Mac n' Cheese, I quit you!

Mac n' cheese was one of those first dishes I made at home when I decided to focus on cooking in my life. I grew up with kraft dinner, and continued with it, making greasy casseroles with it in college. I started making real mac n' cheese with this recipe, and at first I deliberately adjusted it, and after c-school and learning the inside outs of roux and mother sauces, I kinda just wing it. Nowadays, I make it regularly every semester with my students, and make it once or twice at home every cold season.

However, I think mac n' cheese in my life is coming to a close. I ate a relatively small portion of it this evening, maybe 3" x 3" by 2" tall, had more chicken and brussels than mac by volume. (In the past I would eat maybe 4 to 5 times that much of mac in a sitting). Still, it was too rich for my system and ended in some discomfort (and I'll leave it at that!) In the end, mac n' cheese as a make it is just a block of creamy cheese. with some macaroni stuck in to give it some structure. Betsy loves it, Edles loves it, it's not going to waste for sure, but that's it for me. I'm too elderly for my mac n' cheese!

I'll still make it with my students and for my family, but I'll be limiting myself to small tasting portions when it's fresh and leave the left overs to others.

TODAY'S COOKING
Mac n' Cheese: Gotta make it once a winter. 3 lbs of cheese, 2 lbs of macaroni, a half gallon of whole milk -- after giving our guests a sizable brick to take home, we still have enough left overs to last a few weeks.


Chicken Nuggets: B asked me if I knew how to make nuggets, since I never made them before, and I had to laugh. Cut chicken breast into coins, standard breading procedure with panko bread crumbs (mixed with some mustard powder and smoked paprika), and deep fry until golden. Hit with some salt while hot. Not too sophisticated, but the kids dug it.


AM SNACK: 8:30am, iced green tea


BREAKFAST: 9:30am, hardcore oatmeal, banana, .75 bowl, hunger 4/5


BRUNCH: 11:45am, onion bagel with cream cheese, 3/4 of a donut, 1 bowl, hunger 4/5


DINNER: 4:45pm, chicken nuggets, mac n' cheese, brussel sprouts, a donut, two glasses of beer, water, 1.5 bowl, hunger 4/5

EVENING SNACK: 8pm, potato chips, .25 bowl, hunger 4/5