Joint Post! Mac and Cheeses

“On the eve of our anniversary”, we thought we’d share a joint post with y’all! I’ve said that exact quote for the last month or so – just to remind my wife the kind of annoying man she married. We both enjoy macaroni and cheese and we both have incredibly different palates, if you haven’t already figured that out. Today, we made a whole lot of mac and cheese. We’ll share with you what we did.

You know I try to share with you my recipes, we’ll see if I can get MrsForensicBBQ to start doing it in 2024.

When you read below, I’m typing when you see the ?. MrsForensicBBQ’s addition will be preceded by the ?‍⬛. Appropriately so.

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Jalapeno/Kielbasa Mac Recipe

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The Prep Table

?So much damn cheese on this counter. MrsForensicBBQ started about an hour before I did, because she instructed me to clean the yard. Fifteen bags later, hunger increasing, dehydrated – I was finally ready to make the cheese. We’re shredding about 4 cups of cheese for mine (obviously MeatyMac) and using those awesome Cavatappi noodles to grab that cheese sauce.

?‍⬛ I have been eating so well. delicious, plant-based recipes with a bunch of healthy ingredients. Until now. Mr. FBBQ derailed that with his “let’s make a joint mac and cheese post!” Don’t get me wrong, I love a good mac and cheese, but it’s actually difficult to eat poorly when you are on a healthy streak! But, I love my husband and it is our anniversary, so let’s do this! My ingredients were simple. Cheese, butter, breadcrumbs, more cheese, milk, noodles, and more cheese, and flour! Oh, did I mention we will need cheese?

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The Process

?I’m normally just fine with using pre-shredded cheese, but MrsForensicBBQ insists on doing the hand shred nearly all the time. For tacos, fine, pre-shred. For a nice creamy mac, I’ll agree with her, we’ll hand shred. I donned a glove and knocked this out – as if the yard work wasn’t enough.

?‍⬛It’s like we switched roles. I opted for store-bought shredded cheese. I don’t usually do this because thanks to our great friend (and Sadie’s mom), Jennifer, I learned that there’s a lot of added cellulose to the pre-shredded cheese. So, I usually shred my own.

?Why make two half pans of mac and cheese for two people? This is why. I wanted meat in mine. I had a kielbasa link in the freezer for awhile and it needed used, and so we’re using it. Put a decent, nothing-special slice on it and added it.

?‍⬛Of course, Mr. FBBQ used disposable pans. He hates the environment. We have about a hundred pyrex dishes, so I used one of those.

?I never had great success in the roux-game. In fact, I bought some sodium citrate to avoid the roux. Even had MrsForensicBBQ on standby for when I was about to ruin it again. But I didn’t. It’s really just attention to detail – and since we’ve been cooking pretty steadily for a few years now, we’re getting pretty darn good at it.

?‍⬛Mr. FBBQ struggled with his roux. Mine went fine. Before I made the roux, I prepped the breadcrumbs. Add butter to a pan and let it melt. Mix in the breadcrumbs (again, normally I would make my own breadcrumbs but we had some pre-crumbed on hand so I used those-totally lazy). Add a bit of shredded parmesan and set aside. In another pan, add milk and flour. Whisk the mixture as it boils. Simmer for two minutes, remove from heat, and stir in the shredded cheese.

?This is where her Mac beats mine. I should’ve done a topper. I thought maybe we had some panko flakes in the pantry, but I probably used them up on that last cook – Honey Sriracha Chicken Tenders.

?‍⬛I mixed the noodles with the creamy cheese mixture, threw in the remaining shredded cheese, and topped it with my breadcrumb mixture.

?I thought mine had a good mac to cheese ratio, but then I put my picture next to hers and I think she wins this one again. Two definitely different ideations on the same dish – Hope you enjoy this as much as we did!

?‍⬛ I always overdo the cheese. When I eat cheese, it’s never in small amounts. Extra cheese on everything!

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The Result

?Naturally, I used the pellet smoker while she used the oven. I remembered I had some jalapenos (upcoming post!) that were going bad, so a last minute addition was necessary. And it was an important addition – as it really added some great flavor.

?‍⬛My mac turned out delicious! I have to figure out who to give some away to because there’s no way I’m eating all of this by myself.

?I’ll take this space to comment on how absolutely delicious her cook looks. While she eats absolutely nothing of what I make (meats and spice) – I’ll dabble in the Mrs game once and awhile and I’m always pleasantly surprised on how well she brings flavors together.

?‍⬛Mr. FBBQ always gets way fancier with his posts than I do. He takes better pictures. But, I have fun cooking and writing about it, so I think that’s all that matters!

?Just take a minute and look at the browning of the noodle, the slight cook on the jalapeno’s – putting them in 15 min late.. The char on the kielbasa and of course, the creamy mac. We both ate way too much of what we cooked – and complained all night. This was an awesome, familiar, friendly meal that does no favor for the waistline, but puts a smile on the face. Happy anniversary to MrsForensicBBQ – you’ve made me the happiest man on the planet!

?‍⬛Mr. FBBQ is cheesier than our mac and cheese! In all seriousness, I am so lucky to have this man in my life. He is incredible and we have the best marriage. I also want to note that, while this dish was in no way healthy or plant based, sometimes you gotta eat the mac and cheese (or the donut or buy the shoes or take that trip). Basically, enjoy life!

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The Recipe