Time: 1 hour and 10 minutes

Serves 5 or 6

Music Selection: Olivia Newton John – “Magic”

This is truly a “magical” dish that our friends (Tina & Dave) shared with us the other day – easy to make, pop it in the oven and “poof” out comes a delicious, home made macaroni & cheese. I made this for breakfast with bratwurst and 3/5 of my family felt bratwurst is for supper – so this is a great supper dish BUT they like it as a breakfast dish with… breakfast sausage! Serve it with some fresh diced tomato and an egg and it is a super healthy hot breakfast and while it is baking along, making your house smell great, you can get ready for the rest of your day (lunches, etc). Best part of all – your kids will be sooooo happy you made it – “Magic?” – I think so!

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter, melted

2 cups uncooked macaroni noodles

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dry mustard

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp cayenne pepper, dried

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

2 cups grated sharp/old cheddar cheese

4 cups milk

(optional) 5 – 6 Bratwurst or a package of 12 breakfast sausage

Directions:

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Pre-heat oven to 350 deg F. In baking dish (11 ½ x 7 ½ x 1 ½ inches), spread the melted butter along the bottom. Add noodles and mix well so they are covered in butter.

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In small bowl, mix paprika, mustard, garlic, onion, cayenne, salt and pepper. Sprinkle over noodles and then mix the noodles so they are evenly coated in butter and spices. Pat flat and even.

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Then sprinkle cheese over the noodles evenly. Gently pour over the milk. Place in oven and bake for about 45 minutes.

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At the 30 minute mark, place the breakfast sausage on top of the macaroni and let it cook. If using bratwurst, you may need to fry them (or we put them on a foil lined plate in the oven for 15 minutes) then place them on the macaroni.

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Bake for another 15 minutes, but watch it so the noodles do not overcook and dry out!

Serve as a dinner dish with a side green salad, glazed carrots or green beans.

For breakfast, we prefer it with the breakfast sausage, some fresh topped tomato on top and a medium soft poached egg.

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