Comforting food

T spent the weekend with us and since she likes both cooking and macaroni-n-cheese I thought this would be a perfect dish....then I remembered that most kids like Kraft or Velveeta Mac-n-Cheese so this might not be as big a hit as I first thought.  I was right but it was still fun to make!  This is slightly adapted from Patti LaBelle's recipe she made on Oprah forever ago, "Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese." The result is a creamy, filling dish and the cheese combinations work well together without being overly fancy.

Sara's "Sitting-on-top-of-the-Rainbow-with-Patti-LaBelle" Macaroni and Cheese

INGREDIENTS:

1lb Elbow Macaroni or similar (I used Rotini this time but will likely stick to the ‘bows)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) Butter
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Muenster Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Monterey Jack
2 Cups Half-And-Half (this is the same as one pint)
1 Cup (8 ounces) Velveeta, cut into small cubes
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter (or Pam spray) a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole dish.

 2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until it is just tender, about 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well.

3. In the now empty cooking pot, melt eight tablespoons of the butter. Return pasta to the cooking pot and stir thoroughly. In a large bowl, mix the  shredded cheeses (Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack). 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 dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

3.5. If you desire a “crunchy top” as my husband calls it mix about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with one-ish tablespoon of melted butter, then top the dish with this crust. I inadvertantly left the butter out of my creation (pictured below) so the crust was kind of lame.  I've also read about using corn flakes or potato chips as a crunchy top...will have to try that and let you know!

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

Here is a quick image...we definitely ate a helping or two before we stopped to take a picture: