Sometimes you throw caution to the wind...

That sounds like a pretty ambitious statement for what I'm going to post about, but I'm going to run with it.

Since my diagnosis I have been pretty stringent about what I eat - I'm keeping it healthy and working out a lot in the hopes that my body will function better... will feel better.

Some days, however, you need to let it go. Letting go for me means enjoying some comfort food. Some days are days like today.

Taken with my iPhone out my front window

On days like today, when I've been working hard and it's dreary out, I want some comfort food. For me, there's nothing more comforting than homemade mac'n'cheese - cheesy, carby, spicy (in my case) delicious-ness. I don't really have a recipe for mac'n'cheese, but all recipes I've seen include making a bechamel sauce, adding in some spices and cheese, and mixing the sauce with some pasta. Sometimes I add bacon or bread crumbs, sometimes I bake it, sometimes I don't. It's really one of those laid back dishes that can be changed according to your mood.

Cheesy comfort food... served with a nice bitter beer for me!

Basic Homemade Mac'n'cheese

3 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. flour

Spices (e.g., paprika, nutmeg, cayenne, cajun seasoning, etc.)

1 1/2 cups milk (any kind - I used skim because it lets me think this is healthy)

1 1/2 cups cheese (any variety - I used a combination of mozzarella, old cheddar, romano, and some Laughing Cow flavoured cheese wedges... literally what I had in my fridge)

Cooked short pasta, about 4 cups (I think?)

Toppings (bacon, bread crumbs, chips, tomatoes, use your imagination)

You'll note the ingredients say "cooked pasta" - if you don't want to bake the mac'n'cheese in the oven then cook it according the package directions, if you want that old school mac'n'cheese casserole then cook it a few minutes shy of package directions.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan. Add the flour and cook slightly (this is known as a roux). Add your spices, I used cayenne and cajun seasoning this time, but my mom's always had tabasco, worcestershire sauce, and nutmeg. Add the milk and whisk, whisk, whisk (this will help ensure a smooth sauce). Flour acts as a thickener and as the milk heats up the sauce should begin to thicken - this is the bechamel sauce (plus spices). Add in the cheese and stir until it's all melted. I mixed in some turkey bacon (look at me being healthy!) at this point.

Cheese sauce - CHECK! Pasta - CHECK! Mix that shit together!

You can eat it just like that. I frequently do. To kick it up a notch you can top it with something crunchy like panko or regular bread crumbs, some bacon bits, or chips or you can do what my grandpa used to do which was tomato slices. Toss it in the oven at 350 degrees for a half hour or so until it's nicely browned and bubbly on the edges.

When homemade mac'n'cheese is that easy, why on earth would you eat the store bought stuff?