Grandma Barnes' Homemade Mac N Cheese

Hey everyone!

Today I want to share with you my favorite thing in the world to eat: mac n cheese!! I seriously could eat it every day of my life. I probably did when I was  a kid...haha. Anyways, I wanted to share with you my grandmother's very popular recipe of her homemade version of cheesy gold perfection!

      Serves: 6      Prep: 15min      Cook: 45min      Total: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1. 1 box of bow tie pasta.
2. 2-21/2 blocks of Cabot Extra Sharp White cheddar cheese
3. Whole Milk
4. Paprika (optional)

Directions:

1. After bringing a pot of water to a boil, begin cooking bow tie pasta. While cooking pasta, cut up blocks of cheese into chunks or fairly thin rectangles.
2. Pre-Heat the oven to 375°F. Use non-stick cooking spray to prepare your baking dish.
3. Strain pasta and place a layer in baking dish. Once the bottom of the dish is covered you will then top it with a layer of cheese. Continue layering noodles and cheese until the dish is full and cheese is the last layer.
4. Pour in milk. There is no exact measurement for this as it depends on the size of your baking dish. Fill the dish half way with milk.
5. Top it off with a few dashes of paprika for extra flavor. (optional)
6. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Top should appear a bit crunchy. If you don't want the top layer to be crunchy, take it out at the 45 minute mark. 

Tips:

- Use whole milk, anything less will make it taste off and kind of gritty.
-Orange cheddar may be very tempting and have that nice color you may want, but its 
incredibly greasy in this particular recipe. That is why I am stressing white for this recipe.

If you wish to double the recipe like for a party or for whatever reason, all you need to do is double the noodles and cheese. You will still fill up the dish half way with milk at the end.    

We make this the first night any time we move to a new place!

Enjoy!

--Breexoxo

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Popeye's Soup!

Hello everyone!

Today I want to share one of my favorite hearty soup recipes! It is a tomato soup with mixed veggies, rice, and chicken/beef. A title with the ingredients might be a little wordy so I call this Popeye Soup.

      Serves:8      Prep Time: 30min      Cook Time: 8-10min      Total Time: 40min

Ingredients:

1. 4 cans of Campbell's Tomato soup+4 equal can fulls of water
2. 1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3. Pinch of salt
4. 2 cups of white rice
5. 1 bag of frozen mixed vegitables 
6. 3 chicken breasts -or- 1/2 lb. ground beef 

Directions:

1. Boil 3 chicken breasts for 30 mins. Shred chicken and add salt and pepper to taste. If you prefer beef, cook half of a pound in a skillet. Brown it and chop it into bite-sized pieces.
2. Over medium heat, begin cooking the cans of soup.
3. Measure out 2 cups of white rice and mix into soup.
4. Take bag of frozen veggies and place into soup. Mix in.
5. Toss in chicken or beef and continue to stir.
6. Add in the salt and pepper.
7. In total the soup cooks for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Take off of heat. Serve with saltines!

Enjoy!

--Breexoxo

Popeye

My Popeye (yes I call my pepe my Popeye, deal with it!) was a professional chef, so he knows a thing or two in the kitchen. Would you believe me if I told you he once cooked for President JFK and didn't realize it until after he met and shook hands with the guy? (My Popeye is French and was brand new to America). He worked at "du cloob" as he pronounces it in his adorable French accent somewhere in Farmington, CT. A very elite town in probably the most elite state in the country. Now I know I'll never be on his level, but he is the inspiration for this blog. Ever since I quit my job to be a stay-at-home, I needed a fun hobby so I thought "why not cook?".

I grew up cooking with my Popeye almost everyday of my childhood. He is still my best friend and favorite chef. Sorry all of you on the Food Network Channel, but you have nothing on this man! He used to be a troublemaker back when he was a boy in Catholic school. He told me he would purposely anger the nuns to get sent to the kitchen to peel potatoes and help prepare lunches.

And so, to honor my Popeye, I want to dedicate my first recipe to him. Afterall, it is one of his own and one of my favorites!

To Popeye!

                             

Popeye and my great-grandmother, Fernand visiting in Montreal!

At my babyshower!

--Bree