Macaroni au Gratin

Au gratin is French for "cooked with crumbs, butter, and/or cheese on top." Enough said. I could probably live on those things if cholesterol wasn't an issue.

Grandma absolutely loved butter, cream, whole milk, eggs (and almost anything they tell you to stay away from today) and she cooked with these ingredients (no wonder everything tasted so good!). We used to joke that even though she consumed these foods regularly she never gained an ounce--she was about 90 pounds dripping wet with no cholesterol problems. Her trick was offsetting it with fresh vegetables and never--I repeat--never snacking. She just didn't do it (even when she had her own cookies in the house!). She always said eating should be done at table--not in bed, not in front of the television--nowhere but at the kitchen table. She never had "munchies" in the house, we never saw her eat pizza or much fast food (only a plain McDonald's hamburger once in a great while), and she consumed very little bread unless it was whole grain. She might have had a box of Triscuits (no doubt purchased for a Bridge Club hors d'oeuvre plate), but that's about it.  I honestly think that was her secret.

This recipe was one of those comfort foods she served us. We loved it and generally could persuade her to pour it right out of the saucepan onto our plates...heck with the crumbs, heck with baking it. It does taste excellent serving it the way the recipe recommends though. You be the judge.

Macaroni  au Gratin

½ lb uncooked elbow macaroni (2 cups)

3 Tbsp butter, melted

½ cup milk (whole preferred)

¼ - ½  pound Velveeta, cut into 1 inch chunks (no substitute)

¼ tsp salt

Crumb topping – Process together

¾ cup bread crumbs (sliced French loaf preferred)

½ tsp garlic powder

Cook macaroni until tender, drain. Add butter, milk, salt, and Velveeta. Stir into macaroni over low heat until melted and smooth.  Pour into well greased casserole dish. Top with bread crumb mixture and bake in 350F oven until golden brown. Serves 4.

You can adjust the amount of Velveeta to your taste...just make sure it doesn't get too thick. Enjoy!