You’ll never have a better baked mac and cheese than this one inspired by a restaurant in St. Louis!

Nearly two years ago, we took a family vacation to St. Louis. We had a great time exploring the city and making lots of family memories. We also tried some incredible food. The hamburger from Hi-Pointe Drive-In was fabulous. Cookies from Insomnia Cookies hit a sweet spot. Floats from Fitz’s Root Beer were in their own category of sweet treats.

But, hands down, the most memorable for me was Salt + Smoke BBQ. My daughter and I went there solo while the boys ate elsewhere. The barbeque was good. Stupidly good. However, the baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping stole my heart.

I literally said to my daughter as we were eating, “If I wasn’t already married to your dad, I’d marry this mac and cheese.” That may sound dramatic, but the mac and cheese really was that good. (I’m not even a big mac and cheese fan.)

Since we live a few hours away from St. Louis, I knew my odds of having that baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping again were slim. If we go back someday, I’ll definitely hit it up. But until then, I’ve found and tweaked a recipe that tastes incredibly similar.

This baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping has become a regular for Thanksgiving dinner at my house. I’ve served it to up beside sloppy joes. Most recently, I made it as a main dish and enjoyed every single bite of it. So much so that I seriously debated having its leftovers for breakfast the next day. You have got to try this simple recipe that only uses six ingredients (besides a bit of salt and pepper)!

Stovetop prep for the baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping

Salt the water in a large pot and let it come to a boil, then add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes. While the pasta cooks, preheat the oven to 300-degrees (F). The Salt + Smoke mac and cheese uses pasta shells, so that’s what I have used. You could use any pasta shape you prefer.

About four minutes before the pasta is finished getting, melt 2 tablespoons of butter into a medium saucepan over medium/high heat.

When the pasta is finished cooking, strain it and return it to the pot, removed from the heat. Once the butter has melted, stir in 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Here’s how it will look start to finish:

Once the flour and butter are well combined and cooked together, begin adding in the heavy cream about 1/4 cup at a time. Let it mix in each time completely before adding more. It will go from a texture of runny oatmeal to mashed potatoes to pudding to sauce.

Once the cream is completely stirred in and the mixture is more sauce-like, continue cooking it over medium/high heat, stirring frequently. When it just starts to move around a bit, remove it from the heat. Do not let it boil. It will look like this:

Next, stir in 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese. Salt + Smoke uses white cheddar, I think, but I use triple cheddar blend because it’s easier for me to find. Add a dash of salt and pepper.

Getting it ready to bake

Once the cheese sauce is totally together, pour the sauce over the cooked and strained pasta.

Stir together the sauce and pasta so it is well mixed and all the pasta is covered.

Transferred the coated pasta into a 9×13-inch baking dish, lightly sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Use a spoon to spread it evenly throughout the dish.

Crush the Ritz crackers for the topping and spread over the top of the prepared mac and cheese. I use about 8 to 10 Ritz crackers for this. I have store brand ingredients for everything except the crackers, because the buttery flavor of Ritz really does work best for this recipe. (Please note that I am in no way affiliated with or sponsored by Ritz crackers.)

Bake it in the preheated 300-degree oven for about 12 minutes until heated through. I often serve this with additional crackers on the side for added crunch if people want. Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers.

I promise this will become your favorite baked mac and cheese recipe! Look at this cheesy, yummy goodness!

Baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping

This baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping recipe is the best ever. With only 6 ingredients, it will quickly become a favorite!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 12 minutes mins

Total Time 32 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine American

Servings 8 people

Ingredients

  

• 1 pound medium pasta shells
• 2 tablespoons salted butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese
• 8-10 Ritz crackers crushed
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

 

• Bring a lot pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 12 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 300-degrrees (F).
• About four minutes before the pasta is finished cooking, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a medium saucepan over medium/high heat.
• Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the butter and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
• Drain the pasta and return it to its pot off the heat; set aside.
• Slowly add the heavy cream to the butter and flour mixture. Stir in about 1/4 cup at a time, waiting until it's completely mixed in to add more.
• Once the cream is all added, continue cooking over medium/high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid starts to move. Do NOT let it come to a boil.
• Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese until completely melted and smooth. Add a dash of salt and pepper. (If you use unsalted butter, you may need to add more salt.)
• Pour the cheddar cheese sauce over the cooked and drained pasta. Mix well so the sauce covers all the pasta.
• Spritz a 9×13-inch baking dish lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the pasta into the baking dish and spread it out evenly.
• Crush the Ritz crackers by hand and sprinkle evenly over the top of the pasta.
• Bake for 12 minutes until heated through. Serve immediately, and enjoy!

Keyword baked mac and cheese, carry-in, carry-in recipe, Christmas, family dinner, family friendly, family recipe, kid friendly, mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese, potluck, salt + smoke mac and cheese, Thanksgiving, weeknight dinner

Find more delicious family recipes like this one in the “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook. Download your FREE copy today!

Using the microwave and the oven for baked potatoes speeds up cooking time without compromising texture!

I haven’t met a potato I didn’t like from cheesy party potatoes to mashed potatoes to potato soup to to french fries to potato chili, I love them all. When it comes to baked potatoes, I like them soft and tender. But baking them for hours isn’t really my jam. I don’t have time for that! Instead I take a trick from my mom using this microwave baked potato recipe. Because you start the potatoes in the microwave and finish them in the oven, they cook faster and you still get that nice oven-baked texture.

These microwave baked potatoes are incredibly easy. They’re perfect for weeknight or weekend dinners!

Microwave the baked potato

Turn your oven on to 450-degrees (F) to start preheating.

Before you put your baked potatoes in the microwave, you need to poke holes in the potatoes or else they will explode. I usually stab mine all over in random places with a fork. I don’t know that I need to make as many holes as I do, but I figure better safe than sorry. After all, I don’t want to clean up an exploded potato mess!

Put the potatoes on a microwave-safe plate, and then place them in the microwave. I cook them in the microwave at 100% power for about three minutes per potato. You can probably get away with two minutes per potato if they are smaller potatoes, but I usually do this with large ones and serve them as our main dish.

So, I cooked these three potatoes in the microwave for 12 minutes.

Prepare for the oven

A couple of minutes before the potatoes are finished in the microwave, I get set up to transfer them to the oven with a baking sheet, sheets of aluminum foil, vegetable oil with a tablespoon and coarse sea salt.

When the microwave stops, take the potatoes out. The potatoes will be hot, so use oven mitts to pick them up one at a time to transfer them to the foil sheets.

Once the potato is on a foil sheet, drizzle one tablespoon of vegetable oil over it.

Next, sprinkle the potato with the coarse sea salt, if desired.

Wrap the foil around the potatoes and place them onto a baking sheet. Cook them in the oven at 450-degrees (F) for 20 minutes.

Enjoy the potato

When the potatoes are finished cooking, take them out of the oven. Carefully open the foil to let them start to cool.

Cut the potato open carefully and use a fork to mash the inside a bit, if you like it that way. (I sure do!)

Add your favorite toppings and you’re good to go! We usually have baked potatoes as our main dish, so I loaded this one up with butter, cheese, sour cream and bacon bits. On the night I took these photos, we had a total carb fest. I also served up this delicious homemade french bread! Another great pairing for these baked potatoes is my mom’s meatloaf with ketchup glaze.

My all-time favorite meatloaf recipe

There are so many different ways to make meatloaf. I’ve seen it with brown gravy over the top. Sometimes it’s dry. Other times it’s spicy. But, my all-time favorite meatloaf recipe topped with ketchup glaze comes from my mama. It’s one of my favorite dishes she makes.

I hadn’t made meatloaf myself until more recently. My husband and son won’t eat it. They don’t eat much meat. But after trying various meal kit delivery services, I learned making two different dinner options was sometimes worth it. I tried out some meatloaf recipes, and they were good enough. However, they weren’t my mom’s.

For just over a year, my parents have lived states away from me instead of five minutes away from me. So when they were here for a visit in the fall, I asked my mom to make meatloaf. She not only made it, but also froze some meatloaf patties that my daughter and I enjoyed later on for dinners. When my parents were back for my son’s recent birthday, I knew I had to write down her recipe, take photos and share it with you guys as well!

This meatloaf recipe is home-cooking at its finest. It’s not fancy, but it’s hearty and delicious. Serve it up with mashed potatoes or cheesy party potatoes and oven-roasted vegetables for a complete meal.

Figure out the meat

So the issue here is what kind of meat to use. You can use all ground beef (we use chuck at 80/20 fat) or a mix of ground beef and ground pork or sausage. It’s good all the ways! This particular time, we made it with the mix of ground beef and ground pork, because I had some leftover ground pork I wanted to use.

If you do use a mixture of meat, you want to use 3/4 ground beef and about 1/4 ground pork or sausage. We used 2.5 pounds of meat total for five adults (with leftovers), which broke down to 2 pounds of ground beef and 1/2 pound of ground pork.

The fresher your meat is, the better the meatloaf will be. If you have a butcher or butcher’s case at your grocery store, go with ground meat from there. You don’t need it to be all-organic and grass-fed (unless that’s your thing). You just want fresh. However, this time around, we used frozen meat I had, and it was still incredibly good.

Mix up your meatloaf

Switch your oven on to 350-degrees (F) to get it preheating, and then start mixing your meatloaf. Put all of the meat into a large mixing bowl. Add 1 egg, 1 teaspoon of sage (unless you use sausage, in which case omit this), salt, pepper, 1/2 cup diced onion, 3 tablespoons of ketchup and 3 tablespoons of honey barbeque sauce.

Cut up about three slices of bread into small pieces. You an use whatever bread you have. This time, I had leftover french bread from serving slow cooker potato soup for dinner a couple of nights prior, so I used that. But regular sandwich bread works. In a pinch, crumbled crackers can work as well.

Add the bread pieces into the meat mixture and mix it all together well. You can use a spoon for this or your clean hands to do so. I think using your hands is easiest, but do what works for you.

The next step in this meatloaf recipe is putting the meat into a 9×13 baking dish. My mom’s tip is to make a bit of a “well” around the meat in between the meat and the pan. The grease will collect there and be easier to drain off.

After your meatloaf is in the pan, top it with the 6 ounces of tomato paste. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place the meatloaf in your preheated oven for 45 minutes.

Finish the meatloaf

About five minutes before the 45-minute mark, mix up your glaze. The ketchup glaze in this meatloaf recipe is probably my favorite thing about it! Mix together 2 tablespoons of brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of ketchup and 2 tablespoons of honey barbeque sauce.

Pull the meatloaf out of the oven. The tomato paste will have baked into the top a bit and grease will have gathered around the sides.

If you want, an optional step for this meatloaf recipe is to drain off some of the grease. That’s what we chose to do. Here is what it looked like after we drained the grease.

Next, it’s time to spread the ketchup glaze over the meatloaf. Spread the mixed up glaze right on top of the tomato paste.

Put the meatloaf back into the oven, uncovered, for 15 more minutes. Let it set for about five minutes and then slice and put onto a plate for serving. (You want to move it to a plate to serve from because baking the second time will create more grease that you don’t want the meat sitting in.)

Serve up with some cheesy party potatoes, oven-roasted vegetables or mashed potatoes and enjoy!

Meatloaf recipe with ketchup glaze

This meatloaf recipe with ketchup glaze is my mom's long-time recipe that makes the best meatloaf hands down. You've got to try it!

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 0.5 pounds ground pork
• 8 ounces tomato sauce
• 3 slices bread chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup onion diced
• 5 tablespoons ketchup divided
• 5 tablespoons honey barbeque sauce divided
• 6 ounces tomato paste
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350-degrees (F).
• Put the ground beef and ground pork into a large mixing bowl. Add in the tomato sauce, bread, sage, egg and onion.
• Add 3 tablespoons of ketchup and 3 tablespoons of barbeque sauce, and mix the ingredients well.
• Put the meat mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Flatten it out to the same thickness throughout and leave a small space between the sides of the dish and the meat.
• Spread the tomato paste over the top of the meat. Then cover with aluminum foil and baked for 45 minutes.
• About 5 minutes before the meatloaf is finished with the first round of baking, mix together 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ketchup and 2 tablespoons barbeque sauce to form the ketchup glaze.
• Remove the meatloaf from the oven. If desired, drain some of the grease from the meatloaf. Then spread the glaze over the top of the tomato sauce.
• Put the meatloaf back into the oven, uncovered, for an additional 15 minutes.
• Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it set for five minutes before slicing and transferring to another plate to serve.

Keyword family dinner, family recipe, ketchup glaze, kid friendly, meatloaf, traditional recipe

A delicious cookie dough dessert without any raw eggs

I love chocolate. A lot. A super lot. My favorite cookies are chocolate chip cookies. And I definitely enjoy some chocolate chip cookie dough when I’m baking them. But, I don’t eat it otherwise, because the risk of salmonella. My son loves chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. So when I discovered an easy recipe for edible chocolate chip cookie dough, I knew I had to try it.

I first made it in 2020 when we were spending lots of time at home thanks to COVID-19. Since then, I’ve made this edible chocolate chip cookie dough multiple times and learned a few things along the way. The first being that I need to double the recipe. Making just the amount for the original recipe isn’t nearly enough for my family!

I’ve made a couple of other tweaks to the recipe and it’s the absolute best. I just made a couple of batches for my son’s 10th birthday and knew I had to share the recipe for this edible chocolate chip cookie dough. I can’t keep the deliciousness to myself!

Prepare the flour

My concern in eating raw chocolate chip cookie dough used to be just the salmonella in the eggs. However, I’ve more recently learned raw flour also poses a risk. Processing grains into flour doesn’t kill the bacteria in the flour. So this recipe starts with cooking the flour so you get rid of the bacteria.

The good news is that you can do this easily in your microwave. Pour two cups of all-purpose flour into a microwave-safe bowl and microwave in 30-second increments, stirring after each 30 seconds, until the flour reaches 165-degrees (F). My microwave usually does this in two run-throughs.

I grab my kitchen thermometer and really do measure the temperature for this process to be sure.

Mixing the cookie dough

Once your flour is all prepped and ready to go, you just need to mix together all the ingredients. I use my beloved stand mixer, Dorothy, for making this edible chocolate chip cookie dough, but you can also use a hand mixer or spoon.

Put your prepared flour to the side and beat the 2 sticks of room temperature butter with 2 cups of packed brown sugar.

You’ll know it’s creamed when it is thoroughly combined and fluffy.

Next, add in 1/4 cup milk, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix the ingredients together. (Be sure to slow down your mixer before adding in the wet ingredients to avoid getting splashed by them. Yes, I speak from experience!) The mixture should be thick, but still wet and clumpy.

Now you’re ready to put treated flour to work. Mix it into the mixture in stages. I usually put it in with a heaping tablespoon at a time.

Once the flour is all mixed in, you should have the consistency of chocolate chip cookie dough that is thick and soft.

Finally, it’s time to stir in the chocolate chips. You could use full-sized semi-sweet chocolate chips for this recipe, but the mini ones work better and are easier to eat. I use my stand mixer’s “stir” setting to stir in the chocolate chips, but you could also do it by hand. You want to avoid a higher setting that will break up the chips.

Transfer the edible chocolate chip cookie dough into an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. I can’t tell you how many days it lasts in the fridge beyond two or three, because my family doesn’t keep it around for long!

Serve it by itself, alongside fudgy brownies, with ice cream or however you think sounds best!

Edible Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough

This edible chocolate chip cookie dough recipe is delicious and easy. Eat it by the spoonful, with ice cream or with any other dessert!

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Total Time 15 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Ingredients

  

• 2 sticks salted butter room temperature
• 2 cups brown sugar packed
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour heat treated (see instructions below)
• 1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

 

• Heat treat the flour to kill any bacteria contained in it by placing it in a microwave-safe bowl and "cooking" it in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time, stirring between each 30 seconds, until the temperature throughout reaches 165-degrees (F). Set the flour aside.
• In a stand mixer or using a handheld mixer, add the butter and brown sugar. Beat together until well combined and fluffy.
• Turn the speed down and add in the milk, vanilla and salt. Mix until combined.
• Slowly add in the heat-treated flour at low to medium speed until it is well mixed into a soft, thick "dough."
• Stir in the chocolate chips.
• Put the edible chocolate chip cookie dough into an airtight container and store in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

Keyword chocolate chip cookie dough, easy dessert, edible chocolate chip cookie dough, no bake dessert

Baked hot dogs have a fresh-from-the-grill flavor any time of year!

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The first year my husband and I were married, he told me he liked hot dogs. Since he’s a relatively picky eater and I was a relatively awful cook, I made hot dogs. A lot. As a result, the guy won’t eat boiled or microwaved hot dogs any more.

As a Midwestern resident, I decided to look for a winter-friendly way to get a grilled hot dog taste that didn’t involve anyone standing out in the cold at the grill. I decided to try baked hot dogs and was pleasantly surprised. Even my husband agreed that baked hot dogs were nearly as good as grilled.

Picking the hot dogs

When it comes to hot dogs, my husband prefers what I call “old school” dogs. We skip the specialty or all-beef hot dogs. Bun length dogs don’t even have a place in our home. And forget the extra thick guys. So, we get regular length, skinny dogs. That’s all I’ve tried baking in the oven. If you are baking thicker or longer hot dogs, you may have to have a longer baking time. Just beware of that.

Let’s get baking!

This is an incredibly simple and straightforward recipe. Start by preheating the oven to 400-degrees (F). Line a baking dish with aluminum foil. I spritz mine very lightly with non-stick cooking spray, but I’m not sure that’s necessary.

For my family of four, I use my 8×8-inch glass baking dish. It easily fits eight hot dogs.

Next, just put the hot dogs into the pan in one layer. (How simple is that?!)

Pop the hot dogs into your preheated oven. They baked for 15 minutes total. (Maybe more if they are thicker.) I usually set my time for 7 minutes and shake the baked hot dogs around halfway through. If you really want crispy or blackened hot dogs, you can broil them for the final couple minutes of baking time to the correct doneness. We like ours to be cooked with a bit of crisp on the outside but not color.

And that’s it. I told you this was a simple recipe! Serve the hot dogs in buns with your favorite toppings. The baked hot dogs pair well with this super easy fire-roasted corn and red peppers. If you’re looking for a crunchy side, try this skillet queso with tortilla chips. And whip up some mint chocolate chip mousse for a simple and refreshing dessert!