mayonnaise (I use Miracle Whip), some pickle relish (your choice on amount), mix that up (yep, it’s like tuna salad) and then add the drained noodles. Eat right away while still on the warm side. It does seem weird, but it’s not bad.