Weekend Cooking: Ultimate Mac & Cheese

Weekend Cooking is hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

We had our big meal on Christmas Eve, so for last night's dinner, I made Mac & Cheese to go with leftover ham.

There are two schools of thought when it comes to Mac & Cheese: creamy and eggy. If you fall into the "eggy" camp (like me), which I think is more of a Southern thing, Paula Deen's recipe (from her original cookbook, The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook), is the BEST.

The two keys are: 1) mixing the cheese with the cooked macaroni while it's still hot and 2) sour cream (it IS Paula Deen, after all!).

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni (2 cups uncooked)

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup milk

After macaroni has been cooked and drained, add cheese while pasta is still hot. Combine remaining ingredients and add to macaroni mixture. Pour into greased casserole dish and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese, if desired.

P.S. For Christmas Day breakfast, I deviated from my traditional Bundt-pan Monkey Bread and tried The Pioneer Woman's Monkey Bread Muffins. They were simple, beautiful, easy to eat, and delicious! I accidentally bought evaporated milk instead of sweetened, condensed milk for the topping, but I made a quick substitute glaze by boiling water and sugar and brushed it over the tops. YUM!