Richest. Pasta. Ever.

Carnie Wilson's Fall to Your Knees Mac and Cheese

3 1/2 cups elbow macaroni
12 oz. velveeta, cut into 1 inch squares
10 oz. white vermont cheddar, cut into 1 inch squares
15 oz. shredded Gruyere cheese
1-2 cups jack and cheddar cheese (combined, shredded
4 oz. cream cheese at room temp
2/3 cup sour cream
1 1/3 cups heavy cream
1 1/3 cup half and half
1 egg
3 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated if you have it)
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
pinch of paprika
chopped fresh chives for garnish

preheat oven to 350. Greace a 13 by 19 inch pan with butter. Prepare macaroni according to package directions, drain, and pour into baking pan. In mixing bowl, combine heavy cream, half and half, and sour cream. Add edd, flour, Worchestershire sauce, garlic and onion powders, mustard powder, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Combine verywell with wire whisk to break up cream cheese.
Starting at corners of pasta dish, place and push down the velvee and white cheddar cubes. Sprinkle Grueyere over top. Pour seasoned dairy mixture over pasta. Spread jack and cheddar cheese on top, and sprinkle with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes. Serves 10.

thanks to Tina's blog, I discovered these amazing reusable sandwich/food wraps, snack bags, and bowl covers made by Kathi at hippiefairylover.etsy.com. I've been trying to use less plastic wrap and plastic bags, and these are the PERFECT solution! Kathy uses a special kind of fabric called PUL, which is a cotton fabric that is laminated with polyurethane. What does that mean? it means you have a resuable, washable cloth bag or wrap that can be used for darn near everything! I plan to use some for wrappping hard cheese, freshly baked breads, and she even has nifty bowl covers that look like shower caps- simply put them over your bowl or pot of foodstuff, and put in the fridge.

The less stuff we put in the landfill, the happier I am....I'm so delighted Kathi is offering these great products!

I'm ALL ABOUT handmade/homemade gifts. And I'm not the only one - check out this great site:
Buy Handmade

There's enough cheap plastic crap in the world, right? If you're gift-giving, give "something real, made by real people, for real people" - as my good friend Danielle put it.