Grandma Richardson

I was thinking about my Grandma Glenda Richardson yesterday. Tyrel was the one that got me thinking. The boys are out of school now and he wanted to make macaroni and milk for lunch, so I had some with him. I'm sure many of you are saying "gross" right about now. I know Sean is. But, I remember when I was little and she would make me macaroni and milk to eat. It was one of my favorites. My mom would make it for me when I was home and requested it, but it never tasted the same and it took me until I was an adult out on my own to figure out why. You make it kind of like macaroni and cheese, without the cheese, so the ingredients are cooked macaroni noodles, milk, butter, salt and pepper. "Butter" being the key ingredient. When I got married, Sean and I decided that we liked butter better than margarine. I made macaroni and milk one day and it tasted just like grandma's. I figured out then that it was the butter that made the difference as my mom always used margarine.

I know this is all useless information for most of you, but just in case some of my cousins remember this and were wondering the ingredients, and because this is one of those weird family traditions that I want my boys to remember, I am putting it here for posterity. This dish is actually one of the favorites of all of my kids although Sean won't touch the stuff. This is what they always request when dad is out of town and mom doesn't want to make a big dinner. So, think what you will, we love it! And, every time I make it, I remember Grandma.

She had MS for most of the time I remember her. After Papa passed away, she would take turns living part of the year with each of her kids. So I remember when she was with us, I was like her little nurse. As soon as I got home from school, I would go to her room. I loved rubbing lotion on her feet, helping with her exercises, rolling her hair in curlers, and giving her the pills and vitamins she had to take daily (she cold swallow more pills at once than anyone I ever knew). We also spent hours playing gin rummy together. I also watched "General Hospital" with her. I wasn't so much a fan of "General Hospital" as my mom had me hooked on "Days of Our Lives", but it was fun to watch the whole Luke and Laura thing with her. I can't believe I still remember their names. Actually, I can't believe I watched such corny shows with such bad acting. My favorite time with her was when she would tell stories from when she was little. I wish I would have written them down, because there are few that I remember now. My favorite one that she would tell was about when she sat in a pile of red ants. My nephew had a run in with ants not too long ago and it reminded me of grandma telling that story. Anyway, this post is getting long and I have work to do, so farewell for today.

Macaroni and Milk

cook macaroni noodles according to package directions. Drain. Add milk, BUTTER, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Serve. I don't have exact measurements because I just make it and never measure.