Summer Cookout Casserole

Multi-tasking... I need an assistant!

So I got really creative and home-made with this recipe. Basically this is a casserole (or hot-dish for our friends from Minnesota) made with a layer of Mac and Cheese, followed by a layer of pulled pork barbecue, followed by a layer of sauteed broccoli, followed by another layer of Mac and Cheese topped with more cheese. In contrast to my days cooking in my dorm, almost everything in this recipe is home-made. For the Mac and Cheese, I cooked up Orzo pasta, made a homemade cheese sauce (by starting with a roux, adding milk and stirring in mozzarella and Mexican-mix cheese), and mixed them together. Put that off to the side to let the suace soak in. I sauteed up some broccoli in another pan and let that brown up a bit. We had some pulled pork (without sauce) in the freezer, which I thawed and threw in yet another pan (I was using all four of our burners at the same time-- a feat in itself).
      I searched around our cupboard for some Sweet Baby Ray's, but none was to be found, so I decided to make my own barbecue sauce from scratch. It was surprisingly easy, just threw a bunch of stuff in a blender. Scrapping together what we had in our kitchen, I may have discovered what may become my own secret barbecue sauce that I will use for many years to come. It turned out with a very unique and delicious flavor. Anyway, I stirred the sauce in with the pulled pork and let it cook.

I layered the Mac and cheese, pulled pork, broccoli and more Mac and Cheese in a casserole dish and topped it with more cheese. I threw that in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes and we were all ready to eat. It turned out great and was filling. Our family of four was only able to eat about half of it. Enjoy!