Mac & Cheese

This morning we had worship in the park. I love having church outside because nature consistently reminds me of how great God is. But, this is supposed to be about food and did we have a lot of that today! Everyone brings a side dish and after the service we eat and if you're me and your husband is Josiah Brown, you then watch the kids (husband included) play football (that could be a whole blog on it's own as those kids are too funny.)

I made mac & cheese as my side dish. The last couple events we've had I always make this twice baked potato casserole, which is amazing but it's complicated and I needed something I could make this morning. Mac & cheese is everyone's favorite. It's especially good if you're part of the Hudson household. I'm not sure mine will ever be as good as Garland Hudson's secret recipe but I keep trying.

Here's what I did: 2lbs large elbow macaroni cooked al dente and drained. That's the easy part. For the sauce I melted 4 tbsp of butter in a sauce pan and added a quarter cup of cornstarch. I added one cup of cream and one cup of whole milk slowly, stirring the whole time. I seasoned the milk mixture with salt, pepper, ground mustard, and garlic powder. Next time I will add a quarter of an onion chopped. To that I then added a can of cream of mushroom soup. Once the the soup was incorporated, I added 8oz sharp cheddar and 8oz Colby/Monterrey. This really makes the sauce thick and creamy. I mixed it with the noodles and spread more cheese on top and baked it 10 minutes at 350 (just to make the cheese on top melt.) It was pretty good. I think next time I will only use sharp cheddar but maybe white and yellow. Also, I think baking it dries it out some so I may skip that part all together. If not skip it then at least add another cup of milk so the creaminess stays there.

I didn't get to take any home, so I guess it must have been good. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty good attempt but I'm gonna keep trying to make it better :-)