Jerry Hingle is Feeling Cheesy

Good Afternoon Readers,
I hope the week has been treating you well. If it hasn't, not to fear, the weekend is almost here!

On this warm and cloudy Thursday, I would like to discuss the topic of macaroni and cheese. Earlier in the week, Jerry Hingle had a honkin' big craving for some mac and cheese--and I'm not talking about microwaveable instant kind that you make with powdered cheese. I mean the kind with strings of cheese that stretch for miles! The kind that takes hours to make! The kind that takes minutes to devour!

If you think you have a recipe that meets those requirements, send me link through the comments. But for now, I've found a delicious recipe that I would like to share with y'all. This is called Over the Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese...and it's from Oprah.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound of elbow macaroni
1 stick of butter plus 1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup shredded Muenster cheese
1/2 cup shredded mild Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
2 cups of half-and-half
2 large eggs
1/4 tsp of seasoned salt
1/8 tsp of black pepper

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole.

Bring the large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the oil, then the elbow macaroni, and cook until the macaroni is just tender, about 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well. Return to the cooking pot.

In a small saucepan, melt eight tablespoons of the butter. Stir into the macaroni. In a large bowl, mix the Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack cheeses. To the macaroni, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta, and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and dot with the remaining one tablespoon of butter.

Bake until it's bubbling around the edges, about 35 minutes. Serve hot. 

I like to add a little bit of Italian breadcrumbs to the top of the bake, or if you're feeling extra crunchy you can add some Parmesan to the top (it will brown and add a nice crunch!). There's so much you can do with mac and cheese!

Cheers,
Jerry Hingle