Really Good Mac Cheese Recipes

BEST-EVER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare pasta according to package directions for al dente.
• Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium. Add next 6 ingredients; cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add flour, and cook, stirring, until golden, 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk and cream. Bring to a boil, whisking occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, whisking, until slightly thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce. Remove from heat; stir in 3/4 cup each of shredded Cheddar cheeses until melted. (Reserve remaining 1/4 cup each of shredded cheeses.) Stir in pasta and diced cheeses; pour into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch (3-quart) baking dish.
• Bake on a rimmed baking sheet in preheated oven until bubbly and golden, 30 minutes. Remove from oven; increase oven temperature to broil. Sprinkle with reserved shredded cheeses; broil 6 inches from heat until cheeses are melted and golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from oven; cool slightly on a wire rack, about 15 minutes.

SIMPLE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• 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 saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour, salt, and pepper until smooth, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour milk into butter-flour mixture while continuously stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese to milk mixture and stir until cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Fold macaroni into cheese sauce until coated.

REALLY GOOD MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• 1. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Blend in flour and add bay leaf; cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Pour in 1 cup milk, whisking constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and is very thick. Pour in rest of milk in a slow stream, whisking constantly, until sauce comes to a full boil and is smooth. Whisk in mustard.
• 2. Reduce heat to low; stir in cheese until melted. Remove bay leaf; season with salt and a dash of cayenne pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
• 3. Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni for 8 minutes or until just tender. (do not over cook; pasta continues to cook in sauce) Drain well. Stir into cheese sauce until well coated.
• 4. Spoon into prepared casserole dish. In a bowl, toss 1 Tbsp. melted butter with bread crumbs; sprinkle over top. Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes or until bubbly and top is lightly browned.

HOMEMADE MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
• In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.
• Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

"WORLD'S BEST" MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350; F. Set a large pot of water on high heat.
• Meanwhile, begin the sauce by making a roux: in a medium saucepan melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Continue to stir this roux over medium heat for two to three minutes.
• The roux should be cooked and free of the flour flavor but still light in color.
• Gradually add milk, whisking briskly to maintain a smooth sauce.
• Cook the sauce for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid scorching.
• When sauce thickens, add cheeses, salt and spices to the sauce, and stir until all the cheese has melted. I make my sauces in the microwave; turns out great and never scorches.
• Somewhere during this sauce-cooking process, your pasta water has started boiling. The original is made with Penne noodles. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and cook the pasta until almost but not quite al dente (two minutes before the package directions indicate). You want barely undercooked pasta so that it can finish in the oven later. Halt the cooking by draining the pasta and rinsing with cold water. Return pasta to pot.
• Pour sauce over pasta and stir until completely incorporated. The combination should be fairly saucy, almost soupy.
• Dish the mixture into a buttered 9-13 pan and sprinkle with extra grated cheeses and cayenne. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes, until you have beautiful, browned edges. Those edges will be a welcome and flavorful addition to each serving.
• Let the dish sit for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. I divided this in 2 containers and froze one.

REALLY GREAT MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees and get a large pot of water boiling.
• Cube the cheese.
• Start cooking the pasta while preparing the cheese sauce.
• Saute onion in butter until soft and transparent.
• Add flour, salt and pepper, cooking for one minute.
• Add milk slowly, continuously stirring.
• Cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
• Add cheese gradually until all the cheese is melted.
• When pasta is al dente, drain pasta and pour cheese sauce into the pot and stir well.
• Pour into a 13 x 9 (or slightly larger) baking pan that's been sprayed with Pam.
• Bake for 30 (minimum) to 40 minutes.

EASY MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• Put butter, salt, and pepper in 13x9 pan. Place in oven to melt butter.
• When butter is melted, add uncooked macaroni. Toss to coat with butter.
• Cover buttered, uncooked macaroni with all of the cheese.
• Place pan on a cookie sheet and place on rack in middle of oven. DO THIS BEFORE ADDING MILK. THE PAN WILL BE VERY FULL AFTER NEXT STEP!
• Pour milk over noodles/cheese.
• Bake at 350 for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cool for about 10-15 minutes until set.

BEST EVER MACARONI CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Spread the baguette chunks over a baking sheet, drizzle with the melted butter and season. Bake for 6 mins until crisp, then set aside.
• Boil the pasta for 2 mins less than stated on the pack, then drain. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the garlic and English mustard powder, cook for 1 min, then stir in the plain flour.
• Cook for 1 min more, then gradually whisk in the milk until you have a lump-free sauce. Simmer for 5 mins, whisking all the time until thickened. Take off the heat, then stir in the cheddar and half the parmesan.
• Stir the pasta and some seasoning into the cheesy sauce. Tip into a large ovenproof dish, or four individual dishes.
• Scatter over the bread and the remaining parmesan, then bake for 20 mins until crisp and golden. Can be frozen before baking - defrost thoroughly before cooking.