Mac and Cheese...Half-Sized

Before hubs and I got married, my mom gave me Betty Crocker's Cookbook. Back in 1979, this was the new and revised edition, mentioning that the book included microwave recipes! I still use this cookbook, and especially well-used are the pages with the recipes for macaroni and cheese and chocolate chip cookies.

This is my family's favorite homemade mac and cheese recipe. One of the kids wanted to make sure I wouldn't forget this page so he or she grabbed a highlighter and circled page 117! (Ah, the small things that bring a smile...)

Back in the day I would triple this recipe because there were times when one or more of the kids existed on macaroni and cheese. And then there were times when the neighborhood gang just happened to be at the house right around dinnertime. As the kids got busy with extra curricular activities and everyone sitting down at dinner at the same time became a fond memory, once a week there would be a tray of mac and cheese in the fridge for someone to make their dinner whenever he or she got home. That's when the microwave came in handy...put a mountain of mac and cheese on the plate, throw it in the microwave and zap it for a minute or so. And then the kids began to leave for college and mac and cheese as a staple in our diet began to wane. When one would come home, I would make a huge panful to send back for the housemates.

Now it's 2014 and this Ohio winter is crushing January. On a day when comfort food was needed, thoughts drifted to my dog-eared Betty Crocker Cookbook. I looked at the recipe and it hit me. There are two people in this house. I don't need a full recipe. Wow...no more tripling the recipe. I cut it in half!

It looked so small. Empty nest slap of reality.

But it tasted the same and it brought comfort on a day when the wind chill was -25. And the lopsided circle around page 117 warmed my heart.