Macaroni and Cheese

Macaroni and Cheese

adapted from Favorites

1 pound elbow macaroni

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

4 cups milk

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dry mustard

5 cups grated Cheddar cheese (medium or sharp)

Cook macaroni in boiling, salted water according to package directions and drain.  In a large saucepan, melt butter.  Add flour and stir.  Pour in milk and cook, stirring constantly until thick.  Add salt, pepper and dry mustard, then add 4 1/2 cups of the cheese and stir just until cheese is melted.  Remove from heat and add cooked macaroni and mix together.  Pour into 9"x13" glass baking pan, sprinkle remaining 1/2 cups cheese on top and bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

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{cooks note}

If this isn't comfort food, then I don't know what is.   My husband is still trying to understand just what comfort food is.  Go here for a great definition.  Back to the recipe.  I changed this recipe so there is double the sauce.  There is nothing worse to me than dry macaroni and cheese.  With this recipe, your macaroni and cheese will be the opposite of dry.  It makes for really great leftovers too.  I sometimes also freeze half of this before baking because it makes such a large quantity.  

First, I cook the pasta.  Make sure you under-cook it slightly since it will finish cooking in the oven.

While the pasta is cooking, I start my cheese sauce.  This is after I melted the butter and added the flour.  

Just after the milk was added.  Make sure to continually stir.

Drain the macaroni and set aside.

Next, I grate the cheese. I use my slicer-shredder attachment for my Bosch to do all the work.  It's wonderful.

Put a block of cheese in the top (I like to use sharp for a stronger cheese flavor)...

and out it comes perfectly shredded.

Here is a another look.

This is the top of the blade that shreds the cheese.  You can choose which size you would like.  Large or small.

Back to the cheese sauce.  After it has thickened, add the salt and pepper and dry mustard.

In case you are trying to figure out what dry mustard is, here is a picture.  It can be found in the spice isle in your local grocery store.  

Once the spices have been mixed in, add the cheese.

Give it a good stir until the cheese has all melted in.

Pour your macaroni into a baking dish.

Add the cheese sauce.  Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top. I cheated and added a little more.  You can never have too much cheese, right?

Twenty-five minutes later you have this.  A creamy macaroni and cheese that is to die for.

I served mine with steamed long green beans and a simple salad with carrots, tomatoes and avacado.  

Macaroni and cheese.  It's what's for dinner.