Instagram Made Me Do It: Macaroni & Cheese By Quinton Washington’s Mom

So, it’s been a minute since something on social media has caused me to run to the store to get the ingredients. But……. I saw a video on BuzzFeedTasty’s (@buzzfeedtasty) Instagram account, and off I went to the store! Quinton Washington shared his mother’s Macaroni & Cheese recipe. Here is my take on it.

Recipe:

• 8 oz. mild yellow cheddar cheese
• 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese (his was white cheddar, mine was yellow cheddar)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 (12 oz.) can evaporated milk
• 1 T kosher salt
• 1 T sugar
• 1 t black pepper
• 1 (16 oz.) box elbow macaroni
• 3 T butter (his was unsalted, mine was salted) – plus more for greasing the baking dish
• 4 C shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Start a large pot of water heating to boil.
• Cut cheese bricks into ½” cubes.  (I have no idea how big that is, so I just chunked mine.)

• In a medium bowl, add eggs, milk, sugar, salt, and pepper–whisk to combine.

• When water is boiling, add macaroni and cook for 5–8 minutes. (I cooked mine for 8 minutes.) Turn off the heat and let the macaroni sit in the hot water for 3 minutes until tender. (I gauged 3 minutes while I was doing the other prep work.)

• Drain the macaroni and return it to the pot. (Here is where I drained the macaroni and then added the butter to the pan and the cheese. Then I re-read that I was supposed to put the macaroni back in the pan already–so I grabbed the macaroni and put it in the pan.)

• Turn the heat to low, add the butter and the cheese to the macaroni. Stir until butter and cheese are melted.

• Pour the macaroni into the 13 x 9 that you buttered. (Here is where I layered it. I put some macaroni in then added some of the cubed cheese, then added the rest of the macaroni, and then the cubed cheese on top.)

• Add the egg and milk mixture and cubed cheese. (My cheese was already in there, and I just poured the egg and milk mixture over top). Carefully fold into the macaroni until well combined. (All I did was pour it over the top. I didn’t mix anything).

• Bake for 25 – 30 minutes ( I did 30 minutes), or until cheese is bubbling and the top of the macaroni is golden brown.

A final note from me is–try and not eat the whole thing in one sitting. YES, I made this for MYSELF. Yes, it is 8 servings. Well, it is supposed to be 8 servings. I’m guessing my serving size is not the same. Let’s not get into that right now, though.  

Breakfast Lasagna – My Style

I think I have come to the conclusion that I could be Betty Crackpot when it comes to cooking. (Did you get the reference above?) Anyway, saw a recipe for Breakfast Lasagna and wanted to make it. Really it was the bacon in the photo that got me :-). So I went to the store with the recipe. Okay, I forgot the recipe I was going to bring, so found it on my phone when I remembered that I forgot it. Anyway, not important…..let’s move on…..

So looked at the ingredients:

Maple Bacon Sauce

1 lb of bacon (had that)

¼ c of flour (had that)

1 c maple syrup (had that)

½ c heavy cream (needed that) *

* Yeah, that turned into just using milk that I already had

Sausage Gravy (did not make this so needed none)

Pancakes (I used a mix so just needed to add water)

Scrambled Eggs **

** I only used the eggs of that recipe, didn’t even use salt.

Then I decided that I wanted to add hash browns to the recipe, so I picked up a 20 oz  package of shredded potatoes.

For the cheese the recipe called for, instead of 1 lb of shredded, I got an 8 oz pkg of Co-Jack slices. I also didn’t put it in the eggs like the recipe said. Such a hellion!

So I decided to figure out what to do first – seemed best to follow some of the recipe (LOL). So I put the bacon in first at 400⁰, and let it cook for 20 min. I just put it straight on the cookie sheet.

While that cooked, I turned to the pancakes. As stated earlier, I used the “just add water” kind and made the 12-14 pancakes recipe. I figured that it should make 9 or so “noodles”. Pulled out the griddle and proceeded to figure out how to shape them.

I found that I needed to turn them with two spatulas to make sure they didn’t break.

                        

When that finished, I kept the griddle going and made the hash browns.

                      

I halved the potatoes and cooked them in two batches. I figured there would be two or three layers, so it would be best to break them up.

After the hash browns, I made the eggs. Instead of cooking 12 at once, I made 6 and then 6.

                       

Once those were done I switched out the bacon with more bacon, and poured the bacon grease in a mug. Then when all of the bacon was done cooking, I poured all the grease in a saucepan.

I stirred in the flour, then added the syrup and finally the milk. It thickened up like when making a box of cooked pudding.

                           

Now time to assemble.

                           

I put the four “noodles” in the bottom and realized I had more room then I thought, and the bottom layer was not going to be “touching” like the recipe said. Added the syrup mix next and then the eggs.

Now, this is where I was going to put the first layer of cheese, but I forgot and put the hash browns on next. D’OH!

                         

I will remember for next layer.

I also realized that there would be only two layers like the recipe stated. I thought my “noodles” would have been longer, but they fit perfectly the way I placed them. So I put the cheese on the hash brown, and proceeded to put another layer of “noodles”, syrup, eggs, and then I did it AGAIN! I put the hash browns on the eggs instead of the cheese. Placed the cheese, in the wrong place AGAIN, and then put the bacon across the top.

I noticed that my before and after cooking photos looked pretty much the same. I cooked it in the 400⁰ oven for 15 minutes.

Then I actually let it sit for a bit, while I made myself do something else, so that it could actually sit for a bit.

After waiting, I cut a piece.

                              

The verdict is that it was delicious! I liked how after it cooked you could see the different layers, and the hash browns were still crunchy and the bacon was cooked to perfection.

Definitely making this again….probably after many, many hours of exercise!