A Simple Baked Macaroni and Cheese
photo by wicked cook 46
- Ready In:
- 45mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Serves:
-
4-6
ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) box elbow macaroni
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 3 cups whole milk
- 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated (recommended Stella)
- 1⁄2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- salt and pepper
directions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt water (after it comes to a boil) add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- While pasta is cooking begin to make your roux. Over low heat begin to melt butter. Once butter is melted add flour. Whisk constantly to avoid burning. If rue burns throw it out and start again. You want your rue to be almost a copper brown color. It should take a little over 5 minutes.
- Once you get your rue to the color you want add the milk while continuing to whisk constantly. Salt and pepper your sauce to your liking. When the mixture begins to boil you will notice your sauce will start to thicken. Once it is at the thickness you desire remove from heat immediately and add cheese, reserving about a 1/4 of a cup of cheddar.
- Drain macaroni and return to cooking pot. Combine cheese sauce with your macaroni. Pour macaroni and cheese into a 2 quart baking dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs and remaining cheese over top and bake for 35 minutes until a nice crust forms on the top.
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Reviews
-
Took this down to 2/3 servings and followed exactly. The cheese ratio was just fine for us, and we enjoyed this immensely. Very comforting, and very generous is size portions for your family. I used a bit of white ground pepper, and this took the taste to a whole new level. Perfect! Thank you so much for posting, made for PAC Spring 2012
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I also cut the recipe in half. I added a little more cheddar, but I love really cheesy pasta, so I would add up to double the cheese next time. I think I cooked mine just a little too long, but it was still very tasty. I also added some grated onion and paprika just to up the ante a bit. Overall, this was a very good, basic mac and cheese recipe.
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
I love to cook. It is the highlight of my day. I am a vegetarian however my boyfriend is a meatatarian so it is difficult to cook for him since I can not taste it. I actually prefer cooking with meat. I feel there are so many more recipes dealing with meat vs. vegetables. I love to tweak recipes to make them just right. So far I have yet to cook something that I didn't like :)