The ultimate comfort food, this Sausage Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese is a flavorful, creamy macaroni and cheese that is ready in 30 minutes.  Forget about the boxed stuff and make this homemade version.

Sausage, Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese

Today I am sharing my ultimate comfort food. Go ahead and take a look at that picture above. Yup, that creamy, cheesy bowl of goodness.

Me and 1,000,000 other people, right? Well yes.

This is my favorite comfort food and it’s not just because I have a Wisconsin born, cheese loving husband influencing my comfort food decisions.

I love a good, creamy macaroni and cheese and I especially love adding extra ingredients in to change it up. 

Sausage Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese is creamy, a bit sweet from the roasted red peppers and is packed with cheesy flavor from the gouda, parmesan and sharp cheddar cheese.

 You might think that macaroni  and cheese is more of a winter food but I beg to differ.

This is good in the spring on those rainy days when you just need a little warm comfort food. Or how about yesterday when it snowed in Cleveland!! 

If I am having a bad day, or just need something comforting to eat this Sausage, Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese is my go to meal.  

But today’s Sausage Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Macaroni and Cheese is about more than my favorite comfort food.  It is a dish that I would bring my friend Ashley, of Center Cut Cook, if I still lived in Chicago.  

Ashley has been going through some very challenging times and a meal like this would be the perfect thing to share with her.

 If you don’t know Ashley’s story here is a little background from their fundraising page…

Ryan and Ashley were high school sweethearts and ended up getting married.  

Ryan and Ashley found out they were expecting their first child, only to find out one week later that Ryan, a healthy 29 year old, has Stage 4 Colon Cancer.

I was lucky enough to meet Ashley at a food blogging conference in Chicago when she was pregnant with Miles.  

The minute I met Ashley I knew she was a good one.  

She was so positive, friendly and warm.  

I enjoyed my time getting to know her and learned of her story after talking more with her.  In the year that followed that conference I followed Ashley’s journey through her Facebook page.

What I can say from knowing Ashley is that she is one of the strongest, most positive women I know, despite some seriously challenging things going on in her life.

When Ashley had Miles, he is what helped Ryan fight on.  

Their miracle baby is what has kept them going.

Miles was born healthy and happy and brought a whole new joy to his parents’ lives. When Miles was eight weeks old, Ashley was changing his diaper when she saw him doing something odd and thought it was a seizure. They whisked him off to the hospital where blood work confirmed that Miles, at two months old, was in kidney failure. The seizure was a result of the kidney failure.

After three different hospitals and numerous tests, it was confirmed that Miles has a rare disease called Primary Hyperoxaluria (type 1) and will need a life-saving liver and kidney transplant.

Their days are busy keeping up with bi-weekly chemotherapy for Ryan and around the clock care of Miles who needs hemodialysis four days per week and peritoneal dialysis daily along with too many medications to count.

Her story touches my life daily when I see her positive updates, hear her story and think about the challenges she is enduring.  It reminds me to cherish every moment in this life and be thankful for those that you love.

I hope through today’s post I can inspire a few people to reach out to Ashley and send her positive thoughts. I also am helping to fundraise for Ashley and her family.

As you can imagine the medical bills associated with a husband that has cancer and a baby that has an illness are difficult.

I am hoping you will think about donating to Ashley and her family today to help her out.  You can head to her fundraising page here to donate. Any amount will help take the financial burden away so that Ashley can focus on what is most important, the road to recovery for both her husband and sweet boy Miles.

I also hope that today’s post encourages people to think about those around them that might be going through a difficult time.  Maybe it is a new Mom, an illness in the family or a financial hardship.

 Cooking a meal may seem like a small gesture but it can mean the world to someone who feels alone, or is going through something tough.

To make a donation, please visit their Fundraising Page HERE. You can also follow their journey on Facebook by liking the Team Ryan Facebook Page.

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Anything you guys can do to help is so appreciated!!