Salsa is an easy way to add flavor to these beef enchiladas!

One cuisine my entire family agrees on is Mexican food. Even my most particular eaters in the house have lots of Mexican favorites. While the guys would be happy with tacos or nachos all the time, my daughter and I like to shake things up a bit more. I tried making beef enchiladas first with a meal kit, and now I’ve made the recipe my own.

These beef enchiladas are super easy to put together and have a delectable Mexican flavor your whole family will like. You can make them as spicy as you like. My kiddos and I aren’t big on spicy food at all, so I got mild with ours, but there are easy ways to increase the spice like by using medium or hot salsa.

You can also make other variations on this enchilada recipe as well. I use ground beef, because that’s what the majority of my family prefers. But you can also use chicken or ground pork. I actually made a couple of the batch I photographed with cheese and onion, because I’d been craving a cheese enchilada.

On the stovetop

This recipe starts on the stovetop. Put about 1 tablespoon of vegetable or olive oil into a large skillet. Add 2/3 cup of diced onion and sauté the onion over medium-high heat for 3 minutes.

Next add in 1/2 to 1 pound of your meat. You can use chicken or ground turkey. I use ground beef. I usually use about 1/2 pound, because my family isn’t big on eating meat. But you can do up to a pound to make enough enchiladas for four people. Crumble the meat into small pieces and cook it completely through.

Once the meat is cooked, then you need to season it. I use 1/4 cup (or one packet) of taco seasoning. Mix the seasoning in with the meat without adding water.

Stir in the taco seasoning and then add 1 cup of salsa to the meat mixture. I use mild salsa, but you can go for whatever heat level your family prefers. (If your family doesn’t like chunks of veggies in their salsa, use a food processor or blender to puree the salsa before adding it in.) Feel free to also add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the meat mixture simmer on the stovetop for 2 to 3 minutes. Then remove the meat mixture from the heat.

Build your beef enchiladas

Now you’re ready to build your beef enchiladas. I usually get out a paper plate to build mine on. Dollop 1 to 2 tablespoons of the meat filling into taco-sized flour tortillas.

(Honestly, if I were making these for just me, I’d add a sprinkle of cheese to the inside of each enchilada as well, but my crazy family doesn’t like melted cheese as much as I do. So I refrain. Sigh.)

Roll the tortilla and place it seam-side down into the 9×13-inch baking dish that’s been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Put them right next to each other to keep them from opening up.

(You’ll notice in the photo below that the enchiladas on the far right have cheese already. This is because I made a couple of cheese and onion enchiladas as well and wanted to “mark” them.)

Pour about 1 cup of salsa over the top of the enchiladas.

Sprinkle the top of the enchiladas with shredded cheese. You’ll notice that mine increases in cheese amounts as you go to the right, because I can’t give up all melty cheese just because my family doesn’t like it as much as I do!

Place the baking dish in the oven and turn the broil on low. Broil the beef enchiladas for 3 to 4 minutes until the cheese is melted, lightly browned and bubbly.

Serve immediately. We love to put sour cream on ours. Mexican rice from a box goes well with these beef enchiladas as do tortilla chips.

Don’t miss these easy weeknight family dinner options as well!

• Honey mustard chicken with bacon and cheese
• Easy homemade sloppy joes
• Baked mac and cheese with Ritz cracker topping
• “Grilled” hot dogs from the oven
• Taco soup

Find other family friendly recipes like this one in the FREE “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook!

A low calorie, high protein egg salad recipe

When it comes to “salads” for sandwiches, egg salad is one of my favorites. I love a good chicken salad, too. I’m more than glad to pass on tuna salad. But, a good egg salad sandwich can’t be beat.

However, like so many good foods, egg salad isn’t necessarily the healthiest food. Then I learned about using plain Greek yogurt as the base for the egg salad and knew I had to give it a try. Now I’m hooked on not only how healthy this Greek yogurt egg salad recipe is but also on how easy it is to make!

For those tracking points for WW, this egg salad recipe is only 1 point per serving (as of May 2023). Not too shabby!

How to boil eggs

One of the first things I had to learn in making good deviled eggs was to boil them correctly. I didn’t want them to be over-boiled and get that dark tint to the yolk. Having them be soft boiled also wouldn’t work. Like Goldilocks, I want boiled eggs that are just right. So, here’s what I’ve found that works best.

First, start with older eggs. I’m not saying expired eggs, but the fresher your eggs are, the more difficult they are to peel so they’re smooth. Next, fill a pot about 2/3 full with warm water and add a dash or two of salt. (The salt will help the shells come off a bit easier.)

Put the pot on your cold stovetop. Carefully place four eggs into the pot. Put a lid on the pot, and turn the stove on high heat. Leave them be. When the water begins boiling, turn off the heat. Leave the eggs on the warm stovetop for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl and fill it with cool water. Add in ice cubes and let the eggs sit until they are completely cool.

Prep the eggs

Once your eggs are cooled, you’re ready to start prepping them. I usually tap them on the countertop to crack the shells and then peel them over a paper towel. When I’m finished, I rinse the egg to be sure I have gotten off all bits of shell, and then I place them onto a clean paper towel to dry.

Next you can either chop the eggs into small pieces or put them in your bowl to mash. I’ve done it both ways. I like it better chopping them first just because then the egg pieces are a bit smaller in the egg salad, but either way works.

Make the egg salad

Place the boiled eggs — chopped or whole — into a mixing bowl. Add 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1/2 tablespoon mayonnaise, 1 teaspoon yellow mustard, 1 teaspoon Ranch dressing and 1/2 teaspoon honey mustard. (If you don’t have honey mustard, add some extra yellow mustard.) Sprinkle in salt and pepper to taste.

Using a fork or your potato masher, mash all the ingredients together.

Once everything is mashed to the size you like, use a spoon to stir a few times and make sure all the ingredients are well combined. Serve it immediately or store the egg salad in an airtight container in your refrigerator for five to seven days.

Looking for more egg recipes? Don’t miss these!

• Deviled eggs
• Microwave scrambled eggs

Find other family friendly recipes like this one in the FREE “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook!

A decadent chicken dinner idea

I love a good chicken dinner. A lot. As I’m making more and more chicken at home for my daughter and me (my husband and son don’t eat chicken), I’m branching out into different flavors. This honey mustard chicken with bacon and cheese is completely inspired by a favorite dish I’ve had a chain restaurant from down under.

The mix of honey mustard, cheese, chicken and bacon is so good. I decided to try making it myself. You could also make this into a quesadilla by cutting up the chicken pieces and piling them into a tortilla with honey mustard, bacon and cheese. I haven’t yet done that, but I am definitely going to try it! (You can easily bake quesadillas to get them nice and crispy without being greasy.)

I’m telling you, this is one chicken dinner idea you’re going to add into your line-up. It’s easy and tasty!

Preparing the chicken

When I made this honey mustard chicken with bacon and cheese to take photos, I had four small pieces of chicken. So, that’s what I went with. Next time when I haven’t totally messed up the chicken breasts I previously bought, I’d make it with larger pieces of chicken.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Then pat your chicken dry and season it with salt and pepper to taste. Spritz your skillet well with non-stick cooking spray and place the chicken into the pan. Cook it for 4 to 6 minutes per side, depending on the size and thickness of your chicken. I always temperature check mine in the middle to be sure it’s at least 165-degrees (F).

While the chicken is cooking, make your precooked bacon. I used three slices between these four small pieces of chicken. You can definitely use regularly cooked bacon as well. The precooked just saves time by making it in the microwave. We like bacon crispy around here, so I cooked it until it was crispy.

Baking the honey mustard chicken

When the chicken is cooked through, transfer it to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, non-stick aluminum foil or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Spread about 1 tablespoon of honey mustard on top of each medium chicken breast.

Next, take your cooked pieces of bacon and break them apart to fit in slices on top of each piece of honey mustard chicken.

Then, for two servings, divide 1/2 cup shredded cheese between the chicken breasts. I use Colby jack cheese, but cheddar would also be great for this. You might notice half the chicken has more cheese than the other. That’s because my daughter isn’t big on melted cheese, but I am!

Put the prepared honey mustard chicken with bacon and cheese into your oven and turn the broiler on low. Broil the chicken for 2 to 5 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and browned. Keep an eye on it so it doesn’t burn.

Remove the chicken and serve it with a yummy sides like oven-roasted vegetables and garlic cheddar biscuits.

Find other family friendly recipes like this one in the FREE “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook!

An easy recipe for garlic cheddar biscuits that taste better than the ones from that well-known crustacean restaurant!

My husband, kiddos and I are not big seafood eaters. My guys don’t eat any seafood; my daughter and I eat a small amount. But there is that well-known chain crustacean restaurant we sometimes go to mostly because we really want the garlic cheddar biscuits. But then I figured out how to make them easily at home — and found they were more moist to boot. So now we can enjoy them pretty much any time!

One of the things I most love about this garlic cheddar biscuit recipe is that it’s simple enough for weeknight dinners, and I usually have the ingredients on-hand. I’ve tried a few varieties of this recipe, and finally found one I liked pretty well. I made a few teaks and now I’m in love!

Making the biscuit dough

The thing that sets these garlic cheddar biscuits apart from all the others is using butter in small pieces so you get buttery bursts as you eat them. You can make these using vegetable oil instead of butter, but they don’t have that nice buttery pop that is so decadent.

For eight to nine biscuits (depending on the size you make them), cut 2 tablespoons of cold butter into pieces.

Next, put 1-1/4 cups of baking mix into a large mixing bowl. The name brand option is Bisquick. I have used the Kroger store version for this recipe as well and had it turn out perfectly fine. Add the butter into the bowl with the dry mix.

Use two forks to mix the butter pieces into the dry mix. You want to keep the pieces of butter about the size of a pea or smaller so they are dispersed throughout the dough.

Next, add 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar (or cheddar jack) cheese, 1/2 cup of milk and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder into the mix.

Stir the ingredients together until they are combined without any dry pockets of baking mix. It should form a dough that is soft and moist.

Baking the garlic cheddar biscuits

Dollop the dough on a baking sheet that is lightly greased or lined with parchment paper (my pick!). I usually get about nine biscuits from this recipe. I don’t roll or round the biscuits in any way. The nooks and crannies that form when the dough is dropped get a bit of extra crispiness. And that’s worth the more rustic look to me!

Bake the biscuits in the oven at 400-degrees for 11 to 13 minutes until the tops start to turn light brown. A couple of minutes before the biscuits are ready to come out of the oven, put 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder into a microwave safe bowl to melt. (Or you can add the garlic powder after the butter melts; either way works!)

Once the butter is melted, stir it so the garlic powder is all mixed in. Pull the garlic cheddar biscuits out of the oven.

Immediately brush the tops with the melted garlic butter. Get into all the nooks and crannies!

Finally, lightly sprinkle the biscuits with salt. Serve them hot! Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator or at room temperature.

Find other family friendly recipes like this one in the FREE “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook!

An easy and delicious recipe for deviled eggs

One of the simplest recipes I make is deviled eggs. In fact, it’s one of the only recipes I never measure ingredients for. I’m generally big on measuring ingredients! I first learned the recipe from my mom and then tweaked it slightly through the years. And now I just feel it in my soul.

OK, that’s probably a bit too dramatic. But, I am pretty good at telling when I have the amounts just right. So I set out and figured out the correct measurements for ingredients in order to put together this recipe. I’ve put it off for a while because I knew I’d have to do that.

However, with all that said, sometimes I make mistakes. And when I do, I continue to do a bit of tweaking to get the deviled eggs just right. I like my deviled eggs pretty basic without fancy extra ingredients. When I was making them for this post, my 13-year-old daughter wanted to make them instead. I guided her through the recipe, but when it was time to add the honey mustard, she added in double the amount I usually use.

If these eggs look like they have a looser filling than usual, that’s why. We ended up having to add some extra mayo, extra mustard and even some sour cream to get them right this time. But they weren’t ruined. And they were still gobbled down by my daughter, my father-in-law and myself!

How to boil eggs

One of the first things I had to learn in making good deviled eggs was to boil them correctly. I didn’t want them to be over-boiled and get that dark tint to the yolk. Having them be soft boiled also wouldn’t work. Like Goldilocks, I want boiled eggs that are just right. So, here’s what I’ve found that works best.

First, start with older eggs. I’m not saying expired eggs, but the fresher your eggs are, the more difficult they are to peel so they’re smooth. Next, fill a pot about 2/3 full with warm water and add a dash or two of salt. (The salt will help the shells come off a bit easier.)

Put the pot on your cold stovetop. Carefully place the number of eggs you want into the pot. I used seven eggs for this batch, but this works for any amount of eggs you’re using as long as you have a big enough pot and enough water!

Put a lid on the pot, and turn the stove on high heat. Leave them be. When the water begins boiling, turn off the heat. Leave the eggs on the warm stovetop for 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl and fill it with cool water. Add in ice cubes and let the eggs sit until they are completely cool.

Prep the eggs

Once your eggs are cooled, you’re ready to start prepping them. I usually tap them on the countertop to crack the shells and then peel them over a paper towel. When I’m finished, I rinse the egg to be sure I have gotten off all bits of shell, and then I place them onto a clean paper towel to dry.

Next, you want to cut the eggs in half lengthwise to make two large ovals. I use a sharp knife or even a butter knife for this.

Gently “pop” the yolk out into a large mixing bowl. I put it in the mixing bowl of my stand mixer. You can use any bowl you’d like that works with a mixer. I’ve found using a mixer makes the deviled egg filling creamier and smoother.

Use a fork to mash the egg yolk up into smaller pieces.

Making the deviled eggs

Once the yolks are mashed pretty well, add in the mayonnaise, yellow mustard and honey mustard. This photo shows about twice as much honey mustard as you actually need to use.

Using a stand or handheld mixer, mix the ingredients together until they are creamy and relatively smooth.

Next, you just need to fill the eggs. You can do this with a spoon or, if you want to be fancier, use a piping bag. Since I was making these for Easter dinner and for this post, I went with the piping bag. I use a tall drinking class to hold my piping bag while I fill it — whether for icing or for deviled egg filling!

I use the star tip and then pipe the filling into the eggs. This time around, the shape didn’t hold quite as well as usual since we ended up having to add extra ingredients to counteract the too much honey mustard my kiddo added. So, the filling was looser than it should be. But, they still tasted delicious!

Serve the deviled eggs immediately, or store them in the fridge until you’re ready to serve them. You can easily make deviled eggs a day ahead of your event and save yourself time by working ahead!

Find other family friendly recipes like this one in the FREE “Favorite Recipes from Families with Grace” cookbook!

This sloppy joe recipe is both easy and delicious!

Affiliate links are used in this post, if you make a qualifying purchase via my link, I receive a small percentage of the sale at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products and services I use and love. It helps support my blog, so thank you for your support! Read my full disclosure here.

When it comes to recipes that are tried and true in my family, this sloppy joe recipe is one of them. This is one of the very first recipes I developed on my own many years ago. And for some reason I haven’t shared it, yet. This week is the time to do so!

My guys are particular eaters. But, both of them will eat this sloppy joe recipe. My son won’t eat even thin hamburger patties, but he will eat my sloppy joes. That makes me feel good!

When I first came up with this recipe, I did some experimenting. I was trying to get away from using canned sloppy joe sauce because it contained vinegar, which sent me into an interstitial cystitis flare. I’ve refined it and, even though I can now eat barbeque sauce without flaring, I still prefer this sloppy joe recipe to any other.

In terms of economics, making homemade sloppy joes is also cheaper than buying a can of sloppy joe sauce, especially since you probably have the ingredients in your house. The one caveat to that is the barbeque seasoning I use. I highly recommend this Commissary BBQ Seasoning. It costs more than I usually pay for seasonings, but the stuff is soooooo good. Like sooooo good. However, you can use barbeque sauce instead. I have tried other BBQ seasonings for this recipe and not liked them, so go with sauce if you don’t want to order this rub. (It’s also so, so, so good on grilled burgers!)

In fact, I used the very last of my seasoning when I made the sloppy joes for this post. I’ve got to order some more for myself! (I also have no affiliation with Commissary BBQ Seasoning of any sort. It just makes my taste buds happy!)

The meat for sloppy joes

I use 1 pound of ground chuck (80/20) for making sloppy joes. This more than feeds my family of four. In fact, last time I had enough left for two sloppy joes as leftovers. However, we don’t pile on the meat in my family. My husband and son, in particular, use probably about 1/3 of the sloppy joe meat you’ll get at a restaurant. So, use your best judgement for how much meat to use.

(I will add that this recipe freezes really well. My mom often doubles her batch to put some in the freezer.)

In a large skillet, cook the 1 pound of ground beef over medium-high heat, chopping it into small pieces. (I chop mine really small, but you can do the size your family likes.) Once the pink is mostly out of the meat, drain off the excess grease. Add in 1/3 cup of diced onion and cook for about three more minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to turn translucent.

Time to get saucy

Next, pour 1 can (15 ounce) can of tomato sauce into the skillet right over the beef and onion. If you are making more than 1 pound, you may need to use more tomato sauce. The ratio of 15 ounces of sauce per 1 pound of ground beef works best.

Stir the sauce into the meat, leaving the temperature on medium-high. Now it’s time to add in the seasoning. I use 2 tablespoons of BBQ seasoning (preferably the Commissary BBQ Seasoning) and 3 to 4 tablespoons of brown sugar. If you like it sweeter, add more brown sugar; if you like it less sweet, add less. I tend to be in the sweet sauce camp!

If you are using BBQ sauce instead of BBQ seasoning, add in two tablespoons of sauce. If you have sweeter sauce, you may not need as much brown sugar. Or if you have spicier barbeque sauce, you may need more brown sugar. It really is to taste!

Stir it all together to combine. Let it bubble for about 2 minutes and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer on the stove for 5 to 10 minutes and it’s ready to serve.

Serving a crowd

You can make this sloppy joe recipe and keep it warm in a slow cooker to serve a crowd. In that instance, use 15 ounces of tomato sauce per 1-1/2 pound of ground beef. The slow cooker will get condensation on the lid and add liquid to the sloppy joes.

Because of the added condensation, you also need to add an extra tablespoon of the BBQ seasoning or sauce as well as the brown sugar for every 1 to 1-1/2 pounds of meat.

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

The best chocolate cake recipe you’ll ever make!

I love all things chocolate, but I’ve struggle with chocolate cake. So many times, I get bakery chocolate cake that is dry. Ugh. While I’ve tweaked a chocolate cake mix with great results, this fudgy chocolate cake recipe tops them all hands down. It’s a mic drop sort of cake.

My parents don’t even eat chocolate cake and they love this cake. Same for my husband. It’s just its own level of yum! It’s somehow airy yet moist. And it just plain works. So, when I made it most recently for my son’s birthday, I knew I had to share it on the blog.

Usually I only make this chocolate cake recipe for birthdays, because we don’t have cake too often at home. Unfortunately, my daughter opts for Oreo ice cream cake for her birthday in October. But my son asks for this chocolate cake for his January birthday, and I always make it for my own birthday in May. I can hardly wait the two more months until my birthday!

And, I also encourage you to try this recipe even if you haven’t made a cake from scratch before. This is literally the only cake I make from scratch. Usually I do just tweak a box cake mix with awesome results, but this one is worth making from scratch. I promise you can do it — and you don’t even need special cake flour or other uncommon ingredients. In fact, I’d guess you have everything you need to make this cake in your kitchen right now!

Making the fudgy chocolate cake recipe

Like any baking recipe, start by preheating the oven. Turn the oven to 350-degrees and then prepare your baking pan(s). I usually bake this cake in a 9×13-inch pan, but this time I used to 9-inch cake pans to make a layer cake for my son. He wanted the cake to look like the one in a video game he likes.

Grease the pans or spray them with non-stick cooking spray, and then dust them lightly with flour. I use non-stick cooking spray because it’s easiest — and at least a bit healthier!

Next, stir together 2 cups of white sugar and 2 cups of all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl. I use the bowl of my stand mixer, because this is the bowl you’ll be mixing the batter in later.

Let the flour and sugar hang out while you get out a medium saucepan. Put 2 sticks of butter, 1 cup of water and 3 tablespoons of cocoa powder into the saucepan over medium heat.

You want to bring it to a boil so that the liquid is bubbly and moving around. While I wait for it to boil, I move on to the next step of whisking 1/2 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of baking soda and 2 eggs together. I measure the milk into my 2-cup measuring cup and then add in the rest of the ingredients. It’s easier to pour that way and I don’t end up with a dirty measuring cup and a dirty bowl!

When the butter, water and cocoa powder reaches a boil, then it’s ready to remove from the stove.

Pour the boiling mixture into the bowl with the flour and sugar mixture.

Stir the flour mixture and cocoa powder mixture together by hand or using a mixer. I use my stand mixer to make life easier. If you are using a mixer, start out on low speed until the ingredients have combined a bit before moving to medium speed to mix completely. If you start out too fast, then the boiling cocoa powder mixture will splash out. When it’s all combined the mixture will be loose.

Add in the egg mixture and keep stirring or mixing until it’s incorporated. I usually add this in slowly while the mixer is running.

Once the egg mixture is incorporated, the cake batter is ready. It is going to be a thinner consistency than you might expect for cake batter, but that’s exactly correct!

Pour the batter into your prepared cake pan(s), and place them in the oven.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes for two 9-inch pans or 30 to 35 minutes for a 9×13-inch pan. You’ll know the cake is finished when it begins to shrink away from the sides.

Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before removing it from the pan.

Let it cool completely before topping it with icing. This time around, I used my favorite quick, easy and oh-so-delicious homemade buttercream icing. I tinted it for the color to match the cake in the video game and did the swirl design in white like the same video game cake.

Look at the airy, yet moist inside of this fudgy chocolate cake recipe!

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

Making bacon in the oven is the easiest way to prepare it for your family!

My family isn’t big on eating meat. My husband and son, especially, don’t eat much meat. But one thing our whole family can agree on is crispy bacon. Cooking bacon on the stovetop and getting splashed with hot grease has always stressed me out. So, I make bacon in the oven. It finishes at the same time and keeps me from stressing about hot grease. It also lets me easily work on other food items while the bacon cooks. It’s a win all around!

When I make bacon in the oven, I get it nice and crispy — nearly burnt — because that’s how we like it. However, you can cook it to your own preferences of doneness. (Though I will fully admit that I don’t understand the chewy bacon people. Yuck!)

Once you make bacon in the oven, you won’t make it another way! Cook it up for BLTs, BLT pizza, bacon ranch cheese bread or a breakfast food side. So good!

Get started

Preheat your oven to 400-degrees (F). While the oven is preheating, get out two baking sheets with sides for one pound of bacon. You need those sides to keep the grease from rolling off into your oven. Line it with aluminum foil and spritz it very lightly with non-stick cooking spray. (You can also use non-stick aluminum foil if you have that.)

Separate the bacon into slices and place them on the two baking sheets. They can be near each other but not touching.

Place the baking sheets into your preheated oven and cook for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, the bacon is part way cooked. In order for it to cook more evenly, I switch the racks for the baking sheets at this point.

Cook for 8 to 12 more minutes until the bacon is your desired level of crispness.

Remove the bacon from the baking sheet right away and place onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain the grease. I layer the bacon and paper towels to absorb the grease even more.

The final tip is to leave the baking sheets sitting out until the grease solidifies. Then you can pull off the sheets of aluminum foil and just throw the grease out without having to worry about how to dispose of it. Usually a small amount of grease gets underneath the foil from me moving the pans around, so I still wash the pans, but the foil makes clean up a heck of a lot easier!

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

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!

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.