Nomtastic Mac 'n Cheese, the divine cousin of the Flying Spaghetti Monster

I love mac 'n cheese.
I love mac 'n cheese a lot.
The only thing better than mac 'n cheese is cheese 'n mac.
I could eat mac 'n cheese all the time and be perfectly content with life.

I take that back. I like a lot of other foods too. However, I wish I could eat mac 'n cheese a lot more than I get to. 

I've been trying for months to find a macaroni and cheese recipe that is easy to make and taste delicious. I've pinned countless amount of recipes on Pinterest and tried most of them, but none of them ever did it for me. I got so frustrated that I began to resort to Kraft Mac 'n Cheese for my fixes because as unhealthy it is for you, it's always reliable. Anyway, after hearing about my failed attempts to make homemade mac 'n cheese my mom finally stepped in. One day she handed me Joy of Cooking and said to try the recipe for Baked Macaroni and Cheese. I was skeptical at first because Joy of Cooking is, in my experience, dated and tends to make recipes more difficult to make than necessary. However, I tried it anyway and boy was it worth it.

The mac 'n cheese was gooey, and delicious, and wonderful, and delicious, and om nom nom. It uses a LOT of dishes; four in total, but it's sooooo worth it. I've made some alterations to the original recipe to make it just a little bit better. I have got to say though, the onions in the recipe is what makes the whole dish. If you're making this for kids, just don't tell them that there is onions in it. They cook down so you can't tell they're in the dish when it's being served.

And now, without further ado....

Joy of Cooking: Baked Macaroni and Cheese (with alterations) 
                    Rombauer, Irma S., Joy of Cooking. New York: Scribner, 1997. 320.


 

Serves 6-8 (allegedly).

- 6 cups water
- 1 1/2 tsp salt, plus extra for taste
- 2 cups elbow macaroni
- 2 1/2 cups grated cheddar
- 4 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp flour
- 2 cups whole, skim, or soy milk
- 1/2 medium onion, minced
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp dry mustard
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
- ground black pepper to taste


Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 1 1/2-quart deep baking dish.

Boil water with 1 1/2 tsp salt and add macaroni. Cook until barely tender according to package instructions.

In a large saucepan over medium-low heat melt 2 tbsp of butter. Add in the 2 tbsp flour and whisk for approximately 2-3 minutes. Slowly whisk in 2 cups of milk, onion, paprika, and mustard. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, whisking (or just plain stirring) often. Once done, remove from heat and quickly add in 3/4 of your cheese. It should made a nice sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in macaroni.

In a small pan melt 2 tbsp butter and toss in breadcrumbs until they are coated.

There is only 1/2 a cup of breadcrumbs in this batch. Definitely use a full cup.

Put half of your macaroni mixture in the baking dish. Top with half of remaining cheese and repeat process with the rest of the macaroni and cheese. Top off the whole casserole with the breadcrumbs.  Bake for 20-30 minutes depending on how creamy you want your mac 'n cheese. Take out of the oven and ENJOY!

Apparently my mac 'n cheese is in a Texas mood.

Honestly, I think the only way that this recipe could be any better is if it used less dishes and had BACON. Lots of bacon. Then it would have almost all the food groups! Anyway, I personally could have eaten this dish without baking it. Next time I think I'll just cook the noodles longer, add them to the cheese sauce, eat it just like that.