Creamy Macaroni

Henry and I are hungry for macaroni and cheese tonight, so we're going to make an adapted version of Paula Deen's crock-pot macaroni found here. Hope it turns out well!

Add one pound of meat, seasoned generously with Worcestershire sauce to noodles for an extra kick and a more filling result.

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3 cups Elbow macaroni (1 pound box should do)
1/2 stick butter
1 cup milk
1 pound sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 pound Velveeta cheese
1 clove garlic
2 eggs


Boil noodles with 1 crushed clove of garlic until soft. While noodles are cooking, brown meat in frying pan while seasoning generously with Worcestershire. Cook meat completely.

When noodles are done, strain them, then put them back in original pot over low heat. Add 1/2 pound of Velveeta cut into quarters. Cut 1/2 stick butter into pieces and stir them into the mixture. When Velveeta is completely melted, add all of meat and stir in.

When meat is mixed with Velveeta and noodles, pour noodles partially into casserole dish. Add some of the grated sharp cheddar and some of the grated Parmesan cheese to layer on top of noodles. Pour second layer of noodles and add more sharp cheddar and Parmesan. Pour the remainder of noodles into dish.

Beat eggs and milk together and pour generously over casserole dish. Then, cover top of dish with the rest of grated cheese.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes on 350 heat.

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Southern Cheddar Biscuits

Cheesy buttermilk buscuits: They have a Southern hominess about them that make them irresistible. The frame of the recipe is adapted from Alton Brown's recipe for Southern Biscuits, but I added a few of my own elements.

If you just want plain buscuits, take out the cheddar, Parmesan and garlic powder. They are delicious anyway!

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Prep:
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons shortening
1 cup buttermilk, chilled
1 cup sharp yellow cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

After cooked:
2 tablespoons melted butter
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes (optional)

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, butter, and shortening in large bowl with fork until sandy texture is achieved. Add milk, cheese, and garlic powder. Mix dough by hand until chunky, very sticky dough is achieved.

After placing dough on floured surface, sprinkling flour on it, and folding it over itself 3-4 times, spread dough into 1-inch thick layer over floured wax paper and cut dough into circles with a diameter no larger than 3 inches. Place biscuits close together on greased cookie sheet (they will not rise or expand much). Bake for 15-20 minutes on 450 heat until biscuits are light brown on top and until visible cheese is dark brown.

Remove biscuits from oven and brush melted butter with parsley flakes on top. Makes 10-12 biscuits.
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Henry and I made 3 batches of these, refining them each time. This is the final recipe that we produced. We had these with sausage, egg, and (more) cheese, and it was delicious! This will definitely be a staple of our home-cooked meals and breakfast foods.

Pictures to come!