No-Boil Mac and Cheese with Ham and Greens

Son of a Southern Chef

I've made a lot of mac and cheese on this channel, which is kind of surprising for someone who doesn't really love mac and cheese. I like it, don't get me wrong, but it's not one of my favorites. This recipe seemed like it would be super easy, since you don't even have to boil the pasta. It also has both meat and greens in it, so it's more of a full meal in one dish than most. So I really wanted to like it!

I had a couple of problems with the recipe, at least with the way it turned out for me. The pasta just wasn't done enough for my tastes. Then, in cooking it longer in the second (uncovered) phase to try to get it more done, I think the whole thing dried out too much, so it didn't have a lot of sauce. If I make it again, I will definitely cook it longer before I uncover it. I think the pasta should be very nearly done before you uncover it, which, in my experience, takes longer than the recipe instructions say.

Another issue I had with the recipe, is that it didn't reheat well. The other recipe we make with a heavy cream based sauce, the Poole's Macaroni au Gratin (http://cookwithheather.com/Pooles-Macaroni-au-Gratin/) also doesn't reheat well, but it makes a smaller batch so there's less leftover.

I found this recipe online here: https://www.today.com/recipes/no-boil-mac-cheese-ham-greens-recipe-t118675

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