I’ve found that there are few people in the world who can’t get behind a warm bowl of good ole mac n’ cheese from time to time.
The kids in my extended family can’t get enough of this, but my grown (adult) children are also big fans.
This dish is for the times when you aren’t watching your calories – we all need those days from time to time! It’s crazy delicious right out of the oven, but it also makes absolutely great leftovers – just warm up portions in the microwave for a minute or so.
As with most of my recipes, you can also bake this ahead of time, cool it, and store it in the freezer – for weeks, if needed. Thaw it the night before you want to serve it, and then warm it at 350 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or so.
As described below, this makes about 16 servings. If you want less, you can cut it all in half – but why not make it all and just freeze some for later?
Ingredients:
1 pound elbow macaroni (or shells, or rotini, or whatever you have on hand)
3 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
4 Tablespoons flour
4 cups whole milk (or skim if you want to save a few calories!)
1 Tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon dry mustard (or just a healthy squirt of regular mustard if you don’t have ground mustard)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
16 ounces shredded sharp cheddar cheese
16 ounces American cheese (the real stuff, not “processed cheesefood”!)
Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. While oven heats, cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and set aside.
Melt butter in a large saucepan (I use the same pot from the pasta). Add onion and cook for about two minutes until onion is soft. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for about 1-2 minutes. Add the milk, salt, mustard, and pepper. Bring to a boil and cook a few minutes, until mixture thickens. Keep your eye on it, because it can suddenly get quite hot and attempt to boil over!
Stir in the cheeses until they melt. Add the pasta back to the pot, and stir until mixed well. Pour the mixture into casserole dishes – you can use one large 13 x 9 or two smaller ones if you want to eat some now and store some for later. Bake for 30 minutes until it just starts to brown and is all hot, bubbly and yum!