Whip It Up Week 2: Southwestern Mac

When I saw that this week’s recommended theme for Whip It Up was cheese, I immediately thought of two of my favorite meals: Mac and Cheese and Oven-Baked Enchiladas smothered in melted cheese. Since I already have a darn good enchilada recipe that I’ve made several times, I decided to look for a new variation on the always classic, always delicious mac and cheese. The fact that I still had Mexican food on the brain may have contributed to my clicking on a recipe called Southwestern Macaroni and Cheese with Adobo Meatballs. The thought of combining Mexican food and Mac, two of my all-time favorite food groups, definitely contributed to my decision to make this recipe as soon as possible.

Enough back story, though. Let’s get to the food.

(click for annotated version)

Was it easy to make?

Mostly. There were a couple of ingredients I wasn’t familiar with, so I asked Google for possible substitutions in case the grocery store was as clueless as I. I found out that Adobo seasoning is basically a mix of garlic salt, pepper, onion powder, and oregano, in pretty much equal parts (a little less oregano than everything else) and that Cotija cheese is a sharp-tasting white cheese that, in a pinch, can be swapped out for Monterrey Jack or White Cheddar. I doubt you’ll need to know that about the Cotija, though, because I was able to find it at WalMart. And if WalMart, store of the very limited grocery selection, has it, then surely you can find it anywhere.

WalMart did not have Adobo seasoning, so Tim threw together some garlic salt, oregano, and pepper (no onion powder for us!) and we were all set.

I also couldn’t find powdered jalapeño, so I just used canned diced jalapeños and it turned out fine.

The process itself was pretty straightforward, though it did seem to use a lot of dishes. Not a problem for me, since Tim is in charge of doing dishes, but I did feel a little bad for a minute thinking about him trying to fit all those pots and large bowls into the dishwasher. Not sure how this could be avoided, however.

If you make this, I would strongly suggest that you have all your sauce ingredients (cheeses and creams) measured and ready to go before you do much of anything else. I did not do this, and by the time I had meatballs browning and butter melted, I was scrambling a bit to get all the cheeses and creams measured out so they could be added to the pot all at once. A little stressful, but everything turned out okay in the end, and I’ve learned my lesson for next time.

Did it taste good?

Yes. Oh my goodness, yes! The sauce was a bit soupy, which bothered me more than it did Tim. And it wasn’t so much bothersome as it was inconvenient — I served the mac in bowls due to the soupyness, but then didn’t know what utensils to use. Clearly spoons would have helped scoop up that extra sauce, but it’s difficult to eat meatballs without a fork. Next time I’ll have to grab some sporks from Taco Bell before making this. Or just add more macaroni for the sauce to stick to.

The other slight issue was that the meatballs were awfully salty. This is an easy enough fix, though; next time I’ll use fresh garlic instead of garlic salt when putting together the Adobo seasoning.

Other than a little extra sauce and some salty meatballs (heh), this was some darn good mac and cheese. Really cheesy, very flavorful, and a bit on the spicy side. In other words, absolutely delicious.

It even reheats well, always an important consideration when there’s going to be leftovers. If it weren’t for the meatballs, I’d be perfectly content eating the leftovers cold (I love me some cold leftover mac!) but cold beef doesn’t really do much for me, so re-heat it is.

I also want to point out that even though the dish seems artery-clogging with all the creams and cheeses and whatnot, the cottage cheese, sour cream, and beef were all reduced fat, which makes it slightly better, right? I bet you could even use half-and-half rather than heavy cream (I would have done this, but I had leftover cream from last week’s recipe that needed to be used up) and swap out the meatballs for chicken if you wanted and it’d still be just as good.

Will I make it again?

Absolutely I will. This is definitely a recipe that will be making many repeat appearances at my house.

July 17, 2008 | Filed Under Kitchen Adventures, Photos & Videos 

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10 Responses to “Whip It Up Week 2: Southwestern Mac”

  1. RA on July 17th, 2008

    When I read through the recipe, I could just imagine the dishes piling up. Sometimes, that is the price of deliciousness!

  2. Laurel on July 17th, 2008

    Wow, cheesy, gooey, spicy deliciousness!

    This is one to try at my parents’ house I think… more dishwashing assistants!

  3. Erin on July 17th, 2008

    This sounds delicious! I love any play on classic mac and cheese. Yum.

  4. Iris on July 17th, 2008

    This looks and sounds delicious……. I love to cook!!

  5. Definitely RA | Whip It Up Wrap-Up #2 on July 18th, 2008

    [...] Audrey enjoyed the very cheesy Southwest Macaroni and Cheese with Adobo Meatballs. [...]

  6. Julie on July 18th, 2008

    that looks so awesome

  7. Heather on July 18th, 2008

    Do you think that a crunchy top would go well with this? It looks really good, but I love the crunchiness of homemade mac..Did this happen with yours? It looks really good and I want to make it! : )

  8. The Real Jessie but Secretly Kat on July 18th, 2008

    I can’t decide if I think that looks wonderful or terrible.

    But then I used to eat my mac with tuna and peas.

  9. Nancy on July 19th, 2008

    I’m drooling a lot. Looks excellent, plus I haven’t had dinner yet (and I’m on a diet so I’m really eating light these days!)

  10. Suzanne on July 20th, 2008

    That looks and sounds yummy. I’ll have to give it a try soon. Anything that provides leftovers is a keeper!

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