Mondays are my day off work from my 'day' job so I pulled out my recipes and made my grocery shopping list so I could knock that off my 'to do' list. On Thanksgiving day, we go to my husband's family, where I'll be bringing a couple of desserts and then to my parents' home for dinner where I'm bringing ham, sweet potato casserole, and macaroni and cheese. On Friday, I'll be cooking at my house for my family and the other side of my husband's family-turkey, ham, mac & cheese, sweet potato casserole, squash casserole, green beans, deviled eggs, and rolls. For dessert, we're having pumpkin pie and cake. That's a lot of carbs, eh? I'm usually pretty good about that, but Thanksgiving is definitely a cheat day for me. :) So, I'm at the grocery store. It's super crowded today. I finally have all the items on my list and am in line to pay with quite a few items on the conveyor belt when it hits me that I didn't get anything to inject the turkey with. (My husband smokes the turkey but injects it with this yummy Cajun butter stuff). With so much stuff already out of the cart, I realize that I'm going to have to pay, put my stuff in the car, then go back in to fight the crowd so I can grab the turkey injector stuff, and then stand in line again. Ugh. What happened next is why I'm writing this post. I look up and see my mom pushing a cart near one of the endcaps. She hasn't seen me, so I say her name. She looks up and smiles. As she's still shopping, I tell her what I forgot as I'm still unloading items from my cart and on to the conveyor belt and ask Mom if she'll pick up a bottle and I will get it and pay her for it on Thursday. Wouldn't you know that she rushes off and goes to grab a bottle for me while I'm still in line and gets back with it prior to my checking out? It struck me how blest I am to have my mama and how even though I'm my age, she still comes to my rescue on a regular basis. Both my parents do, really, but today, in the grocery store while doing my Thanksgiving shopping, it was my mama who wore the superhero cape.
As the holidays approach, there are many things I am grateful for and family is at the top of that list. As I stress making sure I have everything I need for the various meals/get-togethers, today was a good reminder of what it's really about, appreciating being together and how truly blest we really are.
I hope each of you have an amazing week filled with wonderful things to be grateful for-friends, family, delicious food, good health, etc.
I'm going to share my favorite Mac & Cheese recipe. This is a go-to for me for pot-lucks and family gatherings and is so easy to make. I usually boil the macaroni the night before, put it in large ziploc bag, toss it with the oil, and store in the refrigerator until the following morning when I'm ready to put it in the crock pot. If you do this, add an extra hour to your crock-pot cooking time as your starting with cold noodles rather than hot ones. :)
Crock Pot Mac & Cheese
16 ounces Elbow Macaroni
3 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil
1 16 ounce block of Velveeta
1 stick of butter
1 cup of milk
2 cans of Evaporated milk
Boil the macaroin per the package directions. Drain. Put in container and toss with oil. Once lightly coated with oil, add your macaroni to your crockpot. Cut your Velveeta into chunks. Add chunked Velveeta, butter, milk, and evaporated milk. Stir this well. Cover. Stir again occasionally and add additional milk if/as needed to achieve desired creaminess. Cook on low for 2 hours. Serve.
You can cut recipe in half if needed. You can add salt or pepper to taste preferences. I don't, but I know some folks like their mac & cheese peppered. I've been known to sprinkle shredded colby-jack cheese across the top prior to serving, but that's just because I like super cheesy mac & cheese.
If you're in the mood for more yummy recipes, be sure to check out the ones in the back of my Hallmark Publishing Wrapped Up in Christmas books.
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