Mac & Cheese: The Formula

As a kid I never really liked macaroni and cheese. The stuff in the blue box just never did it for me, and for a long time I thought that's what mac & cheese was supposed to taste like. And then one day I had the real stuff; that was the day my lifespan decreased by a decade or so. But it's probably worth it now that I know the amazingness which is mac & cheese.

Oh and bonus, it's super easy to remember the recipe, since everything is in amounts of 2.

Basic Macaroni & Cheese

• 2 c. macaroni (or any small pasta you have in your pantry)
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 c. milk
• 2 c. sharp cheddar cheese

Cook macaroni in salted water until almost al dente.

In the mean time, melt butter in 10-inch oven-safe saute pan (I love my cast iron pan for this), then add flour. Stir for about a minute to cook out the starchy taste, then slowly add the milk, stirring constantly. Let the mixture simmer until it gets thick. Add the cheese, stirring until melted, then season well with salt and pepper (I like lots of pepper). Stir in the cooked and drained pasta, then pop into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. (I also like to add a cup of cheese to the top, but it doesn't fit into my nifty little 2 pattern.) Serves 2 as a meal (...or 1 if you are really hungry) or 4 as a side.

The variations

The great thing about this recipe is it's so easy to adapt. You can use the butter to saute vegetables or meats (mmm.... bacon) then add your flour straight to the sauteed stuff. Proceed along the rest of the recipe as normal. Some combinations I've made:

• Bacon. I guess it's not a combination so much but bacon makes anything better. The first mac & cheese I made myself had bacon and instead of cooking it in the oven I used the smoker. Love.
• Bacon, onion, mushroom: like above, but for the sophisticated pallet. 
• Grilled corn, peppers, onions make a nice summer side dish.
• Hot dogs, chili, mustard and onions make chili dog mac & cheese. Oh. My. Goodness.
• Chorizo, red pepper, onion, cumin, hot sauce, for a mexican flair.

Leftovers: Pineapple, Chorizo, Coconut Milk

So what do you do when you have extra ingredients from recipes? You make more recipes! These aren't especially creative, but I did actually make them and they were all kinds of tastey.

Chorizo Tacos

• 1 link of chorizo
• 1-inch slice of onion
• 1/2-inch slice of pineapple
• 2 corn tortillas
• Cilantro, lime, and chipotle flavored Tabasco sauce for garnish

This is a great, quick meal for one, using leftovers from Tacos al Pastor a la Ohio (It's what I had for lunch, in fact). Keep the pineapple core in tact for now, and grill the chorizo, onion, and pineapple. (I like to stick a toothpick through the onion to keep them from falling apart.) Chop up into bite-sized pieces, place on the tortillas, garnish, and enjoy.

Coconut Pudding

• 2 c. coconut milk 
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 tsp vanilla

In a small bowl, whip the egg yolks until smooth. Then in a 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stir the milk, cornstarch and sugar until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken. It may thicken unevenly, so you may want to use a whisk to keep it from being lumpy. Add a whisk-full of hot milk mixture to the eggs and blend. Continue adding the milk to the eggs until you can feel the heat through the bowl. Next, pour the eggs into the milk and continue stirring over low heat until blended and smooth. Take off of heat and stir in the vanilla.

You can stick this in the fridge and wait until it cools down... but I couldn't wait that long and just ate it warm.

The beauty of this recipe is that it's easily divisible by 4 and you can base the measurements off of how much leftover coconut milk you have left. I used 1/4 can earlier today to make this great recipe from TheFoodInMyBeard, so I reduced everything by 1/4. And I didn't have to get out the calculator!