Mac and cheese

Who doesn't like macaroni and cheese? I know I do, but I never, ever could make it like my mom did, or to taste like my mother's dish. Her mac and cheese was really, really good.

And, since I was never able to duplicate the taste of her mac and cheese, when I started having children, it was easier to use the blue box, throw a little more shredded cheese into the pot and have at it.

However, I will give you my mom's recipe as I remember it. And I think it's because there are a lot of steps that I don't particularly like doing it her way. I mean it's not just opening a box, throwing the macaroni into a pot of water and cooking it for 10 minutes, then draining the macaroni and putting the sauce mixture into the elbows. No, there are several more steps in my moms recipe, and she did use REAL cheese. not velveeta or powdered cheese. She used the real thing.

First, of course you have to cook the macaroni. She always used a one-pound box. And she always salted the water in which she put the macaroni. Just follow the directions on the box. You want the macaroni a little el dente.

While the macaroni was cooking she made the cheese sauce for her casserole. She grated one pound of sharp cheddar cheese, put that in a pan with 1 cup of milk, and 1/2 stick of butter. She stirred that until it was thick. About ten minutes. She used a wooden spoon to stir the mixture.

She then put the drained macaroni into a buttered casserole dish and poured the cheese mixture on top. She would mix this all together loosely, stirring it up only a couple of times. Then she would get 8-10 saltines, put them between two sheets of wax paper, and take her rolling pin and crush the saltines. She put the crushed saltines on top of the mac and cheese. It then went into the oven at 350 degrees for about 1/2 hour, and we had wonderful mac and cheese. Plenty of cheese flavor, and oh so good. Since she had a loose cheese mixture, the cheese would bubble up and get the crackers cheesey as well.

Now, why can't I duplicate that today?