Halloween Mac N’ Cheese

by Nanny Bubby

I love the autumn. Living in Las Vegas my whole life there was always a celebration when the heat finally broke in mid-September. This makes October and November the two best months of the year. The nights are cool, the days are warm, not HOT and the city feels at peace. I love all of the autumn holidays, and especially find Thanksgiving to be my favorite holiday of the year. For Halloween, usually the end of October is when the nights begin to feel really cold. This is a warm and hearty meal to walk into and enjoy eating once your nose becomes too cold to stay out. Enjoy!

Total Time:

3 30

Serves:

Ingredients

Ingredients for the “Mac O’Laterns”
6 orange bell peppers (tops cut off and seeds and membranes removed
Place in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes and then immediately place in ice bath to stop cooking.
Carve a Jack O’ Lantern face into the pepper.
Ingredients for the Mac N’ Cheese
2 2/3 c. water
2 2/3 c. milk
2 Tbsp. butter
½ tsp. Kosher salt
1 ½ c. sharp cheddar cheese grated
½ c. grated Pecorino Romano if you do not care for this taste or your kids don’t, just add an extra ½ cup of the cheddar or parmesan
¼ tsp. smoked paprika
16 oz. bag of organic elbow macaroni noodles

Directions

Slowly bring the water, milk, butter and kosher salt to a slow rolling boil.
Add the full bag of pasta stirring until the liquid comes to a boil again.
Adjust the heat to keep a slow steady boil and cook the pasta for one minute more than indicated on the box. Do not drain the pasta.
Turn off the heat and stir in the cheeses and paprika. Taste to adjust the salt and pepper to your families liking. The Mac N’ Cheese will be very liquidly, this is normal. Let stand with the top on for at least 10 minutes so the pasta can absorb all the liquid before serving.
Pour the cooked macaroni into the Mac O’Lanterns and cover with the tops. Keep warm in a 200 degree oven while you are out trick or treating and come home to a warm and hearty meal.

Halloween Mac N’ Cheese