I searched the term Homemade Mac and Cheese Easy and found the best recipe! It is by Stephanie from the blog Plain Chicken.com. My close friend is turning 52 today, but she is still a kid at heart. So I decided to make this dish for her party, as it is one of her favorite foods.
Here are the ingredients:
- 2 cups large elbow macaroni, uncooked (about 1/2 lb)
- 2 1/2 cups low fat milk (I used 3 cups)
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional for final season later
- 1 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 cup grated cheese of your choice
- black pepper to taste
Directions:
Place raw elbow macaroni in colander and quickly rinse under water. Let drain. In medium sauce pan, add milk, raw elbow macaroni, salt, butter, mustard powder and garlic powder. On medium heat, slowly bring milk/macaroni mixture to a simmer, stirring the macaroni frequently as it comes up to a simmer. This will separate macaroni and keep them from sticking together. Do not leave the mixture unattended! The milk mixture will come to a boil very quickly.
Once mixture comes to a simmer, immediately turn down heat to low. Stir frequently. Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until milk has been fully absorbed. If macaroni is not cooked fully, add a little more milk or water to mixture ( a few Tbsp at a time) until macaroni is fully cooked. This will take about another 5 minutes. I had to add milk frequently.
When milk has evaporated, stir in grated cheese of your choice. Stir the cheese evenly into the macaroni. Turn off heat. Place lid on top of pan and cover for about 5 minutes and then serve.
There are several things that I like about this recipe. Most importantly it is made in one pot so the assembly and clean up are easy. Next it calls for simple ingredients without tons of chemicals. Finally, since I am on a gluten free diet, there is no requirement for wheat flour. I can substitute the wheat noodles for ones made from rice.
The only draw back is that you have to consistently stir the pot. So if you need to leave the stove for any length of time, it would be useful to try a recipe that involves boiling the noodles as an additional step. That way you can just put the dish in the oven and not worry about it. After trying it, there are some things that I would do differently. I would:
1. Use sharp cheddar cheese instead of the mild.
2. Include all ingredients. I omitted the salt thinking that the cheese had plenty of salt. However, it really needs it because of the heavy concentration of milk.
3. Top the dish wish cheese at the end.
4. Double the recipe.
The end result was delicious.
Permission granted by Steph of the wonderful blog Plain Chicken.com. Be sure to visit her site for some simple and yummy foods!