Macaroni & Cheese

Yes, yes, that is actually the title of this posting and that really is what I'm going to write about.
Yummy. Doesn't that make you hungry?!

I, myself, happen to be a Mac 'n' Cheese connoisseur. It just might be the best thing in the world. What makes this delicious treat so delectable to me?! Who really knows, but let me go back to my history of the cheesiest mac on the block...

Let's go back to my fond memories of elementary/middle school when my diet mostly consisted of cold cereal and ice cream with candies mixed in. I'm sure there was the occasional piece of chicken, absolutely some Domino's pizza and, for sure, mashed potatoes (definitely boiled potatoes - but only when my sister made me sit at the table until I finished mine...). But I can remember quite fondly and clearly the day I started liking those scrumptious cheesy noodles. I had always thought it to be so bland and... tasting like a box. Never, for some odd reason never understood by man, had I tried my mothers HOMEMADE tasty creaminess. But one day she drove me to a nearby gas station on a break from soccer practice, I was in major need of pasta, but all they had was this ooey, gooey pasta-like cheesy concoction. Mom said is was "so good," so, for most likely the first time in my life (quite sadly), I listened to my mother, took her advice and allowed her to purchase this suspicious bowl of gooky pasta. She shook some salt and peppa on top and I started, reluctantly, digging in.

My taste buds went W I L D! I couldn't believe the joy that my mouth had found. I was converted.

But this also turned me into a cheesy mac snob. The blue box, you say?! Oh no!! Couldn't be. Must be shredded, creamed to perfection cheese poured into pasta that had never been next to a packet of powdered cheese. It wasn't until college that I had to stoop to the level of eating such tasteless tasty treats. But then a marvelous roommate taught me a trick -- add shredded cheese to the powdered concoction and you can have your ooey, gooey scrumdidillyumtiousness (yes, my friends, it is a word) -- please DO NOT forget the salt and pepper. :)

Then... I had a marvelous roommate who would cook up the cheesiest mac and cheese with me at least once a week - with pigs and a blanket and green beans, of course! And my dear brother-in-law went on a quest a year ago for the perfect mac and cheese. Amazing the things you'll find. And then I worked with a lot of people who understand the necessity for mac and cheese at EVERY meal -- MY kind of people. Now, you've seen how this has evolved... But, I must report a new development in the cheesiest story... maybe EVER...

Last week I officially ate mac and cheese for FOUR dinners in a row - and only TWO of them consisted of warm mac and cheese, but 3 included the wienies!! I love mac and cheese and wienies!! Yummy in my tummy! The final go round had little crunchies on top -- love the crunchies too.

Moral of the story: I love the pasta with the cheese. Love it! Blue box or no blue box. Hot or cold. As long as it is pasta with cheese, with not too many onions, I love it. Ode to the mac and cheese. Now I need to write a poem -- or just get some sleep; it's a toss-up!

(If you enjoyed this story, you can thank Bekah who inspired this!!)