Macaroni and Cheese is comfort food at its finest! To this day, if I want my boys to come home, I just mention that it’s on the menu! They LOVE this stuff!
To start, get a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta. While the water comes to boil, make a roux of equal parts butter and flour.
Once the roux gets bubbly, add the cream and milk combination. Did I mention this recipe is quite rich and yummy? It is comfort food after all! Sometimes, I just use all milk. I rarely have cream just sitting around my house and as you know I do everything I can to get out of grocery shopping if at all possible!
Add some salt, pepper and just a few grates of whole nutmeg. Bring to a boil so it thickens nicely. At this point, you have a nice béchamel sauce which is a fancy word for white sauce or cream gravy in the south.
Now add lots of sharp cheddar cheese. I grate my own cheese for this recipe but you can use the bagged variety if you want. (Okay full disclosure, I rarely grate my own cheese, I usually have one of the boys do it. After all, they came home for this! It’s good to make them work a little for a home cooked meal.)
Once that cheddar melts into the béchamel sauce you have a creamy yummy cheese sauce. (Delicious on top of steamed veggies by the way!)
No steamed veggies here! Add the cheese sauce to the drained elbow macaroni.
Pour into a baking dish.
Sprinkle on some bread crumbs and bake.
Yummy!
Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 cups whole milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg
- 4 cups sharp cheddar grated
- 1 lb elbow macaroni
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Instructions
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Bring large pot of water to boil for pasta and make according to package directions. Be sure to drain pasta.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
While pasta cooks, in separate skillet over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in flour until smooth and cook for about 1 minute. Slowly whisk in milk and cream. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
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Once the sauce has thickened, reduce heat to low and add grated cheese. Mix until cheese melts and mixture is smooth. Turn off heat.
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Add the cheese sauce to the drained macaroni. Pour macaroni and cheese into a baking dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Bake for 20 minutes or until starts to brown.
I need a new Mac & cheese recipe. I love that you use real cheese and not the box cheese!! I am going to make this soon!
Hi Anne! This truly is a family favorite. Gary texted asking if I had made it for dinner tonight. It makes a ton especially for only two people but it freezes well. I would send frozen trays of it with the boys to A&M back in the day. Just freeze the portion you don’t wish to bake immediately. I use those small aluminum loaf pans which is perfect for two. Let me know how it goes!