Seeking Macaroni & Cheese Recipe
 

I'm looking for a good macaroni & cheese recipe. I'm after something that's relatively quick & easy to prepare. I don't mind making a roux or baking for ~30 minutes, but something that utilizes a ton of ingredients which must be prepped, über-complicated, and/or a very long bake time is not what I'm after.

Thanks

At our house, we use Paula Deen's macaroni and cheese but cut way back on the butter. I admit that sometimes I add a little bit of Ragu's jarred cheese sauce to it, too. It makes it creamier.

There's no way that's a Paula Deen recipe--it calls for less than a pound of butter! ;)

I use the recipe on the Kraft (onlky Kraft works), but then, instead of adding the ingredientds and cheese sauce to the cooked pasta, I put it in a sauce pan and add velveta. I melt the chease mixture together while the pasta cooks. With the crew I have here, I make 3 boxes at a time, and no leftoverds.

• Remove Box from grocery bag
• Follow package directions
• Eat.

Seriously, we like the recipe from Taste magazine here in Oz:


Macaroni & cheese

Prep time: 5 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins



Ingredients (serves 2)

For the dish:

• Melted margarine, to grease
• 145g (1 cup) dried macaroni pasta
• 40g (1/2 cup) grated cheddar (You can add extra cheese to the white sauce as well)

For the White sauce:

• 375ml (1 1/2 cups) milk
• 20g (1 tbs) margarine
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbs cornflour
• 125ml (1/2 cup) water

Method

1. Preheat oven to 250°C (480°F). Brush a 1-litre (4-cup) ovenproof dish with the melted margarine to lightly grease.
2. Cook the macaroni in a medium saucepan of salted boiling water following packet directions or until al dente.
3. Meanwhile, to make sauce, heat milk and margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Combine cornflour and water and stir in gradually. Bring to the boil, stirring. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring, for 5-7 minutes or until thick.
4. Drain the macaroni. Add to the white sauce and stir to combine. Transfer to greased dish and sprinkle with cheddar. Cook in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately.

Ingredients:

1 box Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
2 Tbsp butter
Milk, to taste (about 1/4 cup)
1-2 sprigs fresh rosemary, leaves stripped from woody stems (toss stems)
1 clove fresh garlic, chopped or minced finely

Prepare macaroni according to directions, but using amounts in ingredient list (1/2 normal amount of butter, a little more milk). As you are mixing pasta & sauce, add in rosemary and garlic.

***

Or...

Cook a box of Barilla elbows (macaroni, of course), mix in Velveeta (cut into 1" cubes for easier melting). Add milk sparingly if needed. Done. Hard, no?

I have never made Mac and Cheese. But, when I do eat it, it has to have truffles or truffle oil in it.

7 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste
1 pound elbow macaroni
3 cups coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese (about 12 ounces)
1 1/3 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
1 cup fresh bread crumbs


Preheat oven to 350°F. and butter a 3- to 4-quart baking dish.

Melt 6 tablespoons butter over med-low heat. Add flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. SLowly add milk, whisking, continue whisking until it comes to a boil. Add mustard, cayenne, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened (about 2-5 minutes).

Cook macaroni. Stir together macaroni, sauce, Cheddar, and 1 cup Parmesan. Put it in the buttered dish, evenly distributed.

In another bowl, stir together bread crumbs and remaining 1/3 cup Parmesan and sprinkle evenly over macaroni mix. Cut remaining 1 tablespoon butter into bits and scatter over topping.

Bake macaroni in middle of oven 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.




Of course, the simpler route (and my favorite) is elbow macaroni with milk and Velveeta added to it. :D

Or what happens?

Sounds like a waste of good chocolate to me.

I like the Bacon Macaroni And Cheese recipe from macaroniandcheese.net

And mmmm...here's an easy mac and blue cheese recipe from my one of my Bon Appetit cookbook (from someplace called The Blue Onion Bistro in Seattle) :

1 pound spiral tube-shaped pasta
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1 cup whipping cream
3 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese
1 tablespoon minced fresh chives



Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish.

Cook pasta.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add flour. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly (do not allow to brown).

Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Simmer until mixture thickens slightly, whisking occasionally, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add grated cheddar cheese and 1 cup crumbled blue cheese. Whisk until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Add pasta to sauce; stir to coat. Transfer to prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup blue cheese. Bake until sauce begins to bubble, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

No, the Fungi type of truffles.

Hmm, I've never been much of one for recipes. I typically start my pasta, start a roux with butter (prefer to also throw in garlic at this point, because I'm a garlic fiend, though occasionally shallots or even a nice onion) (oh, and with the roux, keep it light. I over-did it once... was... interesting), cream or milk, cheese. Sometimes I'll break it up with a little vegetable or chicken broth. Mix pasta & cheese sauce. Then, do as I please, which is sometimes bake or just let sit, crumbs or no crumbs.

But, hands-down, the best mac and cheese is my Grandma Evvies. Hers was definitively southern - fluffy and crispy at the edges. Alas, I do not have the recipe on hand. I'm not sure she ever wrote it down, and I've only made it twice with her watching... and neither attempt was as good as hers always was.

*sigh*

So easy...and so good.

2 cups Macaroni Noodles
1 lb Sharp Cheese (I prefer Tillamook)
1 can Evaporated Milk
Cook noodles.....layer with cheese...pour the milk over.

Bake at 350 deg for 40 min, then broil to brown the top.

The best darn M&C ever!

We SOOOOOOO need Velveeta here in Australia. Uncivilised. That's wot we are.

I think it's just milked-down cheese, isn't it?

It is "processed cheese food". It can't even call itself cheese!

Thank you for all the recipes*. I'm looking forward to spending some mad scientist time in the kitchen. :)


*Attempting to spell that word drives me bonkers. I have to look it up every time.

Barefoot Contessa's Mac & Cheese

This is the one I use, only I cut the recipe in half. Works with or without the tomatoes. I usually subsitute Emmentaler for the Gruyere (it's cheaper).

"Recipe" is one of those words that I use a weird phonetic device to memorize the spelling. When I go to write it, my brain thinks the sounds "re-cipe" (would be pronounced re-sype) and that does the trick. Somehow.

I love a good (helpful) mnemonic, thanks CP!

I like a recipe I got out of Real Simple that adds cauliflower to the mac and cheese. It's supposed to be a healthier recipe.

This one sounds good....

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chucks-...ullRecipe&me=1