Welcome back to Southern Comfort Food, my weekly post with a recipe that will taste like home and warm your soul.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!We are into the New Year now and I know a lot of you are experiencing the Arctic blast that seems to be everywhere, even here in Virginia (11 degrees this morning that rose to a warm 27 by mid-day. Brrr!).
To help counteract that cool breeze, I thought I’d share some real life comfort food: my Aunt Mary’s killer macaroni and cheese recipe. My girls call it Auntie Macaroni, although the cheese is oooey-gooey good! So good it can be used as the main course or a very hearty side dish.
Just out of the oven
AUNTIE MACARONI
1 32 oz box of macaroni elbows
1 to 1 1/2 blocks of Extra Sharp Cracker Barrel cheese (the red wrapper)
1 stick butter
2 cans whole tomatoes*
2-3 Tbs sugar
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook box of macaroni according to package directions. Drain. Spray a 9×9 baking dish with cooking spray (sides and bottom). Layer macaroni until the bottom is well covered. There will be at least 3 layers.
Slice stick of butter into 1/4″ slices. Layer 1/3 of the slices over macaroni. It does not have to cover completely.
Slice brick of Cracker Barrel cheese into 1/4″ slices. Layer 1/3 of the slices over butter. (Also does not have to cover completely.)
Dump tomatoes into a colander to drain. Then break open the tomatoes until they lay flat. Using paper towels, squeeze out as much excess liquid from them as possible. Once the tomatoes are as dry, add sugar and stir well. Layer sweetened tomatoes over cheese.
Repeat layers (macaroni, butter, cheese, tomatoes) until no ingredients remain. Cover the top of the baking dish with aluminium foil and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Remove and enjoy!
*In a pinch, if I don’t have whole tomatoes, I use diced. Just be sure to pat out all the moisture, then sprinkle them instead of laying them flat.
As you can see, I used Rotini instead of elbow macaroni and you can use whatever shape you prefer. This is fabulous for any meal of the day, especially in this chilly weather. I’m about to dig in!
YUM!
Thanks so much for stopping by! I wish you a delicious 2018!
Come back next week for another recipe full of down-home southern comfort.
