Ahira's Hangar

Baked Macaroni and Cheese Casserole
(Pam/Menolly)

1 lb. box medium pasta shells
1/2 cup each minced onion, carrot, celery, green pepper
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
2 TBS chopped garlic
2 TBS olive oil
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cans evaporated (not sweetened condensed) milk
1/4 cup pale dry cocktail sherry or white wine
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white or black pepper
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
3 cups (12 ounces) grated Sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1 egg, lightly whipped
1 package Jones frozen Dinner Sausage. (optional, Boca Brand frozen Vegetarian Dinner Sausages work well)

Preheat oven to 350ºF.
Cook macaroni in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pour into a 3-quart baking dish.
While the macaroni is boiling, sauté the vegetables in the olive oil until tender.
In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook and stir for one minute. Gradually stir in milk and then sherry. Add sour cream, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and mustard. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens. Stir in half of the Cheddar cheese until melted.
Pour a little hot sauce into the whipped egg and fold in to temper the egg, then pour the egg mixture into the hot sauce and stir. Pour all of the sauce through a china cap or mesh strainer if you have one. If not, it’s not absolutely necessary.
Toss macaroni with 1/2 of the remaining Cheddar cheese and all of the sautéed vegetables. Pour sauce over macaroni and mix thoroughly. Layer sausage links on top of casserole.
Bake, covered, for 45 minutes.
Sprinkle remaining Cheddar and Parmesan cheeses over sausage links and return to oven, uncovered.
Broil for 15 minutes, or until sausage links brown and cheese melts.
Yield: 6 servings.

This is a favorite for me to bring to pot lucks and picnics. For those occasions, I double the recipe and bake it inside my oven safe 6.5 quart crockpot insert. When done, I put it into the crockpot itself, attach the lid lock, put on the thermal cover and transport it that way. If there is an electrical outlet at the location, I take off the thermal cover and lid lock and, using an extension cord if necessary, plug the crockpot in and set it on LOW. If my crockpot had a WARM setting I would use that instead, but so be it. It's a hit everytime!