KJ's BOMB Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Submitted by Mother of Dragons

"I love soul food and loved my mother-in-law's mac and cheese so much that I literally sat in the kitchen with her with a pen and paper and wrote down everything she did when she made this for the holidays. This recipe gets rave reviews from all of our family and friends and my kids request it almost daily."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 12
• Serves: 12

ingredients

• 2 (16 ounce) boxes jumbo pasta shells (we prefer shells) or (16 ounce) boxes elbow macaroni (we prefer shells)
• 1 lb extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 lb monterey jack cheese
• 4 eggs
• 1 - 1 1⁄2 cup milk
• 0.5 (16 ounce) box cheese crackers, crushed (Better Cheddars or Cheeze-Its)
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons garlic salt
• 2 tablespoons season salt
• 2 tablespoons pepper
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

directions

1. Bowl the water in a large pot. Add a splash of olive oil and salt to the water. Preheat oven to 375.
2. While waiting for water to boil, shred cheese and crush up crackers in separate bowls.
3. Once water is boiling, add pasta shells. Cook according to package (al dente).
4. Strain cooked pasta. Run cool water over cooked shells. Drizzle a little olive oil over cooked pasta.
5. Add cooked pasta to 13x9 baking dish.
6. Add 2-3 tbsp butter, stir around to coat all shells.
7. Add crushed cheese crackers, mix.
8. Add 1 cup milk, mix.
9. Add most--not all of each type of cheese, mix.
10. Add 4 eggs, mix.
11. Add garlic salt, season salt and pepper to taste, mix.
12. Add more milk as needed. You want it to be the consistency of a thick soup.
13. Cover with foil and bake in the oven on 375 for 30 minutes.
14. After 30 minutes, check to see that the cheese is melting nicely. Bake 15 min longer if necessary.
15. Remove foil, coat mixture with remaining cheese--try to cover all exposed pasta--and bake uncovered for another 15 min or until the cheese on top is golden.
16. Let cool a little before eating.