Friday, January 13, 2012

Macaroni & Cheese

The week after chemo, my DH loves comfort food & that's what I like to make for him.  Several years ago,  my DIL made this wonderful recipe from Giada De Laurentiis & it immediately became a family favorite.  The original recipe can be found here.  I have adapted it because,  making it according to the original, it would come out runny.  Here's the adapted version  of wonderful comfort food.


13.25 ounces of pasta 
(I love Dreamfields pasta, for low-carb eaters)
2 cups heavy cream                                                                  
2 cups milk (I use 2% )
2 T. flour
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
2 cups Italian Blend cheese
3/4 cup finely grated Parmesan
3/4 cup grated mozzarella
4 ounces ham, diced, optional
1 T. dried parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Butter a 9 x 13" glass baking dish.

Par-cook the pasta in boiling salted water about 5 minutes.  Drain well, but do not rinse.

Whisk the cream, milk, flour, salt & pepper in a large bowl.  Stir in 1 cup of the Italian Blend cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and 1/2 cup mozzarella, ham & parsley.  Add the pasta & toss to coat.
Transfer the pasta mixture to the baking dish.  Toss the remaining 1 cup Italian Blend cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan & 1/4 cup mozzarella in a small bowl to blend.  Sprinkle the cheese mixture over the pasta mixture. 
Bake until the sauce bubbles & the cheese melts & begins to brown on top, about 20 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Makes 6 servings
I am sharing this with:

12 comments:

  1. My mother used to add ham to her mac and cheese too. It's one of my favorite comfort foods.

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  2. I have some leftover ham I want to use...I will make this tomorrow!

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  3. I like the addition of ham and parsley flakes - adds a definitive flavor to the usual macaroni and cheese.Looks so delicious and I could almost have half of it all by myself:)Greedy me!!

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  4. Kitty, this looks like the best Mac & Cheese ever! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

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  5. Ooh this looks especially warm and yummy!

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  6. Yummy! I love ham and this sounds so good! Thank you for popping in to see me.
    Be a sweetie,
    Shelia :)

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  7. Oh yum! This is the kind of dish I'd eat until my stomach hurt. You just can't beat mac 'n cheese unless it's with mashed potatoes!

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  8. One of my favorite dishes! Thanks for the reminder that I need to put it on the menu ;o) Thank you for stopping by for a visit.

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  9. O, Kitty, this sounds sooo good. I LOVE homemade mac and cheese.:)

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  10. All I can say is I wish I had a big dish of this sitting in front of me right now!

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  11. I love the addition of the ham and the combination of cheeses. I haven't made mac & cheese in a while, but I'm pretty sure I have all these ingredients on hand and it looks like that will change tonight! Thanks for the recipe and the dinner idea!

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  12. Good Afternoon Kitty,
    Your recipe is calling me into the kitchen, it looks so good. I can surly see why it would be comforting to someone going through Chemo. This is a great recipe! Hope you have a great week end and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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