Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is a family classic. My grandmother used to make this, and it is one of my Dad's favorites, so it's something we had fairly regularly, especially in the winter.

Now for those of you expecting regular old mac and cheese, think again. This is not a side dish. This is a meal in and of itself, though I seem to remember my grandmother occasionally serving it with baked flounder. But if you're looking for some serious comfort food, especially when it's cold, this is a legitimate, stick-to-your-ribs kinda meal. And on top of that, it's pretty darn easy to make. 

Ingredients

1 quart whole milk (you want to use whole milk, because you need the fat in it, or else the milk will cook off)

2 lbs. sharp cheddar (The traditional family recipe is white cheddar, but I like to use yellow as well just for color. The sharper the cheese the better!)

1 pound macaroni

Butter

Salt and pepper

Bread crumbs (I prefer Italian style)

Directions
Cook macaroni. Coat a large baking dish with cooking spray. Spread a layer of cooked macaroni in the dish and top with butter and cheese. Repeat until everything is used up with the top layer of cheese, sprinkling in a little salt and pepper as you go. Carefully pour in milk. You may not use it all. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake for at least 30 minutes at 350 until everything gets bubbly and melty, the milk is curdled and the top is well browned.

Again, this is not your usual mac and cheese. This is milky and a little messy, but oh, so good!

Chicken Kinda Bleu

If you're like me, there is not always time to make exactly the dish you may be craving. So sometimes we need some shortcuts.

For example, Chicken Cordon Bleu is a tremendous treat, but it's a little labor intensive if you want to get it exactly right. So I came up with my own version I dubbed Chicken Kinda Bleu. It has all the basic elements of the original, just not some of the time-consuming assembly.

Ingredients
A boneless, skinless chicken breast for each person

Sliced deli ham
Swiss cheese (or whatever cheese you have/like)
Bread crumbs


DirectionsUse a filet knife to butterfly each chicken breast. That means cut a slit at its thickest part, but don't cut it all the way in half. Open the chicken up as if there was a hinge. On one side, place some ham and cheese. Close the other side back over. You may want to use two or three toothpicks to hold it closed. Just remember to take them all out before serving.


Put some bread crumbs in a shallow bowl or pan, and roll each filled chicken breast in it to get a light coating. Place the chicken in a baking dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350-375 for 30-45 minutes, or until the chicken is done and the cheese is melty.

We served it with some broccoli, rice and a roll (yes, a pretzel roll in this case).

Again, don't forget to take out all the toothpick before serving! You don't want anyone to get hurt.