monthly macaroni 4 and 5

i ran out of time in may to make a macaroni so i made up for it by making two in june. unfortunately, both seemed to land in failure town. at least in respect to all the others i have made.

the first one i attempted was baked caprese that used fresh mozzarella. i am not quite sure what happened (i am going to blame it on the fact that i used kraft shredded cheese for the first time instead of market pantry), but when i made the sauce the cheese immediately turned into a goopy ball! goopy really is the wrong word though because it was more elastic or rubber band like. it was the strangest thing i have ever encountered! the only things that were different when making this particular macaroni was that the stove was different and i used kraft cheese. i did everything else exactly the same! never again will i use kraft cheese!

(look, you can even see the rubber band of cheese in the picture!)

nevertheless, i chose to try and stretch the cheese over the noodles in hopes that the cheese rubber band would melt in the oven. once again, i was wrong! it stayed like a rubber band and was even difficult to cut and especially eat. but despite all of these drawbacks, this macaroni had an absolutely amazing flavor! dare i even say perfect flavor. ill just say it, i loved it! im not sure if it was the basil, the oils from the cooked tomatoes, or the melted fresh mozzarella, but it was amazing. i am going to make it again in hopes that the cheese will respond normally and melt. it deserves another try. and i would like to taste the deliciousness in the way it was supposed to be enjoyed!

the second one i made was broccoli and squash and used monterey jack as the main cheese. i was unable to find frozen squash so i bought a fresh organic one and pureed it myself in the magic bullet.

i was happy to discover that the first disaster was not caused by my stove because the cheese melted beautifully this time! i also chose to freeze half of it so that i wouldnt have to eat the same macaroni and cheese for at least 12 meals in a row. it also made for a super quick meal a week or so later.

this macaroni and cheese smelled very delicious and looked super delicious since the sauce wasnt a rubber cheese ball, but the taste just didnt live up to the smell, or the work i put into it. i think it may have partially been due to the fact that i didnt have enough parmesan. the monterey jack had a plain taste to it and i feel like if i used more parmesan it would have had more flavor. if i didnt have many other macaronis to make, i would probably try it again using a good amount of pecorino romano. it has such strong flavor and tastes amazing when mixed in a dish (thank you kelly for that discovery!) so i think it would kick this one up a lot and get rid of the bland taste.

well, i hope that my next one is more of a success! i may take this month off, i havent fully decided yet. and in the words of hosty, eat your mac and cheese! ah! ah! ah!

love.