Bird's Famous Macaroni and Cheese

2Bleu's Note:

A fabulous always-requested recipe! I stongly suggest buying block cheeses and grating/shredding them fresh for the most flavorful macaroni and cheese you will ever taste. For a healthier version, try Bird's Famous Macaroni and Cheese (Lite).

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground mustard
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 cups 2% low-fat milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese (or parm or romano mix)
• 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
• 16 ounces elbow macaroni , fully cooked (large style)
• ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Stir in flour, salt, dry mustard and pepper until smooth. Gradually stir in milk and heavy cream, stirring continuously until thickened, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove from heat. Stir in cheeses (a little at a time) and mix until smooth and cheese has melted.
4. In a large bowl, pour cheese mixture over macaroni, mixing well. Place mixture into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle seasoned bread crumbs on top. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Reviews

[AprilShowers]

I made many revisions on this recipe, and it was still delicious! I cut the recipe in half and used Ezekial 4:9 sprouted grain penne pasta, raw cheddar cheese (just cheddar - no parmesan) and I only had 1c. cream, so I used water for the other 1c. of milk. Plus, I added about 1/2 bag of frozen peas to the mix and topped with some more shredded cheese. It was delicious! And all my kids ate it up too!

[Shelby Jo]

I cut the recipe in half since there were only 2 of us eating this, and I still had some leftovers...looking forward to it for lunch tomorrow :) I think this really was the most flavorful mac & cheese I've ever had, like the description said it was...I really liked it. It seemed a little bit dry though, and I prefer mine a little more creamy. I definitely enjoyed this recipe though. Loved the addition of pepper and the ground mustard. Thanks so much for posting :) Made for Phase II of Theirs, Yours, & Mine Photo Tag.

[diner524]

Very nice mac n cheese recipe which was enjoyed by DS and myself for lunch!! I made this for 6 servings although omitted the bread crumbs as we don't care for them on our mac n cheese in my family. This is very similar to the way I make our mac n cheese except for the dry mustard, parmesan and bread crumbs. We loved the addition of the dry mustard and parmesan cheese but next time would maybe cut back some on the salt and I love salty. I used freshly grated parmesan and cheddar so maybe the parmesan was extra salty??? Thanks 2Bleu for sharing a slight twist to my normal recipe!!!