Saturday, June 13, 2015

Easiest Mac and Cheese & Backyard Cooking

We made some of the easiest, tastiest mac and cheese ever this week.  Forget making a roux; you can totally skip that step.  This is a pretty high fat, cheesy dish, so you might not want it as a main course, but instead as a side dish.


That being said, we had it as a main course.  We're really wild like that.

Easiest Baked Mac and Cheese
(serves 4-6 as a side dish)

1 1/2 cups macaroni noodles (or mini shells)
1 cup shredded cheddar
1 cup shredded swiss
1/3 cup Parmesan (*set aside some of the cheese to top the dish with)
1 cup milk
1/3 cup sour cream (or mayo)
2 T butter
1 T flour
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/2 tsp sea or kosher salt

Cook the pasta according to the package directions.  Drain.  Return noodles to the pot.  Add everything else and stir over the heat until combined.  Pour into a buttered baking dish.  Top with more cheese if desired.  Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes, then broil for about 2 minutes.


We ate a small portion each, and topped it with some roasted veggies.


The leftovers were great warmed up the next day.

Last night we sat outside, listened to tunes, visited, and cooked meatballs and potatoes on the BBQ.  We had never cooked meatballs on the BBQ before, but I bought this cool contraption from Williams Sonoma years ago, and wanted to finally try it out.


We were really impressed with how well it worked!  The meatballs were perfect.  They held together really well, and cooked very evenly.


This weekend we are looking forward to relaxing in our backyard.  We'd much rather hang out on our own deck than go out to a restaurant or pub patio.  When we got groceries yesterday for the weekend and week ahead, we only bought stuff to BBQ.  We'll be taking full advantage of the beautiful weather by cooking outside all week.

What are you up to this weekend?  What's the weirdest thing you've ever cooked on the BBQ?

3 comments:

Nicole | Culinary Cool said...

That's a pretty neato contraption for meatballs. Also, we would totally eat that mac and cheese as a main.

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

We grilled on Friday night but it was a bit of a flop. I made Mediterranean turkey burgers and should have added more bread crumbs as they were a bit too moist and did not stay together very well on the grill. :/ But they tasted good and Phil kept saying I was being way too hard on myself! Last night we had lentil meatball and homemade marinara using the basil from my garden on top of gluten free spaghetti, which was really good! We also prefer staying in over going out, especially on nice nights when you can grill and eat outside!

I can't think of anything weird I have grilled! That meatball contraption looks cool!

thewiildmagnola said...

i do love the meatball thingy!

will try the mac and cheese.