My son is a macaroni and cheese lover. But unfortunately his mom doesn't like to cook things that are too high in calories and aren't very healthy. Thus he has been eating it out of a box for years! And I feel really guilty about that. So I promised to make him a home made one before he left (which is in five days, so we are really close now!).
Whenever I want to make something that I haven't made before, I go on the internet and read a few recipes to get a feel for how it is done. I then make up my own recipe with what sounds good from the ones I found. I like to combine things in my own way and I usually don't measure anything. So the next time I try to make it, it never turns out the same. I made this amazing salmon a few weeks ago. Tried to repeat it last night and it wasn't right because I couldn't remember what I put in it the first time! It was a marinade of a mixture of soy sauce, fresh garlic, honey and brown sugar. And it was amazing (the first time!).
Well, the mac 'n cheese I made tonight turned out really good! So I decided to blog about it so I have it written down for next time I make it (in 2 years and 5 days to be exact!!!). I highly recommend trying this recipe out - it was sooooo yummy!
Suzy's Mac 'N Cheese Deluxe
8-10 ounces macaroni noodles
1/2 white onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cube butter
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup half and half
1 1/2 cup milk (2% is fine)
1/4 cup flour
2 tsp mustard powder
Pinch of salt, paprika, and cayenne
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
4-5 pieces of bacon
Dice the onion really fine; melt 5 TBSP butter over medium heat; add onion and cook until translucent for about 5 minutes stirring constantly so it doesn't brown too much. Put garlic through a garlic press and add to mixture; continue to cook and stir for another minute. Stir in 1/4 cup flour and the 2 teaspoons mustard powder until smooth and thick (add more flour if your rue is not thick enough); add the 1 cup half and half and stir well until all lumps are gone keeping the heat on medium/low. Stir in the 1 1/2 cups milk and bring to a low boil stirring until the sauce is thickened. Add 3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (best to grate your own as the flavor will be better); stir over low heat until the cheese is melted. If your sauce is too thick, add a little more milk at this point. It should be like a thick gravy. Season to taste (I added a sprinkle of salt, pepper and cayenne pepper because my family likes things spicy).
In the mean time, cook the noodles according to package directions (I usually cook them about 1 minute less then the directions say so they don't over cook in the oven - they should be a little firm still). Rinse with cold water. Pour noodles in a large baking dish. Pour the sauce over the noodles and stir well. Sprinkle 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese over the top (again, flavor is best if you use a high quality parmesan/reggiano and grate it yourself).
Melt the last three TBSPs butter in a frying pan; add the 1 cup panko bread crumbs (any crumbs work, but these are thicker than normal bread crumbs). Cook over medium heat until the bread crumbs are golden brown. Add a pinch of paprika. Add in about 4-5 slices of crumbled cooked bacon (I use the precooked version from Costco because it is so easy to just heat in the microwave for 1 minute and not burn yourself with flying grease!). Top macaroni with this bread crumb mixture and bake for 30 minutes on 350 until the top is browned and crusty and the sauce is bubbling. NOW GO EAT IT because it will disappear fast!
I'm off to spoil my son some more by making his favorite chocolate cake for dessert. Hope you are all having a great week! I will announce a winner for the last post's give-a-way tomorrow morning (leave comments until tonight at midnight to be eligible)!
Suzy
That sounds like a good recipe to me. I have already printed it out and might ever try it this weekend. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Annette Allen | April 08, 2011 at 09:46 AM
Ooh this sounds delish! I'm gonna make it for supper tomorrow night in honor of you sweet lady! Miss you millions x
Posted by: Kim Watson | April 17, 2011 at 12:57 PM