Mac & Cheese Soup

I wanted to make Macaroni & Cheese soup for an Ecclesial meal. I thought the kids (young & old) would really like it. Just sounds like a good comfort food. So I went searching for a recipe. Surely there would be something good out there with all the millions of recipes on the web. Well, if there is, I didn't come across it.

So, it was time to improvise. I started out with a Paula Deen recipe for Cheddar Cheese Soup & went from there. The recipe below is what I ended up with.

This is a really good starter recipe - there are so many ways you can change this up & make it just a little bit different. We like things spicy in this house so if I was making it just for us I would have used some Pepper Jack cheese and more hot sauce/cayenne. You could substitute any number of things for the plain hot dogs: Jalapeno hot dogs, bacon, Lil' Smokies, Kielbasa, ham, etc.

Tomorrow will be the true test. I'm concerned about how much it will thicken up when it's cooled & reheated. I figure that's bound to happen so I have a couple ideas on how to fix it. But the most important thing to me is how well it goes over & how much is left over!

Corinne's Mac & Cheese Soup w/Hot Dogs

• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 ounces diced pimentos, drained
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups cream
• 8 ounces Sharp Cheddar, shredded
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• Frank's Red Hot to taste
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• 3 scallions
• 1 pound hot dogs, cut into 1/4" slices
• 4 cups cooked macaroni

In a saucepan, saute onion and pimentos in butter over medium heat for 5 to 7 minutes. Blend in flour. Cook & stir for about a minute; until well blended.

Add broth and cream. Cook & stir until it comes to a boil & thickens.

Add cheese and stir until melted. 

Add mustard powder, cayenne, hot sauce, scallions, salt and pepper. 

In frying pan, saute hot dog slices in small amount of butter until slightly browned. Drain.

Add hot dogs & cooked macaroni to soup. Stir to combine well.