what's everyone's best mac & cheese recipe?

Question

i am trying to find a recipe that's different than the average mac & cheese recipe.

Answer 1

Mike’s Quick Lunch World-Famous Macaroni and Cheese
(tested until perfect by The Canadian Living Test Kitchen)

Serving(s)
6 to 8

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 stalks celery, diced
1 onion, chopped
Half sweet green pepper, diced
2 tsp (10 mL) dried basil
1/2 cup (125 mL) tomato paste
2 cans (28 oz/796 mL each) plum tomatoes, chopped
1 can (28 ounces/796 mL) crushed tomatoes
1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
6 cups (1.5 L) medium pasta shells (about 1 lb/500 g)
9 slices process Cheddar cheese
9 slices process mozzarella cheese or Swiss cheese

Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C).

In large Dutch oven, heat vegetable oil over medium heat; cook celery, onion, green pepper and basil, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes.

Add tomato paste; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add plum and crushed tomatoes, salt and pepper; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 2 hours.

Uncover and simmer for 1 hour or until sauce holds ripple when pushed. (Make-ahead: Let cool for 30 minutes; refrigerate until cold. Refrigerate in airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 2 weeks.)

In large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta shells until tender but firm, about 8 minutes. Drain and return pasta to pot. Add 2 cups (500 mL) of the tomato sauce; toss to coat.

Ladle 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) more sauce into 13–x-9-inch (3 L) glass baking dish; spread half of the pasta over top. Repeat layers once; top with 1 cup (250 mL) more sauce. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day; uncover and heat in 350°F (180°C) oven until heated through, about 40 minutes.) Reserve remaining sauce for another use.

Overlapping slightly, arrange Cheddar and mozzarella cheese evenly over top; bake in oven until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes.

Answer 2

ok I don't use recipes or precise measurements

Elbow Noodles
32 slices american cheese
like 2 1/2 cups of milk
5 tbl spoons of worchister sauce
8 oz. shreeded sharp cheedar
1 1/2 cups of chrushed cheese nips

Cook the noodles till soft
Heat milk bring to a boil then lower tempature
Break american cheese up into pieces
mix in worch sauce
salt and white pepper to taste mix with noodle and spread evenly into a caserole dish top with cheedar and cheese nips.
Bake till browned

I don't ever measure so you might need more or less of somethings. I just eye ball it but I made the best guess i could.
This is a very rich and flavorful mac and cheese that is good as a side dish or a meal.

Answer 3

Boil some macaroni noodles until they're almost done, add cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese, real butter, and a pinch of salt, then melted (cover with aluminum foil for the first 35 minutes) and browned (for the last 10 minutes or until the cheese on top has browned) in the oven for 45 minutes at 350 in a pan or Pyrex dish -and voila!

Add a light dusting of cyan pepper if you want some spice!

Answer 4

I'm definitely from the Velveeta m&c crowd, but I use it it in the white sauce (made a thinner with a little more milk than usual). Put the mixture of cooked macaroni and white sauce into a casserole, top with buttered bread crumbs, and then with triangles of Velveeta slices on top (for some reason, both my mother and grandmother always did this – it's like some sort of m&c "chain letter' that I can't break!). Bake until bubbly and brown.

I should also point out that I am a purist when it comes to this dish – sorrels, morels, morays, monkeys, tomatoes (ugh!) and anything else you try to add have NO place in this classic dish!

Answer 5

Kraft, straight from the box.

Boil the noodles (6-10 minutes, depending on noodle type--spirals are much quicker).
Drain.
Add butter, and stir a little bit (allowing it to start melting).
Mix in the powder mix.
Add milk, and stir. Don't bother measuring--it's not worth getting the measuring cup dirty. If you put in too much milk, turn on the burner to boil some off (while stirring constantly). If you didn't add enough milk, just add some more.

Variations to make it better: Try the spirals--they are fun. White mac-n-cheese is great too. Or, after cooking, put it into a caserole, and put into the oven for 20 minutes to get that "oven baked" type of crust.

If you insist on being home-made, boil pasta (like noodles or other easily edible shape), and then use velveta cheese instead of the butter/mix/milk above.

My wife hates that I prefer Kraft to her home-made, and I'm sorry, but Kraft makes a great product.

Answer 6

Miami Macaroni and Wisconsin Cheese


Makes 12 servings

Ingredients:

2 cups pancetta in 1/4" dice
3/4 loaf of 12" x 2" baguette (dry)
8 ounces unsalted butter
1 1/2 pound rotelli (corkscrew) pasta
1 1/2 quart (6 cups) heavy cream
2 1/2 cups milk
8 ounces (2 cups) Wisconsin Parmesan cheese, finely grated and divided
12 ounces (3 cups) Wisconsin Fontina cheese, cut in 1/4" cubes and chilled
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spread the pancetta on a baking pan and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until just crispy. Drain on paper towels and set aside.

Crush and crumble the baguette into semi-fine bread crumbs, using a food processor if you wish. You will have about 2 cups.

In a large sauté pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add crumbs and toss to coat, toasting and stirring frequently until golden brown. Set aside.

Boil the rotelli in boiling salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Heat a large sauce pan. Add heavy cream and milk. Bring to boil. Simmer until reduced by one-third. Slowly whisk in 1 1/4 cups Parmesan cheese and the reserved pancetta. Continue to simmer and reduce to a thick and creamy consistency.

Add the cream mixture to the pasta along with the Fontina cheese. Toss quickly and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Butter twelve 5- to 6-ounce individual casserole dishes (or one 12" x 18" casserole). Fill the dishes with the rotelli. Divide breadcrumbs and remaining Parmesan cheese over the tops. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes (longer if in large pan), or until hot and bubbly. Serve immediately.

Answer 7

Baked Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb. macaroni, boiled al dente, according to pkg. directions
2 cups white sauce** (recipe below)
2 c ups yellow cheddar
2 cups Muenster cheese

Add cheese to white sauce and stir. (Save a bit of cheese for the topping.) Stir sauce into macaroni and place in a buttered casserole dish. Place in 350° oven until slightly brown and bubbly on top -- 25-30 minutes.

**White Sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
4 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour

Heat the milk and cream together almost to a boil. Melt butter in saucepan, then add all the flour stirring constantly. Let cook for 4-5 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat and add warm milk and cream while whisking -- if sauce is too thick, add a touch more milk.

--Isaac Mizrahi TV Show
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No-Boil Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 stick butter or margarine (cut into pieces)
12 ounces yellow cheddar cheese (shredded)
4 ounces mozzarella cheese (shredded)
5 cups milk
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
¼ tsp. black pepper, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350º. Layer raw macaroni, butter, and cheeses in the order given in a 9 x 13” sprayed baking dish. Pour milk over the top layer. Bake for uncovered 45 minutes; cover with foil and bake 15 minutes more.

Answer 8

You are gonna love this: Yuummmm (-:

INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces macaroni
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups milk
1/4 cup butter
2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 pinch paprika

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DIRECTIONS:
Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour. Add milk slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is a little thick. Put macaroni in large casserole dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Stir well.
Melt butter or margarine in a skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and brown. Spread over the macaroni and cheese to cover. Sprinkle with a little paprika.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. Serve.

This feeds 2-4 people. Yum O-:

Answer 9

Take a cup of cherry tomatos and half them. Place on a greased cookie sheet and sprinkler with salt and pepper. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven until they start to blacken. I think this takes about 30 minutes so you'll want to stir them after 15 minutes.

Cook 2 cups of macaroni (or the pasta you want to use) in boiling salted water (NO oil..pasta sticks when you dn't use enough water, oil isn't needed). Cook until al dente then drain.

Prepare a white sauce...melt 1/2 cup of butter over medium low heat, add two cups of milk and heat, but don't boil. Add two tablespoons of flour, a pinch of black pepper (preferably fresh ground) and a pinch of ground mustard. Stir constantly until thickened (again, don't boil).

Layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta into a greased baking dish (3-qt). Over that, spread 1/2 of your tomatos and then spread shredded swiss cheese, shredded sharp cheddar cheese and cubes of processsed cheese (Velveeta). Then repeat layers.

Pour the white sauce over the cheese/pasta. If necesssary, take a spoon to help the sauce get to the bottom of the dish. Then sprinkler the dish with grated parmesan cheese and dot with butter liberally. Cover and make 30 minutes in a preheated 350 degree over. And eat!

Some people saute minced garlic and chopped onions and mix that with their pasta before putting it in a pan. Also, I purposely left out any amounts for the cheese because you can make it as cheesy as you want it. In fact, you can experiment with this recipe...leave out the tomatos, use different cheeses, mix bread crumbs with melted butter for a topping.

It definitely isn't a low-fat recipe!

Answer 10

I love Mac & Cheese make with Velvita cheese, So good!

Answer 11

get the mac shaped noodle and cook it then add butter and stir in whatever flavor cheese you want, until melted. add milk so that the cheese wont clump....meanwhile cook some hamburger in a different pan and add the meat to the noodles when brown (cooked). its very good and a little different