BBQ'd Banger Mac

I literally grew up eating mac and cheese. I ate it so often that my mom would get creative with the ingredients to make sure I had a well balanced meal.  My favorite as a little munchkin was mac and cheese with hot dogs. So tasty! Now that I am grown and much more mature (no giggling) I have moved on to delicious bbq'd sausage in my mac. 

Hubby hubbs was bbq'ing chicken for dinner so I offered to create a smashing side dish. Obviously I meant delicious mac.  I used orecchiette noodles.  They are perfect for mac because they cup your ingredients nicely so you get an array of flavors in each bite. Success.

I sauteed some onions and jalapenos,

Don't you love my new bowls?

Added some horseradish mustard and a dash of chili oil for spice, and

 

 Included a very large handful of Mexican cheese which includes Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and Asadero cheeses.  This is an exact measurement.

Finally, I added the spicy chipotle bangers.  Perfectly bbq'd bangers to be exact. 

 Mix it all together, bake it at 400 degrees until bubbling to perfection, and then consume immediately!

 Even little Lola was pleased by this mac.

Doesn't she look like an owl here?

Enjoy!

Pete's Has the Perfect Fry

Pete's Cafe and Bar in Los Angeles has been my long time favorite spot for french fries, chipotle fries to be exact.  I could eat them every day.  That is how magical they are.

 When I saw mac and cheese on the menu, I thought I should most certainly indulge.  Their mac is made of sharp white cheddar, asiago, goat cheese (yuck), and tarragon.  I loathe goat cheese so I was a bit hesitant to order this mac.  But, surprisingly, I couldn't taste any remnants of goat at all. Thankfully.  Even though I ate all of it, I did not love it.  Probably because I was fixated on the chipotle fries. Did I mention how glorious the fries are?

This is seriously a lunch made for champs.

 My recommendation: Go to Pete's immediately and order the chipotle french fries.

Sacramento In The House!!

What is true happiness? Is it money? Is it a big house or a fancy car? Or is it visiting friends and eating a fine mac and cheese dinner? For me, it is definitely the latter.

Pretty, pretty princess Jenai lives in Kauai.  Obviously she is a papaya farmer.  Anyway, it is a whole lot easier for me to visit her when she visits her family in Sacramento than making the trek to Kauai. Although I certainly don't mind visits to Kauai!  During her last trip to Cali, I flew on up to visit.  Because she is the most fantastical friend, she had mac and cheese waiting for me upon my arrival from the airport.

Obviously by the time I arrived, most of m&c had been eaten by pretty, pretty princess' family.  I honestly can't blame them because I wouldn't have been able to resist the cheesy goodness either.

In making this delightful dinner, pretty, pretty princess used Paula Deene's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese recipe but she doubled it (she knew how hungry we were) and added some pepper jack cheese.  It was an especially nice addition to pork loin, asparagus and caprese salad.

Even cute little babies love this recipe!

Cute little baby Leighton

This was the perfect way to start my vaca in Sac-town!  And in fact I ate it as a late night snack after dinner and again for breakfast. Equally amazing each time. Try it with your fav hot sauce.  Pretty, pretty princess recommends Tabasco^® Chipotle Pepper Sauce.

What is true happiness for you? I would love to hear!