Here in the Bastrop area southeast of Austinin Central Texas we do experience some of the "seasons".  For example right now the nights are getting cooler and we are getting some fall rain showers.  There are some local Post Oak  trees mixed in with all the beautiful pines that will shed their leaves so we do get a bit of fall foliage but nothing like what you might see in Upper State New York - I have made that trek specifically for the turning of the leaves there ... and it is awesome, or up in the Rockies  - a local trek we did when we lived there...and the Rockies are always inspiring!  I will admit that living here in Central Texas we do get our  fair share of "Chamber of Commerce days, but  I still pine for some color and a skiff of snow!  I know that with Texas being such a big state I can find both here, I just haven't had a chance to  set a course to find some. 

When we lived in Colorado we built an eco friendly sustainable home called an Earthship which was nestled in a small canyon off of the road about a half mile on a 200 acre tract of land in a ranching subdivision I specialized in called Red Creek Ranch.   I can't tell you how wonderful it was to wake up after a light dusting of snow to my morning coffee snug as a bug in a rug looking out our southern face glass windows to watch the world wake up!

I guess in reality some of what I am missing is the house itself.  Here in Texas we bought a custom site built home that is truly lovely but even with it's tall ceilings, big rooms ( everything really is bigger in Texas! ) it just isn't the same.  Earthships can be designed for any latitude and longitude on the planet and some day we plan on building another right here in Texas.  On the days that I miss the foliage or the snow we can head northeast to satisfy the cravings and then come back to our beautiful Central Texas Ranch. 

With the weather cooling off here in Bastrop Texas I got a huge craving for some good old fashioned hearty mac and cheese.  Nothing is better on a chilly evening that some comfort food!

I have a recipe that my Mom gave me years ago but it was nothing fancy and it seemed to be lacking some gusto ( I love my Mom but sometimes her cooking is a little plain...) so I found this recipe in the latest issue of Southern Living -  my new most favorite magazine.

The recipe is from Mama Dip's Family Cookbook.

Ingredients are:

one cup of "dry" milk, 1/4 cup of flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 2 cups water, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1/2 pound of your favorite shredded sharp cheese, a half of stick of butter ( melted ) , 2 beaten eggs, and one box/bag ( 16 oz.) of macaroni prepared as directed, and last but not least 1/2 cup of bread crumbs.

Instructions are:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees, mix the first eight ingredients in a big bowl and then add the macaroni, and then pour into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish.  Top it off with the bread crumbs and back for 45 minutes.  You should have plenty to serve six. 

The only thing I think I am going to add the next time I make it is some Anaheim peppers to warm it up just a little more.

Enjoy!

This is an awesome program, albeit not in Bastrop County, but still a great way to get rid of an old working frig!