Homemade Macaroni and Cheese?

Question

I'm looking for a classic recipe of macaroni and cheese. All of recipes that I find include onion, garlic, paprika, thyme and bay leafs. I don't want recipes that include these seasonings. Also I don't care much for Velvetta cheese.

NO Velveeta Cheese!

Answer 1

The Mueller's brand of elbow macaroni has a recipe on the box for classic macaroni and cheese. All it calls for is corn starch (as thickening agent), shredded cheddar cheese, butter, a couple of spices (all of them optional) and milk. It calls for a couple of cups of the cheddar cheese, but I use a lot more than that. I like a little pasta with my cheese. For a really good flavor, I use sharp cheddar cheese. Nothing lower. And I don't use American.

Answer 2

This is the recipe I always use. I make a double batch because everyone loves it SOOO much!

I took it to a pot-luck and had older people tell me they hadn't had macaroni and cheese like that since their mothers made it 30 years ago...it was gone within 10 minutes of setting it out...


The Lady's Cheesy Mac
Recipe courtesy Paula Deen

4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained
2 cups grated Cheddar
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the Cheddar. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese, if desired.

Answer 3

Have I got one for you!!!!!!!! This recipe doesn't have none of that in fact I made it last night and it was awesome. This recipe was put out by Paula Deen and you will love it if you like Mac N Cheese.

mac n cheese


2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8-ounce box isn't quite 2 cups)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stuck) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low setting and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.

Hope you love it as much as me and my family did.

Answer 4

Beware of the recipes that call for really expensive cheeses... like Gouda, agisio, etc. When cooked, cheese can loose its flavor.... making your $10 block of cheese taste like the normal $4 block. Basically, the longer you cook a cheese, the more flavor is leached out of it. So if the recipe calls for just melting the cheese, mixing it with other ingredients and then pouring it over the noodles, your expensive cheese won't loose its flavor. But if the cook time is over 30 minutes (usually in an oven), you may just want to stick with a cheaper sharp Cheddar.

If you search for a recipe on the web, search for "simple mac & cheese" since you don't want to many fancy ingrediants. WWW.foodnetwork.com has some good recipies, but again look for the easy/simple ones. There are a lot that require expensive cheeses and lots of spices/herbs. Oh and a lot of the food network recipies call for a LOT of eggs (like 4 to 8 depending on the recipie)...... IGNORE THIS INGREDIANT! Don't put more than one egg in this dish, if at all, or it will taste like an omlette gone bad.

Good Luck!

Here is a good recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Mac-and-Cheese/Detail.aspx

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

DIRECTIONS
Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux 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.

Answer 5

Here's my version (which doesn't have the ingredients you said you want to avoid):

I use the casserole size elbows (1 lb). Boil them and set aside.

Make a basic cream sauce by melting about a half a stick of butter in a sauce pan. Add 2-3 tablespoons of flour to it, whisking well. Cook this for about 1-2 minutes on med heat (it will look almost like a paste). Slowly whisk in about 2 cups of WHOLE milk. Keep whisking while the milk's temperature rises (there should be no clumps). As this heats up, it will start to thicken. Keep heating until it just begins boiling. Add in any cheese you want. I typically use three cups grated sharp cheddar, but you could use a combination of cheeses also (2 cups cheddar with one cup grated swiss is good too). Stir until cheese is melted into sauce. Remove from heat and pour over elbows, add salt and pepper to taste, and mix well. Beat one egg and pour it over the elbows, mixing well (this helps to bind everything together). Pour elbows into greased casserole dish. Cover with some more grated cheese and baked at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown and melted.

ENJOY!

Answer 6

This is an excellent recipe for Mac and Cheese!

2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
8 ounces dry elbow macaroni, cooked according to package directions

Melt butter in medium saucepan.
Stir in flour, salt, mustard and pepper until smooth.
Remove from heat and gradually stir in milk until smooth.
Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thickened (about 10 minutes).
Remove from heat.
Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese until melted.
Combine cheese mixture with macaroni in greased 2 quart casserole.
Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes or until lightly browned.

Hope you enjoy!!!

Answer 7

You need to make a bechamel sauce. Heat over medium high, 1 TBSP butter or margarine with 1 TBSP flour. Stir and cook for about one minute. You are cooking the flour so your sauce won't have a starchy flavor. Add 1 1/2 cups milk and bring up to a simmer while whisking to remove all lumps. The sauce will thicken. Add salt and pepper and/or hot sauce and Worcestershire sauce for flavor. It should taste good. Now add you cheese and when it is melted, pour over the macaroni. Or serve over toast, or broccoli, or both.

Answer 8

What about this:

Macaroni & Cheese with Ham
INGREDIENTS:

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons flour
* 1 cup milk
* 1 cup shredded American cheese
* 2 cups hot cooked macaroni
* 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
* 1 1/2 cups cooked, diced ham
* 1 tablespoon horseradish
* 1 tablespoon prepared mustard

PREPARATION:
In a large saucepan over medium-low heat, melt butter; add flour and stir until smooth and bubbly. Gradually stir in milk. Continue cooking, stirring, until sauce just begins to bubble and sauce has thickened.

Answer 9

my mom's been making mac n cheese this way for years...sorry there is no exact recipe for it but this is the way it goes. i know you said you dont like velveeta but give it a try the cheddars even it out, but the velveeta gives it the creaminess...good luck :-)

-cook 1 lb of elbow mac with a little salt in the water.
-drain.
-add the pasta back to the pot and add 1/2 a stick of butter.
-stir til the butter melts.
-add in @ 8 oz. of sharp cheddar, 8 oz. mild cheddar, and 4 oz. of velveeta cheese.
-stir to mix
-add milk to cover the noodles, but just barely.
-make sure all the cheese is pressed down with a spoon underneath the noodles and milk.
-put in the oven on 350* until cheese has totally melted and it looks bubbly.
-cool for 10 minutes before serving.
-add salt and pepper to taste after plating...we always did it ourselves if we wanted it.



HOPE YOU LIKE IT! :-)

*i've found that the mac n cheese cools faster if you dish it up and then let it cool.

**if you want you can also add hotdogs into it before you put the pot into the oven...stand them up in the noodles (the noodles will hold them up) and they get a little bit crispy on top and are very good.

Answer 10

Make white sauce from Argo corn starch (recipe on box) and add cheddar cheese. Pour over noodles and bake in the oven for a little while (20 min on 350) Yummy.