Smoky Mac 'n Cheese

"My mother used to make mac n' cheese with tomatoes, so when I tried this recipe which I adapted from a canned tomato ad we loved it, even though it was quite different from Mom's. It is very different from our usual mac 'n cheese (which I already posted)and very good! Note 1: When I made this recipe I wanted to use up some evaporated milk that I had in the refrigerator - which was 1/2 can - this can easily be changed to using all cream or all evaporated milk to equal 1 1/2 cups total cream/evaporated milk. Note 2: cheese--I had about 1/2 pound of smoked and about 1/2 pound of regular Cheddar--although you should use some smoked Cheddar, I think his recipe is very adaptable to use whatever cheese is on hand and my amounts of cheese may be a little off by more or less than the amount listed in the ingredients as I did not measure the cheese but used what I had on hand. Note 3: I didn't use the hot dogs or little smokies but thought they would be great in this casserole."
 
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photo by DianaEatingRichly photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by DianaEatingRichly photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by DianaEatingRichly photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by DianaEatingRichly photo by DianaEatingRichly
photo by PaulaG photo by PaulaG
Ready In:
1hr
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
4-6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 375-degrees F.
  • Cook macaroni according to package directions, drain.
  • Spray a 13 x 9 baking pan with Pam (cooking spray) or grease pan and set aside.
  • In a large saucepan heat cream and evaporated milk (see note 1 in description), mustard, salt and pepper to boiling.
  • Reduce heat and stir in cheese (see note 2 in description)with a whisk or a wooden spoon until melted and smooth.
  • REMOVE FROM HEAT.
  • Stir in tomatoes, onions and hotdogs or little smokies(if using).
  • Put macaroni in baking pan and pour sauce over, mixing in the cheese sauce well so all the macaroni is well covered (this can be done in a separate saucepan or bowl but by mixing in the pan there is one less dish to wash).
  • In a small bowl mix together bread crumbs and Parmesan (or if you are making your own bread crumbs in a blender you can add the Parmesan and just whirl the bread crumbs and Parmesan in the blender -- one less dish to wash).
  • Sprinkle breadcrumb/Parmesan mixture over the macaroni/cheese in the baking dish.
  • Bake for 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

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Reviews

  1. Rather than use smoked cheese, I think making this, then putting it in a 225 degree smoker at full smoke for an hour and a half, would make it taste out of this world.
     
  2. Going to try this. My mom was from a very poor family. She used to make elbow macaroni, and add a can of peeled, stewed tomatoes, chopped. If it needed any liquid, it was either milk or a touch of mayo. They could not buy cheese. Reading of your mom's mac n cheese w/ tomato reminded me of this as a hard times poor man's casserole in the past. We still make it only mac and tomatoes as a pleasant comfort food of our childhood days. Kudos.
     
  3. I used spam instead of hot dogs. The whole family LOVED it!
     
  4. This makes very generous servings. I cut the recipe in half (except for the tomatoes) and used a smoked processed cheese along with the cheddar. DH said he really enjoyed the addition of the tomatoes. I left off the hot dogs this time but I agree that they would be very good with this dish.
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I love cooking and trying different foods, but my favorite cookbooks are now Weight Watchers or low fat/low cal cookbooks as I tend to try and make low fat/low cal recipes. I lost over 90 pounds on Weight Watchers and have maintained for over a year now -- so my cooking/eating habits have changed drastically following my weight loss and to keep it off!</p>
 
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