Yummy Dinner

Isn't it hilarious how I covered Diego with this macaroni and cheese?

This was a new recipe for macaroni & cheese. It was scrum-dilly-umptious! Served with steamed broccoli and a classic favorite, tomatoes. ;)

The girls ate every last bite of it. They loved it all.

Here's the recipe for the mac & cheese - I left out the onions, paprika and the bay leaf and doubled the recipe so I could take it to a potluck tomorrow. For bread crumbs, I use scraps of crust (Emma hates the crust) that I froze and put through a food processor. I have no clue what Alton Brown is referring to regarding bread crumbs but these worked just fine.

Oh, and to steam brocolli, I just chop it all up, even the stems, and add to a small amount of boiling water, butter and salt and cook till tender but not mushy.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Recipe courtesy Alton Brown Show: Good Eats Episode: For Whom the Cheese Melts 2

1/2 pound elbow macaroni 3 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons flour 1 tablespoon powdered mustard 3 cups milk 1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced 1 bay leaf 1/2 teaspoon paprika 1 large egg 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded 1 teaspoon kosher salt Fresh black pepper Topping: 3 tablespoons butter 1 cup panko bread crumbs Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.