This Dinner Brought To You By Netflix

I am a Netflix junkie. Yes, if there was a support group I would join. "Hi my name is Krista and I'm a Netflix addict." And to be honest, it's not movies I'm hooked on, but instead television series. Most evenings you can find me either watching favorites over again (I'm on my 4th time watching Lost from beginning to end!) or finding "new" ones to get lost in. And by new I mean those that I didn't watch when they first aired and now find myself becoming obsessed with wondering why. 

Such was the case last month when I found myself watching multiple episodes of "The West Wing" every day, loving it more and more with each episode. I don't know how many of you watched this Emmy winning show when it ran from 1998-2006, but I can now see why it won so many awards and was loved so much by it's fans. Outstanding writing, acting and amazing story lines are just some of the reasons I was engrossed after only 1 episode. 

Now, what does this have to do with food? Well, I was telling my friend about my latest Netflix find (She happens to love watching series on there too, and is always on the lookout for great ones) and she laughed at just how passionately I felt about this show and its characters. She was teasing me and said, "Then you would love a recipe my grandma gave me a while back. It was supposedly Ronald Reagan's favorite mac and cheese recipe." Well, heck yeah, sign me up. We love mac and cheese, and if our 40th president loved it, I'm willing to try it! 

I have quite a few mac and cheese recipes. Some are baked, some are creamy, but this is the only one that has a custard filling...and it's delicious! So simple to make and something young to old in your house will love.

This is one of those recipes that has been shared 1000's of times by 1000's of people. Passed down again and again, but it was originally published in The White House Family Cookbook by Henry Haller. What a great little piece of history to have, especially for us foodies! I might just have to order it so when I go back and re-watch all of The West Wing episodes (And you know I will!) I will have lots of presidential recipes to eat!!!

 Ronald Reagan's Favorite Mac n Cheese

8 oz. elbow macaroni

4 c. sharp cheddar cheese

1 c. milk

2 TBS butter, melted

1 tsp. dry mustard

1 tsp. salt

1 TBS hot water

1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Boil macaroni and drain well. Transfer to baking dish. Add butter and egg. Mix well. Add 3 cups cheese. Stir well. In a small bowl combine mustard and salt. Add hot water. Mix well. Add to 1 c. milk. Stir again. Pour milk mixture over macaroni. Add remaining 1 cup cheese to top. Bake for 45 minutes or until set and browned on top.

Shared on Mandy's Recipe Box Apr. 3, 2013

Shared on Lady Behind The Curtain Apr. 3, 2013
Shared on The Country Cook Apr. 5, 2013