Thanksgiving Side Dish: Savory Mac and Cheese!

I hope to share a lot of recipes this month! To help take my mind off other things, plus… Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays!

This morning, I was able to get a jumpstart on celebrating the season of thankfulness with my good friends at WKYT in Lexington, KY. I just love chatting with Andrea and Jim! We started off the segment with sharing a few fun facts about the holiday we celebrate in November.

Everyone knows about the first Thanksgiving between the Plymouth Colonists and Native American Indians, but did you know:

According to culinary historians, the original meal likely included ducks, swans and geese cooked over the fire, many local vegetables and fruits and pumpkin, but not in the form of pie because they had no flour, butter or ovens!
It wasn’t until 1941 that Congress declared Thanksgiving a legal holiday to be celebrated every November!
On average, Americans consume between 3,000 to 5,000 calories on Thanksgiving day!

Whew! No wonder there are so many Turkey Trots on Thanksgiving morning.

Mikesell’s Potato Chip Mac ‘n Cheese

prep time: 15 minutes
cook time: 45 minutes
total time: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 cup Mikesell’s Original Potato Chips, crumbled
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoons dry mustard
1/2 cup Heavy Whipping Cream
8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
8 oz. elbow macaroni
Green onions and bacon (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a shallow gratin dish.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over moderate heat. Add the flour and mustard and cook, stirring until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the milk and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted and completely smooth. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, and keep it warm over very low heat.
Meanwhile, in a medium pot of boiling well-salted water, cook the pasta until al dente and drain well. Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and stir to coat completely. Pour into the buttered gratin dish and top with the crumbled Mikesell’s Potato Chips. Bake about 10-15 minutes
Top with cooked bacon bits and green onions (optional)