Little Mama's Deluxe Mac & Cheese

I grew up on Kraft macaroni and cheese. Not because my mom didn't know how to make the good stuff, but because my brother and I apparently preferred unnaturally yellow, made from a powder cheese on our little-bitty noodles. She tried more than once to introduce us to homemade macaroni, and to her disappointment we were such food snobs that we still asked for the blue box.

All that changed when my mom cooked up what she calls Deluxe Mac & Cheese. It's creamy without being runny and the finished product is a perfectly normal cheddar cheese color. I haven't wanted blue box mac & cheese since.

Here's what you need:

2 cups cottage cheese

1 cup (8oz) sour cream

1 egg, lightly beath

1 tsp salt

Garlic salt (a few shakes will get the job done)

Freshly ground black pepper (a few twists -- don't overdo it)

2 cups (8oz) shredded sharp cheddar

2 cups dry macaroni noodles

Cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, sour cream, egg, salt, garlic salt, and pepper. Add shredded cheddar and mix well. Add cooked macaroni and stir until coated. Transfer to a greased 2 1/2 quart baking dish, and bake until bubbly (uncovered at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes).

This is a great make ahead dish -- assemble everything the day before, then refrigerate overnight. Set the baking dish out about 30 minutes before you're ready to put it in the oven, and allow an extra 10 minutes of bake time to compensate for the time in the refrigerator.