I awoke this morning to the sound of freezing rain hitting the bedroom window. The chickens did not want to come out of the coop this morning, and the goats whined about having to eat their grain outside.
Not that I blame them. Girlfriend didn’t want to get out of bed either. It was so cold in our house this morning the furnace even kicked on! And we have that baby set to only come on if it is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The snow was coming down, ice pellets were hitting the windows and the wind was whipping. Hubby got a snow day so he dutifully got the wood stove roaring, while I sipped coffee and got laundry started.
Normally this would have been a good day to work around the house, but today I was scheduled to work in the afternoon. As the snow came down harder I began to worry more and more about making the trip into work in my little car. I even sent a text off to my manger about staying home. But alas inventory must be counted. Damn you inventory.
So I worked, and shoveled, and scrapped the car off, and tried with all my might to get out of the driveway. Instead I got the car stuck. And somehow ended up ripping off the skid plate. Hubby wasn’t impressed. Now he had to fix said little car. Damn you weather. Damn you inventory!
Since my only other option of getting to work was hitch hiking and the snow was coming down strong, I made arrangements for going to work tomorrow instead.
And so Hubby and I started shoveling to get said stuck little car into the giant garage so he could climb underneath of her and fix the skid plate.
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We both worked up a bit of an appetite, and needed some warm comfort food.
And what better than mac and cheese? It’s the ultimate in comfort food, with its creamy, cheesy sauce and all those wonderful carbohydrates that you just know are going to go right to your hips. It’s fantastic.
So for desperate times, here is mac and cheese to save the day.
I really don’t know why boxed mac and cheese became such a thing. Is it because you don’t have to shred the cheese? Dirty 2 pans? Seems more convient? Homemade cooks up in about the same time as the boxed stuff and it blows the boxed crap away! True story.
Classic Mac and Cheese
You Will Need:
3 cups of dried elbow pasta
2 tablespoons of butter
pinch of sea salt
1 onion thinly sliced
2 mushrooms (optional) – chopped finely
3 tablespoons of butter
3 tablespoons of flour
2 cups of milk
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp of garlic powder (or if you’re a garlicky mac and cheese lover like I am go for 3/4 tsp)
lots of fresh cracked black pepper
2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese
salt to taste
Directions:
Step 1: Fill a large pot with water add a little salt and put it on the stove over high heat to get the water boiling.
Step 2: Put the first amount of butter in a sauce pan and add the onion and a pinch of sea salt. Stirring often cook the onion until caramelized over medium heat. About 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook 2 more minutes.
Step 3: Let’s go back to the boiling water, shall we? Once the water is boiling add in the 3 cups of elbow pasta. Stir and let bubble over medium heat for 7 minutes, or until cooked to your liking.
Step 4: Back to the onions and mushrooms. Add in the 3 tablespoons of butter and the 3 tablespoons of flour. Stir until the butter and flour have co-mingled and are sticking to the onion. Slowly add in the milk stirring constantly to incorporate. Add the mustard, garlic powder, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce and cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted and the cheese sauce looks divine! Add more salt if needed.
Step 5: When the pasta is done, drain well and then stir into cheese sauce. Top with some extra shredded cheddar and some Parmesan if desired.
See? Simple. Delicious. Filling. Comforting. Perfect snow day food.
Enjoy.
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