A Southern Sunday Post With A Surprise Mac and Cheese!

If I had posted what I wrote last night for this blog post I would be begging for apologies…I was so very selfish and self indulgent! That won't happen again! ( not for a while at least! )

Tonight we were blessed to have a wonderful birthday celebration…the kind that my family is known for! Holly wasn't here to photograph it all as they are on a Chick Fil A Seminar trip so I tried my best to take her place! It was hard! I can't cook for my child's 29th birthday, take pictures AND be the best grandmother in the world all at the same time!

Mitch picked a fabulous menu as usual…the problem was…we had also enjoyed a FABULOUS lunch with Jim's parents after church at Birmingham Country Club! So we all paced ourselves with what we ate in order to enjoy both of the festivities!

We always put out special photos of the birthday person!

And we always have "birthday streamers" hanging from the chandeliers…whether it be in the kitchen or in the dining room…the dining room means that we have a big crowd and can't fit everyone in the kitchen!

There were gifts to be opened...

And Britney's delicious appetizer to be eaten before the real meal was started…it was truly a fun time had by all!

Mitch is my child that has always loved to cook. My mom taught him. Not me. I never wanted it to take too long to make dinner, or make too much of a mess…
Trust me on this one…LET THEM!!! It's WORTH IT!! What I wouldn't give for those days to be with him in the kitchen…for him to be wanting to cook with me again! 
I'm stopping here for fear of saying or preaching too much! 
Here was Mitch's menu tonight:
Fried Chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy 
( that my sweet mother made!)
Green Bean Casserole
Mandarin Orange Salad
Biscuits
Nutter Butter Banana Cream Pie with White Chocolate Mousse!
( that my sweet mother made!)

Of course I had to go and make this lucious steak house mac and cheese on top of everything else! I had gotten the recipe from Plain Chicken's blog and it was truly incredible! And let me say, just the fact that my sister took a "to go" plate like it was Thanksgiving made me feel like a million bucks! We all loved Mitch's choice for his birthday dinner! 
What I loved most was Layton's sweet observation…
Layton to me: " I love these plates, Nonnie!"

Me to Layton: "You know, I only use these plates once a year…for your daddy's birthday because it is right at Valentine's Day."
Layton to me: "Well, next year, when I have my birthday here, you can use them for me too because you love me so much just like you love my daddy so much!"
Me to Self: "Does it get much better than this?"
I have to say I'd pay almost anything for another dozen of these heart shaped plates from William Sonoma that I bought so many moons ago… they are worth every penny!
Much love to you!
 Enjoy those that you hold dear! 
Time flies when you're having fun!

Hope you enjoy the recipe for the Mac and Cheese!

1/2 lb campanelle pasta
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp all purpose flour

1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
salt
pepper
3 oz camembert cheese
3 oz provolone

Preheat oven to 350.

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large sauce pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook 1 – 2 minutes, but do not brown. Add cream, milk, salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder
.
Bring pot to a simmer. Cook until sauce is thick, about 5 – 6 minutes. Blend cheese into sauce and add cooked pasta.

Pour pasta and sauce into a 9-inch square baking dish.  Bake for 20 minutes