Macek Mac 'N' Cheese with Bacon

This recipe won Emeril's Best Mac 'n' Cheese Ever Challenge on Good Morning America this morning! With these ingredients, it has to be good.

• 1 Head of garlic, roasted
• 1 Teaspoon olive oil
• 1 Pound Cavatappi pasta, cooked according to directions
• 1/2 lb. sliced Applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 Tablespoon bacon fat
• 1-1/2 Cups fresh white bread crumbs (5 slice, crusts removed)
• 1/2 Cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 8 Tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup minced shallots
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 Qt. whole milk
• 6 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
• 8 oz. extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1/2 Teaspoon pepper
• 1 Teaspoon salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon nutmeg

To roast garlic: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slice 1/2 inch off the top of the entire head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap garlic head tightly in heavy foil and roast about 50 minutes. Remove garlic pulp by squeezing head. Smash cloves with a fork to form a paste.

TIP: OK, my busy friends. You know you can buy a tube of garlic paste at the grocery store!

Topping: Combine breadcrumbs, crumbled bacon, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, and 2 tablespoons of melted butter. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Saute' shallots over low heat in reserved bacon fat for one minute. Add remaining 6 tablespoons of butter and continue to saute' shallots in butter and bacon fat until translucent. Add flour and continue to cook for 1-2 minutes. Increase heat to medium. Stirring constantly with a wisk, add milk and roasted garlic paste. Cook until sauce is thickened. Remove sauce from heat and add salt, pepper, nutmeg, Gruyere and Cheddar cheeses. Stir in cooked pasta. Pour into greased baking dish. Sprinkle topping to cover entire top. Cover with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until sauce is bubbly and topping is brown.

Perfect Apple Pie

This pie is so good and so easy to make! I usually use three sweet apples and three tart apples, sush as Golden Delicious and Granny Smith.

• 1 Pkg. 15 0z. Pillsbury Refrigerated Pie Crusts (deep dish)
• 6 Cups thinly sliced, peeled apples
• 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 Cup sugar
• 3/4 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/8 Teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together all ingredients and pour into pie crust. Cover pie with the second pie crust and press edges together. Make impressions around entire edge of pie with a fork. Cut 4 or 5 small slits in center of top pie crust with knife. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Cover edge of crust with foil after 20 minutes of baking.

Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

This is one of those Southern Living dishes that you can't stop eating. I have had many requests to pass this recipe along. Enjoy!

• 1 (30 oz.) pkg. frozen shredded hash browns
• 1 Cup shredded colby-Jack cheese
• 1 (5 oz.) pkg. shredded Swiss cheese
• 1 Large onion, minced
• 1 Teaspoon minced garlic
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 1 (10-3/4 oz.) can Cream of Chicken Soup, undiluted
• 1/2 Cup beef broth
• 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons salt
• 1/2 Teaspoons pepper

Combine hash browns and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, stir together milk and next 5 ingredients; pour over hash brown mixture. Pour into a lightly greased 13x9 baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until golden.

Cherry Delight Pie

This is a recipe that my mother gave me. She made it and shared it with some of her neighbors. They all thought it was delicious!

• 1 Stick butter
• 50 Vanilla Wafers, crumbled
• 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 Cup sugar
• 1 Envelope Dream Whip
• 1 Can Cherry Pie Filling
• 1 Cup chopped pecans

Melt butter, pour over wafer crumbs and mix together. In a separate bowl, mix cream cheese and sugar together. In another bowl, mix Dream Whip as directed on the box. Mix together the cream cheese mixture and the Dream Whip. Line a 10x7 dish with 2/3 of the crumbs and press lightly to form a crust. Pour Dream Whip mixture over crumbs. Pour cherry pie filling on top. Add nuts to remaining crumbs and sprinkle over pie filling; chill.

Fiesta Chowder

I tasted this chowder at a friends house and it is delicious! It's a Southern Living recipe with a lot of ingredients but easy to make.

• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 (1.4 oz) pkg. fajita seasoning, divided
• 4 Skinned and boned chicken breast halves, cubed
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 Medium onion, chopped
• 1 Teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 (15-1/4 oz.) can whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14-1/2 oz.) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 (4.5 oz.) can chopped green chiles
• 3 Cups water
• 1 Cup uncooked instant brown rice
• 1 (2-1/4 oz.) can sliced ripe olives (optional)
• 1 (10-3/4 oz.) can condensed nacho cheese soup
• 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice
• Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro
• Breadsticks (optional)

Combine flour and 2 tablespoons fajita seasoning in a heavy-duty, zip-lock plastic bag; add chicken. Seal and shake to coat.

Cook chicken in hot oil in large Dutch oven over high heat, stirring often, 4 minutes or until browned. Reduce heat to medium-high; add onion and garlic; saute' 5 minutes. Stir in remaining fajita seasoning, corn, next 5 ingredients, and , if desired, olives. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Remove lid and stir in nacho cheese soup, chopped cilantro, and lime juice. Garnish, if desired and serve with breadsticks.

Garlic Pork Chops

This recipe came from a friend who cooks this quite often for her family. She loves garlic as much as I do and says it's guaranteed to ward off mosquitoes and vampires!

• 1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 can Evapoated Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Grey Poupon (country style)
• 3 cloves garlic, shopped
• Olive oil
• 6 Butterfly Pork Chops
• Garlic Powder

Mix soup, milk, Grey Poupon, and garlic in large bowl. Set aside. In large frying pan, cover bottom with olive oil and over medium-high heat, fry pork shops until lightly browned on both sides. Sprinkle with garlic powder while cooking. Drain oil and add soup mix. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, turning chops at the half-way point. Taste while cooking to see if more garlic is needed. It makes a lot of gravy and it's great to put over mashed potatoes!

Prosciutto Ravioli

This recipe came from a friend and her daughter who saw it being prepared on Food Network by Giada De Laurentiis. They tried it and loved it.

• 1 - 15 oz. container whole milk Ricotta cheese
• 1 - 10 oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 4 oz. thinly sliced Prosciutto, chopped
• 2 large egg yolks
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 48 Wonton wrappers
• 1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
• 1-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Freshly grated Pecorino cheese

Whisk the Ricotta, spinach, Prosciutto, egg yolks, salt and pepper to blend.

Place 1 tablespoon of Ricotta mixture in the center of each Wonton wrapper. Brush the edge of the wrapper lightly with water. Fold the wrapper in half, enclosing the filling completely and forming a triangle. Pinch the edges to seal. This can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Working in batches, cook the Ravioli in a large pot of boiling, salted water until just tender, about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer the Ravioli to a large shallow bowl.

Melt the butter in a skillet and add the Oregano and stir 1 minute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the oregano butter over the Ravioli and toss gently to coat. Sprinkle the Pecorino over the Ravioli and serve.