Macaroni & Cheese

This is a great, basic macaroni & cheese recipe.  It starts with a white sauce base, with cheese melted in, tossed with macaroni.  There's so much you can do to doctor this up, like switching up the cheese and adding bacon and onions to make my Bacon & Gouda Macaroni & Cheese, or adding other things like broccoli, ham or whatever sounds good to you.  But this is a great place to start if you've never made mac & cheese from scratch before.

If you've interested in trying a different type of mac & cheese, you can also give my Baked Macaroni & Cheese a shot. Instead of a white sauce, its sauce is made from a mixture of eggs, milk, sour cream and cheese poured over cooked macaroni, then baked to set it up. All of these recipes are great, it just depends on what you're in the mood for!

Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb macaroni noodles
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp four
3 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded jack cheese
2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

While macaroni is cooking, prepare sauce. In a large pot, melt butter over low heat. Add the
flour and stir until golden and bubbling. Slowly whisk in the milk, and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. When the mixture boils and thickens, remove from heat. Add 1/2 cup of the cheddar cheese, all of the jack cheese, and the salt. Stir until the cheese is melted.

Add the cooked macaroni to the cheese sauce, stirring to coat completely, then pour into the prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the remaining cheese evenly on top.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the macaroni is bubbling and the cheese on top is golden brown.