Favorite homemade mac & cheese recipe?

[Anonymous]

I am a good cook but have never made this for some reason. Anyway, my son had braces put on today and is in pain, so I'm thinking that this might be just the thing for dinner - soft/easy to chew, comforting, and (hopefully) delicious.

Can anyone recommend a recipe? I looked at allrecipes.com which is my usual go-to for these things, but most of the recipes call for Velveeta or American cheese slices and I don't want to use that fake stuff.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

This is not a formal recipe, but...

make a roux with flour and butter
wisk in a tiny bit of milk, then add a couple cups gradually, wisking as it thickens
add lots of grated cheese to thickened white sauce
pour over cooked pasta, in baking dish
add more grated cheese and breadcrumbs to the top
bake until everything is hot and bubbly

[Anonymous]

I usually make it up as I go. Here is roughly the recipe:
Make 1 lb of macaroni of choice (I use WW rotini, but any will do). Cook al dente. According to package, if it has a range, e.g. 9-11 min, cook NO MORE than the the minimum amount, e.g. 9 or fewer min. Drain. Melt 1 stick of butter, change heat to medium, sprinkle flour over butter and stir until you get a smooth paste-like roux. Add milk (I use 2%, but depending on how rich you want it, any milk will do), slowly stiring so that the roux slowly dissolves and you end up with a sauce with no lumps. Sprinkle shredded cheese of choice into the sauce. I usually use at least half finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, sometimes use the italian blend cheeses, sometimes monterey jack (because it melts smooth). Love the flavor that smoked havarti or smoked gouda give, but they're expensive. I use at least 4 cups, but sometimes just empty all the shredded cheese bags from the fridge from the last month or two of cooking into the pot. Blend in the pasta. Season to taste. I like the way paprika and garlic powder taste so often add a touch of that. A little salt (because I use unsalted butter).

It sounds more complicated than it is. I just made a batch on Sunday and it took about 45 minutes from start to finish and part of that was because I added chicken chunks (cooked in the pan first with olive oil, and minced onion and garlic) and some chopped broccoli (lightly cooked right after the chicken). Would have been about 30 minutes without that.

Oh yeah, if you like baked macaroni, increase the amount of butter, flour and milk and make the sauce thinner rather than thicker. Then pour the more liquidy mac and cheese into a casserole, top with your favorite topping (I love crushed ritz crackers, but french's/durkee fried onions, bread crumbs, etc all work) and then bake until the sauce is bubbly and the topping gets toasty. I use roughly 30 minutes at 375 or 400 and then watch to see when it's "done"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not a formal recipe, but...

make a roux with flour and butter
wisk in a tiny bit of milk, then add a couple cups gradually, wisking as it thickens
add lots of grated cheese to thickened white sauce
pour over cooked pasta, in baking dish
add more grated cheese and breadcrumbs to the top
bake until everything is hot and bubbly

Ha! 14:07 here. Pretty much the same recipe that I just gave, but you did so more concisely.

[Anonymous]

Thank you so much! I will report back later on how it came out.

[Anonymous]

I also do a roux, and I like to add a tsp of dijon mustard before gradually adding in a couple of cups of sharp cheddar cheese.

I am sorry to say my kid still prefers the box.

[Anonymous]

Just made this the other night, and came out fairly well:

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&partNumber=RECIPE_13571

[Anonymous]

I like Martha Stewart's recipe, but it's very rich:
http://www.marthastewart.com/271998/perfect-macaroni-and-cheese

My kids prefer Annie's.

[Anonymous]

I was the first PP in this thread, and I generally make the kind with a roux.

But ages ago, I learned to make a really easy version that relies on Kraft Classic Melts Four Cheese. One of the 4 cheeses is american, or something melty like that. So, no roux is needed. Not as healthy or homemade, but here is approx recipe. Its actually pulled off another parenting forum. When I made it, I didn't bake it, just stirred the milk and cheese right into the drained pasta and dished it out.

Begin quote:

here's my favorite "sort of home made" recipe that I make for the kids and I . It's nice and creamy and very easy.

2 bags of Kraft Classic Melts shredded cheese
3/4 box of large elbows
1 1/2c milk
bread crumbs

Cook the pasta. melt the cheese in the milk. pour over the pasta. Top with bread crumbs (I like planko and I mix them with alittle melted butter) Bake until bubbly and brown - 15-30min.

I like this because it's very very easy to put together. The cheese stays melty. there's tons of cheese sauce (I like saucy mac and cheese). And it's got a nice cheesy flavor. Sometimes I will throw in a handful of Mexican cheese blend (no seasoning) to give it a little kick of flavor. it also reheats REALLY well...so you could probably freeze this but I've never tried it.

[Anonymous]

I got this off foodnetwork.com. HOLY CRAP. So good. Served it at a dinner party and everyone - adults, kids, etc. - devoured it. Using rendered pork fat instead of butter as the base for your roux....(that sound that Homer Simpson makes when he eats yummy food).

This is the BOMB. But, it makes a ton, so you may want to halve the recipe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got this off foodnetwork.com. HOLY CRAP. So good. Served it at a dinner party and everyone - adults, kids, etc. - devoured it. Using rendered pork fat instead of butter as the base for your roux....(that sound that Homer Simpson makes when he eats yummy food).

This is the BOMB. But, it makes a ton, so you may want to halve the recipe.

Duh, recipe...
Paul's Crafty Mac N Cheese with Pancetta
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ziti pasta
1/2 pound pancetta, chopped
1 1/2 cups grated Monterey Jack (plus extra for topping)
1 1/2 cups grated Asiago (plus extra for topping)
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar (plus extra for topping)
1 1/2 cups grated Provolone (plus extra for topping)
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan (plus extra for topping)
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook ziti until al dente. Strain and rinse in cool water. In a saute pan over medium-high heat, cook pancetta until it is crispy and the fat has rendered. In the same pan, add all of the cheeses and the cream and whisk until blended. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Slowly add the cooked ziti to the cheese mixture, stirring gently. Transfer the ziti and cheese mixture to a large baking dish or cast iron skillet. Top off with more cheese and bake for 24 to 30 minutes.

[Anonymous]

I don't actually bake my mac and cheese

[Anonymous]

Patti LaBelle's Mac & Cheese is the best. It is divine, but deadly nutritionally. ?

http://www.oprah.com/food/Over-the-Rainbow-Macaroni-and-Cheese

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just made this the other night, and came out fairly well:

http://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10052&partNumber=RECIPE_13571

OP here. I made this one, which seemed pretty consistent with the directions posted above. It came out very well and my kids wolfed it down.

Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is not a formal recipe, but...

make a roux with flour and butter
wisk in a tiny bit of milk, then add a couple cups gradually, wisking as it thickens
add lots of grated cheese to thickened white sauce
pour over cooked pasta, in baking dish
add more grated cheese and breadcrumbs to the top
bake until everything is hot and bubbly

Wow! This is the way my Mom made it. So good.