We had our church Christmas dinner last week. As usual, I signed up to bring a dish. Unfortunately, on the day of the event I couldn’t remember what I signed up for, and I didn’t know who to contact to find out what I had forgotten.
I reasoned that I could just bring a quick candy, something we call Hello Dollies. They’re really quick and easy, and I even adapted the recipe to use food storage.
Preheat oven to 375°F (350°F for glass pans). Pour the melted coconut oil into an 8x8” or 9x9” pan. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly on top. Sprinkle the coconut on top of that. Then pour on the sweetened condensed milk. Top the milk with the chocolate chips and then the nuts. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool and cut into 1 ½” squares.
*I
substituted homemade Grape-Nuts, link below.
**I could have made a substitute using powdered milk (link below), but I had a can here that I’d gotten for 25 cents, so I figured it was a good time to use it.
Reviews: Basically, these are super sweet and rich—an easy
way to pack on pounds or put yourself into a diabetic coma. And that’s why I only make them once a year
or so.
Unfortunately,
I didn’t sign up for a dessert. I
received a text a short time after I started making the Hello Dollies reminding
me that I signed up for a side dish.
Candy wasn’t going to cut it. I
tried rationalizing that taking the candy would be ok, no one would remember
what I signed up for, and that there would be plenty of food anyway.
Except that last time, there wasn’t plenty of food. Every dish was wiped clean.
I hadn’t done the weekly shopping and didn’t have any fresh produce to work with for a salad, and I wasn’t giving up all my hydroponic lettuce and the last of my garden tomatoes. I had plenty of potatoes to work with, but not enough time. I decided on stovetop macaroni and cheese, and I was totally going to wing the recipe. I’d always made my grandmother’s baked macaroni and cheese. Good stovetop mac n’ cheese from scratch was going to be a new experience. I combined a stovetop Magic Mix mac n’ cheese recipe that was a little low on cheese and creaminess and just a bit too starchy with ingredients for baked mac n’ cheese.
Cook
macaroni according to package directions.
In medium saucepan over medium-low heat, combine water and Magic Mix. Cook for 3-5 minutes, stirring constantly until thickened. Add salt, pepper, and mustard, stirring well after each addition. Add the cream cheese slices, and continue stirring until melted. Stir in shredded cheese a little at a time until fully melted.
Drain
macaroni; add to cheese sauce; stir to coat.
Serve immediately. Serves 6.
Reviews: Wow, this was cheesy and creamy and I’m thinking fondly of it now as I write this article. I think I like it better than my grandmother’s recipe. Except that one includes buttered bread crumbs that toast nicely while baking in the oven. Future decisions on which recipe to prepare will be difficult, but when time is of the essence this one will win.
As far as other reviews go, the macaroni and cheese pan was cleaned out quickly at the Christmas dinner. One of the teens came up to us and gushed profusely on how delicious it was.
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