Today was my day to cook a meal for 10-15 people for the local hospice. I don't know why, but I never seem to want to cook something I've already cooked before. It kinda seems like I'm, I don't know, cheating. This is weird, because it's not like I'm a great cook, and it's not like I can honestly show off -- because I just drop this meal off and nobody knows who cooked it. I guess I don't want to cook the same thing because it would bore me.
So I looked this up on allrecipes.com, under casseroles. This mac n' cheese recipe was very popular, AND NOW I KNOW WHY! Because IT'S FREAKIN' AWESOME, that's why!
It may not look like much in the above photo, but believe me, it is the most heavenly, cheesiest, tastiest mac n' cheese you have EVER TASTED. I made the mistake of taking a little bite before I delivered it. And then I took another, and another, and another....
Make this mac n' cheese in the called-for recipe amount if you need to take a dish to somebody who is sick, or just had a baby, etc. -- because you'll have enough for them AND for you. If you want to try the recipe just for YOU, then halve the ingredients. If you want to, you can go to allrecipes.com, find the recipe on there, and they have a way to input how many servings you want, and then the web site adjusts the recipe to reflect your servings.
Oh my gosh. This is CRAZY good. Or as your father might say, this is some crazy shiz mac n' cheese.
INGREDIENTS:
1-3/4 pounds whole-wheat macaroni (but I used regular elbow macaroni)
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk, divided
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 (8 oz) packaged shredded Cheddar cheese, divided
3 (8 oz) packaged shredded American cheese (I couldn't find any of this, so I used bags of
shredded cheese specially made for mac n' cheese)
1 tablespoon Worcestshire sauce
1 (8 oz) bag potato chips (such as Lay's), crushed
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
butter-flavored cooking spray
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes; drain.
3. Mel butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Slowly add flour to butter, whisking constantly; cook until barely brown and the mixture no longer smells of flour, about 5 minutes. Pour 1 cup milk into the flour mixture, whisking continually until fully incorporated, about 45 seconds; repeat twice. Add remaining 3 cups milk to the mixture, whisking to incorporate. Stir mustard powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper into the mixture; season with salt and black pepper.
4. Reduce heat to low. Cook sauce, whisking frequently, until it begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Add about half the package of shredded Cheddar cheese; stir continually until the cheese melts completely. Repeat with remaining half package of Cheddar cheese and the American cheese, about 4 ounces at a time. Once cheese is entirely incorporated, remove sauce from heat.
5. Stir drained macaroni into the cheese sauce to coat. Divide macaroni between TWO 9x13-inch baking dishes.
6. Mix crushed potato chips, 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, and Parmesan cheese in a bowl. Top the macaroni with the potato chip mixture evenly. Spray the potato chip mixture with cooking spray.
7. Bake in preheated oven until the crust is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, 35 to 45 minutes.
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 45 minutes
Ready in: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 20
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