Well, if that is not a fancy name for good ole Mac and Cheese, I do not know what is. I know that it is not always considered the healthiest food to eat, but I bet most of us sneak it in now and then, even if it is a secret like a friend of mine used to keep, who craved the boxed version and would only eat it when nobody was looking. And, she was a health nut most of the time. Personally, I am much more overt about it.

When I was growing up this dish was never a side dish, but always the main event, and I loved it. My mom never did the store bought stuff; it was always homemade, and she always made fruit salad with it. This combo has managed to endure years of service and will probably be handed down in our family for generations because everybody loves if. I will admit to modifying the recipe a little, but my mom loved it the new way and was not insulted a bit. In fact, when I served it to her at my house it was the one thing she always wanted to take home as leftovers for the next day. This past weekend, when visiting one of my daughters out of state, she asked me to make it. As we were all enjoying it, I decided to not worry about the fat or calories and share it anyway. You decide how much or how often.

Before I divulge my secret recipe, I want to tell you some interesting facts about this well-loved dish. In about 1802, Thomas Jefferson started serving "macaroni baked with cream and cheese", to guests. He probably brought it over from Italy where it most likely originated way before that, possibly as early as the 13th century. It was considered a special treat and offered to "upper class" dinner guests. Other names include: macaroni cheese, macaroni pie (my new favorite) and macaroni pudding. I may never call it Mac and Cheese again. Oh, and by the way, Ronald Reagan had his own recipe too because he love it.

A few months ago, I forwarded what looked like an amazing version that I found online to my sister. We both tried it with the same results, it was okay to eat, but it was very complicated and dirtied every dish in the house. Guess what! We went back to Mom's version with our own special touches. So…here we go.

You need:

Large oven-safe casserole, even rectangular works

A package of large elbow Macaroni

Lot's of your favorite shredded cheddar or jack cheese (or both)

Milk

Salt and Pepper

1 pound ground sausage (spicy is best)

Cook the macaroni to the "firm" direction on the bag, run cold water over and drain. Brown the ground sausage and drain.

I coat the pan with a little olive oil. Layer the macaroni, sausage and then cheese (lot's) 2 to 3 times depending on how deep your dish is. Salt and pepper each layer according to your taste. Pour milk over the finished layers up to about half way up.

Bake at 350 covered for 45 minutes and then uncovered for 15 to 20 more. At this point you can add some bread crumbs on top if you want.

If you want to make the whole combo, here is the fruit salad.

2 apples

2 oranges

2 bananas

Mayonnaise

Cut the apples and orange into bite sized pieces and slice the bananas. Put in your favorite salad bowl and add a very small amount of mayonnaise just to coat, and I mean a small amount.

Both dishes can be expanded or decreased in size easily, without much math.

Not sure why this combo works, but it sure does around our family. Okay, I know it is not low fat or low calorie, but can we just cheat sometimes?