Dinner Tonight - November 18th (and fudge making)

Homemade Mac and Cheese
Perfect for a Sunday evening meal

On the last Sunday of the month our church prepares a dinner so we always stay for lunch.  The prepared meal is a fundraiser and this month the offering money went towards the youth group to help fund their winter retreat.  The youth actually prepare the meal with some help.  Today we had ham and beans with cornbread and/or creamed turkey on biscuits along with salads and dessert. 

This afternoon I decided to make some fudge. I had some sweetened condensed milk in my pantry that was due to expire in a week so I tried the recipe on the can. I have always made holiday fudge using the evaporated milk, marshmallow creme and chocolate chip recipe.  After using the sweetened condensed milk recipe I will use no other from now on.  It was easier, simpler and made a much better tasting fudge.  When I was a child my mom would occasionally make fudge on a cold Sunday afternoon. She never measured a thing.  Not me, I want a recipe.

I made two batches.

Super Easy Fudge

1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
dash salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Line an 8 or 9 inch square pan with waxed paper and spray with non stick coating. 

Combine the chocolate chips, salt and milk.  Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until melted.  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla.  Pour into the prepared pan and chill at least 2 hours or til firm.  Remove from pan by lifting edges of the wax paper and cut into squares. 

Fudge Option Two

Before pouring into the prepared pan, stir in 2 cups miniature marshmallows, but don't mix.  Let them melt a little and then pour into the pan.  The marshmallows then are streaked throughout the fudge.

Fudge Option Three

Instead of using 3 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, use 2 cups semi sweet and 1 cup milk chocolate chips.

I made two batches of fudge and my plan is to set aside a few pieces now for my family and to freeze the rest for later on in December.

Dinner Tonight

For dinner tonight I made homemade mac and cheese.  My husband doesn't like this dish and he ate the leftover pizza (which he was happy to have).  My son and I love homemade mac and cheese.  It is definitely "comfort" food and is an inexpensive meal.  I served it with a simple tossed salad. 

I decided to make this casserole for dinner because I have some cheese that I need to use up and I also have a lot of bread crumbs.  I made the bread crumbs last week from stale bread and crackers and I keep them in a ziplock bag in the freezer.  These crumbs are perfect to coat chicken or in this case, for topping on a casserole.  I do not add any seasonings to the bread crumbs when I make them as I prefer to add the seasonings to whatever I am using them for at the time.  In this case, I topped the casserole with unseasoned crumbs.  Here is my recipe: 

Mac and Cheese

2 cups raw macaroni
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Tablespoons flour
1/2 salt
Dash pepper
few shakes of onion powder
2 cups milk
8 (oz.) processed American Cheese (about 11 slices of cheese)
Bread crumbs

Cook the macaroni til tender and drain.  In a saucepan melt the butter; blend in the flour, salt, pepper and onion powder.  Stir until this mixture is blended and bubbly.  Add the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until it has thickened.  Add the cheese and stir til melted.  Add the macaroni to the cheese sauce and pour into a greased casserole dish ((I used an 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 dish). 

I topped the casserole with a little grated sharp cheddar that I had in the fridge and I sprinkled it with the breadcrumbs.  Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Makes 6 servings.