Saturday, January 29, 2011

Classic Macaroni & Cheese






Instead of macaroni I use Cellentani pasta, which is a longer, curlier macaroni noodle. The cellentani holds the cheese really well so you get a nice cheesy piece of pasta in every bite! I have about ten different mac & cheese recipes but this is my favorite! I can't keep Maddie out of this when I make it, she says she likes it better than Kraft, which is saying a lot for my picky girl!

Ingredients:

1 8 oz package of cellantani (or macaroni if you prefer) I sometimes add a bit more
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 8 oz block SHARP Cheddar cheese, shredded & divided (I actually shred a little more than 1/2 of the block, then cut the remainder in chunks.




Prepare pasta according to package directions, drain & keep warm. Melt butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly for 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in milk, and cook whisking constantly for 5 minutes or until thickened. (It helps to have all your ingredients pre measured so you don't have to keep stepping away from the stove) Remove from heat. Stir in salt & pepper and 1 cup of the shredded cheese, the chunks of cheese and the cooked pasta.


Spoon pasta mixture into a lightly greased 2 qt. baking dish, top with remaining 1 cup cheese. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Makes 2-3 main dish or 4-6 side dish servings.

* a lot of the time I double this recipe because it's so good everyone complains that it's gone too soon!