Looking for an easy mac and cheese recipe

[A home for their hearts]

Something easy and tastes good. Any suggestions?

[ma23peas]

I always make mine homemade, I think it tastes pretty good and it's pretty easy..

 

Boil your elbow macaroni..

 

In a sauce pan heat about 6 tablespoons of butter, mix in 2 tablespoons of flour and heat it continually stirring, (add 2tsp ground mustard and salt/pepper/paprika to taste) mix in about 1.5 cups of milk to make a roux....add in 2-3 cups of shredded cheese whatever you like...pour the cooked macaroni in and I either serve it out of the pan or I'll pour it into a buttered baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

 

top with cheese if you like! :)

[mrshomework]

I think this is easy and it's my dd favorite.

 

Skillet Mac and Cheese no baking required

 

1 cup macaroni dry

1/2 cup evaporated milk whole or 2%

2 cups shredded cheddar, or sharp cheddar or a mix I like

2 slices american cheese

1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tsp of water

 

Boil macaroni as you like it salt as needed. Reserve about 1/2 cup water. Drain pasta set aside. In the same pot off the heat add evaporated milk & cornstarch wisk to blend cornstarch into milk. Bring to a boil for just a few seconds add cheese Keep stirring until melted. Add the pasta back to pot stir with a spoon. If it's too thick add some of the pasta water it will thicken more as it sits a bit. So don't be alarmed if its too thin.

I add broccoli to this all the time to get my kid to eat it.

You can add butter to mixture to make it richer the orginal recipe took 3 tablespoons. I got this from a Cook's Illustrated magazine or Cook's Country . You can google if you want their version.

Edited July 27, 2011 by mrshomework
skillet mac and cheese no baking required

[ChristusG]

We use this one in our family.....we get compliments every single time we bring it to a function:

 

Ingredients:

 

a block of Velveeta cheese (the large one)

a can of cream of chicken soup

a small container (I think 6 or 8 oz, whatever is the smallest) of sour cream

1 lb box of elbow noodles

salt

pepper

 

 

Preheat oven to 350.

 

Boil elbow noodles as directed on the package.

 

When the noodles are finished, pour them into a baking dish. Add the cheese, half a can of cream of chicken soup, half the container of sour cream, plus salt and pepper to taste (I'm pretty generous with the salt and pepper on it). Stir until everything is mixed well. Add pepper all over the top. Put in the oven for 30 minutes at 350.

 

Tip to make things easier.....it is quite hard to stir everything into the baking dish without making a mess. What I do is cut up the block of Velveeta cheese while I'm cooking the noodles on the stove. I heat half of the Velveeta cheese in the microwave, making it more soft and stir-able. When the noodles are finished, I only pour half of them into the baking dish. I also pour in half the Velveeta cheese block (softened/half melted), half the sour cream (so 1/4 of the container) and half the soup (so 1/4 of the container. Plus the salt and pepper of course. I mix that all up. Then I add the other half of everything. It makes it MUCH easier to stir it all up.

 

It is DELICIOUS. I'm a mac-n-cheese addict. And once you get the hang of stirring all that stuff together, it's really easy to make.

[Mynyel]

I always make mine homemade, I think it tastes pretty good and it's pretty easy..

 

Boil your elbow macaroni..

 

In a sauce pan heat about 6 tablespoons of butter, mix in 2 tablespoons of flour and heat it continually stirring, (add 2tsp ground mustard and salt/pepper/paprika to taste) mix in about 1.5 cups of milk to make a roux....add in 2-3 cups of shredded cheese whatever you like...pour the cooked macaroni in and I either serve it out of the pan or I'll pour it into a buttered baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

 

top with cheese if you like! :)

 

I use something similar to this. It is kinda like a cheese "gravy". IT is oh, so good and the kids love it. I make a double batch and freeze some to use later.

[Blueridge]

I've made scratch baked mac and cheese for years, even though it's some extra work. Last Sunday there was a potluck after church, and I just ran out of time. So, (shhhhhhh!) I sent hubby to the store to get a box of Velveeta, doubled the recipe on it's box, adding a bit more milk since it would be held for several hours at warm, and filled the crock pot. I had several compliments, and took home an empty crock pot. Go figure! I used to think Velveeta was a dirty word! :D

[DarcyB]

We use Alton Brown's mac'n'cheese a lot.

[6packofun]

Here is mine:

 

8-10 oz. macaroni, cooked

 

Mix together:

1 can evaporated milk

1 can cheddar cheese soup (undiluted)

2 - 2 1/2 cups shredded mild cheddar (or other) cheese

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp onion powder

optional: 1 egg, beaten (this gives it that fluffy cafeteria mac n' cheese consistency; sometimes I add it, sometimes we go without for the creamier texture)

 

Add cooked macaroni and combine.

 

Spray 8x13 pan/dish with nonstick spray or oil. Pour in the macaroni mixture.

Bake at 350 for 35-40 min.

 

(Optional crumb topping: combine 1/2 stick melted butter, 1/2 c. dry bread or cracker crumbs, and 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese and sprinkle on top of mac before baking.)

[Annie G]

After reading these, I have SUCH a craving for macaroni and cheese. Oh my...so many good ideas here.

[k2bdeutmeyer]

Here is mine, though, keep in mind it is a LARGE batch!

 

4-5 cups shredded cheddar cheese

16oz elbow macaroni

1/2 cup sour cream

1 stick of butter/margarine

2 cups milk

2 cans cheddar cheese soup

1 Tbsp yellow mustard

Salt (to taste)

Onion powder (to taste)

Garlic salt (to taste)

Ground pepper (to taste)

Bread crumbs (or crushed crackers/potato chips)

 

Preheat oven to 350. Boil noodles until tender (about 7min). Meanwhile, place remaining ingredients, except bread crumbs, in a saucepan and heat until cheese and butter are melted, stirring occasionally. Combine cooked noodles, and cheese mixture in 13x9 glass pan or casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes.

[mandymom]

A friend of mine made this recipe for mac & cheese and my middle ds said "it's like hallelujah (imagine singing)!" So, it's my mac & cheese recipe now. We renamed it "Hallelujah Mac & Cheese". :001_smile:

[KungFuPanda]

I think homemade mac n cheese is just as fast as the boxed stuff. You can get the sauce made in the time it takes the noodles to cook. You've been given lots of choices for recipes, so I won't add another.

 

I think mac n cheese is easy when you think of it more as a technique than a recipe. Learn to make a white sauce . . . Melt butter, add flour and stir til smooth then add milk. When it's all smooth and hot, just start adding shredded cheese . . . whatever you like! For my family, the magic combo is sharp cheddar, pepper-jack, and parmesan. You might like different cheeses. Just taste that cheese sauce and add cheese, seasonings, and milk until it is ever-so-slightly thinner and saltier than you want the final product.

 

Pour it over cooked, drained macaroni and eat right away!

 

If you want it a little fancier, undercook the macaroni a smidge before mixing. Pour into a greased casserole dish and top with shredded cheese and/or breadcrumbs. Then bake it until it looks all bubbly and nice.

 

HTH

 

KFP

[Susan in TN]

Here's my recipe - rough estimates on measurements, though

 

1 lb pasta

3T butter

3T flour

2C milk

2-3 oz cream cheese

1C shredded cheese (cheddar or whatever)

salt & pepper to taste

dash nutmeg (opt.)

 

Cook pasta. While pasta is draining in a colander, return pot to stove and melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour, then milk. Stir until it thickens and then add cheeses and opt. nutmeg. Mix around a little and then put pasta back into the pot and stir into the cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

I usually throw in a couple cups of peas or green beans with the pasta.

[Quiver0f10]

I always make mine homemade, I think it tastes pretty good and it's pretty easy..

 

Boil your elbow macaroni..

 

In a sauce pan heat about 6 tablespoons of butter, mix in 2 tablespoons of flour and heat it continually stirring, (add 2tsp ground mustard and salt/pepper/paprika to taste) mix in about 1.5 cups of milk to make a roux....add in 2-3 cups of shredded cheese whatever you like...pour the cooked macaroni in and I either serve it out of the pan or I'll pour it into a buttered baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350.

 

top with cheese if you like! :)

 

This is basically what I do too. My kids love it!