My quest for Macaroni and Cheese

Who taught you to cook? That's assuming you do cook, of course. A lot of people say their mother did. Mine didn't. When I got married, I had no idea how. I could heat up a can of La Choy Chow Mein. And heat it up I did...regularly. My husband recently reminisced about those dinners we had during the first months of our marriage. He said it was good, but I'm telling you now, we haven't had a can of that in 31 years! LOL Do they even still make that stuff?


My mom, and grandma were both wonderful cooks but they didn't own many written recipes. It was all in their heads. And when I'd ask, my mom would start out helping me, but then take over. She said it was easier. I'd end up losing interest and leave the kitchen. Fast forward to married life. Now I had to cook. Um.... uh oh. My very first job was in medical records at a local hospital, and every day I'd ask all the other ladies in the office what they had for dinner the night before. If I liked the sound of it, I'd ask them how they made it. So I began to build my own library. I'd pour over magazines, and cookbooks (I'm still a cookbook junkie!) and I found I really loved to cook...bake mostly.

I love to cook for people, and bake gifts. There are two dishes I really want to learn to make "like mama", and that's her cornbread dressing (out of this world!!!), and her macaroni and cheese. So my quest for the perfect macaroni and cheese continues. I've had this recipe tucked in my notebook for years (probably back when I was building my library - yeah, that long ago).
Do you have a favorite mac - n- cheese recipe? I'd love to hear how yours differs from this one. Do you put bread crumbs on top? I don't, because, well, mama never did it. LOL This one comes pretty close but I'm always looking for "the one"!

Macaroni and Cheese

1 (1 lb) box elbow macaroni

1 pound mild Cheddar cheese, grated

1/2 cup margarine, melted

6 eggs

2 (13 oz) cans evaporated milk

Salt and Pepper to taste

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain well and dump into a big bowl. Add grated cheese, reserving 1/2 cup to sprinkle on top. Stir in cheese until melted.

Stir in margarine and eggs - no need to beat first, just stir well to distribute evenly. Add milk.
Mixture will be fairly liquid. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle reserved cheese on top and bake in a 350 degrees oven for 30-45 minutes - or until set.

Care to help me on my quest for the perfect macaroni and cheese? I'm all ears.