Monday, April 21, 2014

Pimento Macaroni and Cheese

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This month's Secret Recipe Club blog belongs to Rhonda over at The Kitchen Witch. She's an avid motorcyclist and is currently enjoying her retired life in Montana. She originally started her blog so that all her children could have access to her recipes at any time. One thing that I especially love about her blog is that she lists the Weight Watchers points for each recipe. I don't currently do Weight Watchers, but I have a few family members and friends that follow the point system religiously, so I think it's a super handy feature!
Now, this Pimento Mac and Cheese instantly drew me in. One of my favorite restaurants, Farmers Fishers Bakers in D.C., makes this awesome pretzel appetizer that is served with a pimento cheese dip. I'm seriously obsessed with the stuff. This savory dish instantly reminded me of my favorite appetizer, and I was inclined to try it out. Oh.My.Goodness. It's pure heaven. Velveeta makes it super cheesy and delicious, but the pimentos add that salty, olive-y flavor that I just love. It's a very heavy dish, so I would recommend having it as a main course instead of a side, but still...so good. Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ingredients
  • 8 oz. dried elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions
  • 8 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 16 oz. Velveeta cheese, cubed
  • 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/2 tbsp. dry mustard
  • 1/2 cup dark beer
  • 1 (4 oz.) jar pimento
  • 1/2 sleeve saltine crackers, crushed
  • 1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or butter a 2 qt. casserole dish. 


Over medium high heat in a non-stick pan, heat the cheddar cheese and Velveeta with the Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, beer and pimento, stirring occasionally. Once fully melted and blended, add the cooked macaroni. Stir well to combine. Pour the macaroni and cheese into the prepared casserole dish.

Crush the saltine crackers by placing them into a zipper top bag and using a rolling pin or other heavy object to crush them. Alternatively you can put them in a food processor and pulse them, but not to finely. Mix the cracker crumbs with the melted butter and spread evenly over the top of the macaroni and cheese. 

Bake for 30-45 minutes, until hot and bubbly. 

Source: Adapted from The Kitchen Witch

8 comments:

  1. I'm pretty sure that I have never in my life tried pimento. I keep seeing it pop up in recipes. I think this is the one I will have to try it out in!

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  2. This post is great for a few reasons

    1. I totally dig Mac and Cheese. I think everyone digs mac and cheese, so that's not saying much.
    2. I'd never eaten pimento cheese until 2 years ago when I moved to Virginia from California. I know your recipe doesn't include pimento cheese (and I know pimento cheese is just roasted peppers, cheese and mayo) but I imagine the flavors being similar. And that is awesome!
    3. I've been meaning to check out Farmers, Fishers, Bakers for some time. This post made me really want some pretzel bites you described.

    I really don't think I want to know how many Weight Watchers points this is worth. Wonderful SRC post

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  3. As soon as I saw someone had posted pimento mac-n-cheese I knew they had my blog. I'm so glad that someone loves pimento cheese like me! That pretzel pimento cheese app sounds great, next time I make this I'm going to try crushed pretzels on top instead of crackers. You really did this justice, thank you!

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  4. Love Rhonda's blog and I am so wanting a big bowl of this now. (With crushed pretzels on top, I might add!)

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  5. omgosh, I'm swooning over here! This sounds soooo delicious and your pictures are great at showing off the creaminess. YUM.

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  6. This one is a definite must for pimento cheese lovers. - like me! What a great idea.

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