For most major holidays, my family likes to collectively cook main and side dishes for potluck-style dinners instead of always going out to eat as a party of 10. Of course eating at different restaurants is both fun and delicious, but 10 people are a lot to pay for! Potlucks enable almost everyone to contribute (so no one is left doing all of the work) and have more than enough food for leftovers. Over the weekend, we had a BBQ-inspired dinner for Mother’s Day with the star dish being my dad’s ribs he makes in his Big Green Egg. He had several racks of ribs from Costco, so we had more than enough protein along with my sister’s partner’s tri tip steaks cooked in pulehu seasoning. My sister made green bean casserole (I’m sorry but I barf) and roasted broccoli; grandma cooked her famous baked beans in the Crock Pot; aunty put together orzo kale salad, cole slaw, and corn; mom baked chocolate chip cookie cups with chocolate mousse; and I contributed mac and cheese, watermelon and pineapple, and dinner rolls. I forgot I made mac and cheese once in 2019, but I think this batch turned out even better with a quick and easy cheese sauce. Next time, I’ll make even more cheese sauce for the amount of pasta so the resulting mac and cheese is a bit more smothered!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of elbow pasta
- 16 oz heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup cream cheese
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup milk of choice
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 6 cups of cheese of choice (I used Colby Jack and Cheddar)
- Tony Chachere’s seasoning, garlic powder, paprika to taste
Instructions:
- Boil noodles per package instructions until al dente
- Drain when noodles have a slight bite
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- While pasta is cooling, melt butter in a large pot
- On medium heat, add cream cheese and heat until slightly softened
- Add heavy whipping cream and 5 cups of cheese to pot
- Stir vigorously until cheese is fully melted and incorporated
- Season to taste with seasonings of choice (I absolutely adore Tony Chachere’s!)
- If cheese sauce mixture is too thick, thin it out with milk and chicken broth
- Pour pasta in pot and mix into cheese sauce
- Coat a baking dish with butter or nonstick spray
- Dump Mac and cheese into dish and top with remaining cup of cheese and paprika
- Place in oven for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey
