Florida Pinks Macaroni Bake Recipes

MACARONI PASTA BAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or other large rectangular baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook according to package directions for al dente. Be careful to not overcook the pasta. Reserve ½ cup of the pasta cooking water and then drain the pasta. Return the drained pasta to the pot.
• Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan and cook, stirring often, until the vegetables soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the ground beef to the pan. Crumble the beef and cook until it is browned.
• Pour the marinara sauce and reserved ½ cup of pasta cooking water into the skillet. Stir in the salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
• Pour the meat and sauce mixture from the skillet into the pot with the pasta. Stir. Stir in the shredded cheddar cheese. Transfer the pasta mixture to the prepared casserole dish. Top with the mozzarella cheese.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the casserole is hot and the cheese is lightly browned on top. Let stand for 5 minutes and then serve.

MEATY MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• In a large skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Add the spaghetti sauce, water, tomato sauce, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes., In a large bowl, combine the eggs, oil, macaroni, mushrooms, cheeses and bread crumbs. Spoon into a 3-qt. baking dish. Top with meat mixture. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with additional mozzarella cheese if desired. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

CHIPOTLE MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions to al dente. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook the beef, onions, green peppers and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain., Stir in the tomatoes, soup, milk, chipotle pepper and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes., Drain pasta; stir into meat mixture. Divide between 2 greased 8-in. square baking dishes; sprinkle with cheese., Cover and bake casseroles at 350° for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake until bubbly and cheese is melted, 8-10 minutes longer. If desired, sprinkle with cilantro., Freeze option: Cover and freeze unbaked casseroles for up to 3 months. To use, partially thaw in refrigerator overnight. Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Cover and bake at 350° for 60 minutes. Uncover; bake until bubbly and cheese is melted, 8-10 minutes longer.

CLASSIC BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook pasta in a large pot of salted boiling water until it's barely al dente. (It should be more al dente than your average pasta: It's going to continue to cook in the oven.) Drain and set aside.
• Meanwhile, heat butter in a medium pot over medium heat. (The pot should be large enough to hold all the pasta when cooked.) Whisk in flour and cook, whisking constantly, until the flour is foamy and just starting to turn a light golden brown, about 4 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk to avoid clumping. Add garlic, paprika and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly and paying special attention to the edges of the pot to make sure the flour mixture is totally incorporated.
• Add grated cheese and whisk to blend until the cheese is completely melted. (The sauce will seem thick at first and thin out as the cheese melts; it will thicken while it bakes.) Season with salt and pepper and add cooked pasta, stirring to coat well.
• Heat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil (to catch any cheesy drips).
• Make the optional topping: Combine bread crumbs, melted butter and Parmesan, if using, in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper and, using your hands, mix well to ensure the bread crumbs are evenly coated.
• Transfer the macaroni and cheese mixture to a 3-quart or 9 x 13 baking dish and scatter bread crumbs, if using, evenly over the top. Place on prepared baking sheet and bake until macaroni and cheese is bubbling, thickened and creamy, and bread crumbs are evenly golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

OLD SCHOOL MAC N' CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes; drain.
• Melt butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Slowly add flour to butter, whisking constantly; cook until brown and the mixture no longer smells of flour, about 5 minutes. Pour 1 cup milk into the flour mixture, whisking continually until fully incorporated, about 45 seconds; repeat twice. Add remaining 3 cups milk to the mixture, whisking to incorporate. Stir Worcestershire sauce, mustard powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper into the mixture; season with salt and black pepper.
• Reduce heat to low. Cook sauce, whisking frequently, until it begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Add about half the package of shredded Cheddar cheese; stir continually until the cheese melts completely. Repeat with remaining half package of Cheddar cheese and the American cheese, about 4 ounces at a time. Once cheese is entirely incorporated, remove sauce from heat.
• Stir drained macaroni into the cheese sauce to coat. Divide macaroni between two 9x13-inch baking dishes.
• Mix crushed potato chips, 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Top the macaroni with the potato chip mixture evenly. Spray the potato chip mixture with cooking spray.
• Bake in preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes.

FLORIDA PINKS & MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Add salt to a saucepan of water and bring to a boil.
• Add the pasta and 1 tablespoon olive oil and cook until tender, but still firm to the bite.
• Drain and return to the pan.
• Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pasta. Cover and shake the pan, keep warm.
• Melt the remaining butter in a sauté pan over medium high heat.
• Sauté the fennel for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
• Stir in the mushrooms and sauté for another 2 minutes, add in the shrimp, then remove the pan from the heat.
• Stir in the cayenne pepper and Béchamel sauce to the shrimp mixture.
• Pour macaroni into a greased baking dish and pour shrimp mixture over pasta and stir together.
• Sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese over the mixture and arrange the tomato slices around the edge.
• Brush the tomatoes with remaining olive oil and sprinkle basil over the top.
• Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
• Béchamel sauce:.
• In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat until melted.
• Add the flour and stir until smooth.
• Cook until the mixture turns a light, golden sandy color, about 6 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the milk in a separate pan until just about to boil.
• Add the hot milk to the butter mixture 1 cup at a time, whisking continuously until very smooth.
• Bring to a boil and cook 10 minutes, stirring constantly, then remove from heat.
• Season with salt and nutmeg, and set aside until ready to use.

FRENCH PINK MACAROONS

Steps:

• To make the white chocolate ganache- stir the chocolate and the thickened cream in a saucepan over a low heat until smooth.
• Transfer the mixture to a small bowl. Cover and refrigerate until the mixture is spreadable.
• For the macaroon cookies- Preheat oven to 150°C or 130°C if using a fan-forced oven. Grease oven trays and line them with baking paper.
• Ensure mixing bowl is thoroughly clean. Beat egg whites in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form.
• Add the sugar and food colouring, beat until the sugar dissolves.
• Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.
• Fold in the sifted icing sugar and almond meal, in two batches.
• Spoon the mixture into large piping bag fitted with a 1.5cm plain tube.
• Pipe 36 x 4cm rounds, 2cm apart, onto the trays. (keep the circles as uniform as possible as this will make your macaroons look uniform and make pairing easier).
• Tap the trays on the bench top to allow macaroons to spread slightly. Dust with sifted icing sugar and allow to stand for 15 minutes.
• Bake macaroons about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to stand 10 minutes on the trays before transferring to a wire rack to cool.
• Sandwich macaroons with the ganache.
• Dust with a little sifted icing sugar to serve.
• Makes 18.

PIZZA MACARONI BAKE

Steps:

• Set the cheese packet from dinner mix aside. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add macaroni; cook for 8-10 minutes or until tender. , Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Drain macaroni; stir in the contents of cheese packet. , Transfer to a greased 13x9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese. Top with the beef mixture, pizza sauce, pepperoni and mozzarella cheese. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.