Mac 'n' Cheese for a Bunch

I've seen OAMC recipes for macaroni and cheese that were geared more for huge crowds...I even saw one once for 200 people! Personally, that's a bit much for my OAMC needs, LOL...Then one day, I'm thumbing through an old issue of Taste of Home magazine from April May 2007 and I found a simple, far more reasonably sized OAMC recipe for macaroni and cheese which I tweaked to lower the fat content slightly...So here it is for safekeeping and future use!

• Ready In: 1 hr
• Serves: 36
• Yields: 36 one cup servings

Ingredients

• 2 (16 ounce) packages elbow macaroni (Ronzoni Whole Wheat pasta)
• 1 (7 ounce) package elbow macaroni (Ronzoni Whole Wheat pasta)
• 1 1⁄4 cups unsalted butter, divided
• 3⁄4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2  teaspoons salt (optional)
• 3  quarts 1% low-fat milk
• 3  lbs low-fat sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 1⁄2 cups  dry breadcrumbs

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F; Grease three 13X9 baking pans.
2. Cook all the macaroni per package directions and drain.
3. While the macaroni cooks, in a large soup kettle melt 1 cup of the butter; then stir in flour and salt until smooth.
4. Gradually stir in milk and slowly bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened.
5. Reduce heat and add the cheese, stirring until melted; stir well-drained macaroni into sauce.
6. Divide the mixture equally among the 3 greased baking pans; melt the remaining butter and mix with the bread crumbs.
7. Sprinkle the buttered bread crumbs equally over the top of the macaroni and cheese mixture in the 3 baking pans.
8. Bake, uncovered in the preheated oven for approximately 35-40 minutes or until golden brown.
9. NOTE: this needn't be limited to macaroni; use rotini or penne rigati.