Best mac and cheese recipe wins points :P?

Question

Im looking for a mac and cheese recipe for christmas dinner...but the thing is i dont like cheddar cheese a whole lot...like a mix of it is good but pure cheddar makes me sick...i think mac and cheese should be really light in color...not orange...and not so strong a mild cheese taste...i dunno which cheese would be the best for this...and i want a crispy top to...best answer gets the points...

Answer 1

This recipe is different than your regular mac and cheese. My family really enjoys it and the amount of cheddar cheese is less than normal recipes.

1 pound penne pasta
Salt
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup half-and-half
8 ounces shredded sharp Cheddar
8 ounces shredded mozzarella
4 ounces grated Pecorino Romano
About 20 grinds black pepper

Cook pasta until al dente in a large pot of boiling salted water. Drain.
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir to form a smooth paste. Cook for about 2 minutes, being careful not to brown. Gradually add the milk and the half-and-half and simmer until thickened slightly, stirring all the while. Remove from the heat. Stir in the 3 cheeses and season with black pepper, to taste. Add the cooked pasta and mix into the cheese sauce thoroughly.

Answer 2

RECIPE INGREDIENTS:
6 slices French baguette
1 stick unsalted butter
5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese (18 ounces)
2 cups grated Gruyere (8 ounces)
1 1/4 cups grated Pecorino Romano (5 ounces)
1 pound elbow or shell pasta



1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 3 1/2-quart casserole dish. Make bread crumbs from the baguette in a food processor or blender. Mix the crumbs with 2 tablespoons of melted butter and set aside.

2. Warm the milk over medium heat. In a separate pan, melt the remaining butter until bubbly. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Then, still whisking, add the warm milk a bit at a time. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Remove it from the heat. Stir in the salt, pepper, nutmeg, cayenne, and cheeses. Set aside.

3. Cook the pasta until slightly underdone, then rinse it under cold water. Combine it with the cheese sauce and pour it into the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with the buttered bread crumbs and bake for about 30 minutes, until the mixture bubbles and the crumbs are brown. Let the dish set for 5 minutes before serving. Serves 6 to 8.

Answer 3

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
While you start the water boiling for the macaroni, begin a white sauce. Make a roux by melting two table spoons butter in a deep heavy saucepan. Add two table spoons flour, and stir over medium heat until light brown. Add two cups cold whole milk. Mix in a teaspoon of powdered mustard (I use Coleman's). Stir, over low heat until thickened. Set off the heat while you grate your cheeses:
1/8 pound mild or Longhorn cheddar.
1/4 pound Monterey Jack
1/8 pound mild blue cheese
Start cooking macaroni.
Return the white sauce to a low heat. Add the cheeses, stirring constantly, until melted completely.
Oil a deep casserole. When the macaroni is cooked al dente, drain but do not rinse. Put a spoonful of the cheese sauce on the bottom of the casserole, pour in macaroni, and the rest of the sauce. Stir well to incorporate.
Bake in oven for 15 to twenty minutes until crispy and brown on top. Pass salt and pepper at the table so each person can season his or her own serving.

Answer 4

2 1/2 cups of jumbo macaroni
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4-1/2 cup philadelphia cream cheese chopped into 1 inch cubes
3 T. butter or margarine
1/2-3/4 cup milk Parmesan cheese
1 small box of velveeta cheese cut into 1 inch cubes
Cook the macaroni according to the directons on the box, then drain the macaroni in a strainer and dump it back into your sauce pan
Turn the heat on between medium and low
Add the margarine or butter, milk, philadelphia cream cheese, velveeta and sour cream. mix this all together until its all melted.
Pour it into a greased casserole dish.
You can leave this part out if you like, but I like to sprinkle bacon bits and green onions and about 1 cup of cheddar cheese on the top, you can also sprinkle about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs to make a crispy top w/ some parmesan cheese and bake it at 375 for 10-15 minutes until the top is baked crispy and the cheese is melted.

Answer 5

Mac 'n' Cheese

Although this dish is lower in fat due to the skim milk and reduced-fat cheese, you'll love it so much you may never resort to the fluorescent-orange boxed stuff again!

Ingredients
16 oz uncooked elbow macaroni
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups skim milk
1 tbsp light butter
8 oz reduced-fat (33 percent) shredded cheddar
3 oz Velveeta Light cheese, cut into thin strips
1/8 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp seasoned breadcrumbs

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°F. Boil macaroni until tender but firm. While pasta cooks, whisk together flour and 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl. Pour remaining 1 1/2 cups milk into a large saucepan and heat over low. Once milk is slightly warmed, turn heat to medium-low and add flour and milk mixture, stirring constantly until thick. Reduce heat slightly and add butter, cheeses, and pepper. Cook until smooth, about 5 minutes. Drain macaroni, then combine with cheese mixture, stirring thoroughly. Pour into a 13" x 9" baking dish. Sprinkle breadcrumbs lightly and evenly on top and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

You can always change the cheese from cheddar to Mexican cheese. I don't like cheddar either.

Answer 6

Fancy enough for a party~
INGREDIENTS
1 small red onion, diced
1 (16 ounce) package small pasta shells
salt and ground black pepper to taste
1 pinch garlic salt
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 (11 ounce) cans condensed cream of Cheddar cheese soup
2/3 cup shredded Havarti cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
(make adjustments by adding more of Havarti and less Chedder?)


DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Place the diced onion in a large pot of lightly-salted water; bring to a boil. Cook the pasta until al dente, 8 to 10 minutes; drain. Transfer the onion and pasta to a casserole dish; season with salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Stir the butter and brown sugar into the pasta mixture until the butter melts. Add the Cheddar cheese soup, Havarti cheese, Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup of Cheddar cheese; stir well. Sprinkle remaining Cheddar cheese over top of the dish.
Bake in preheated oven about 45 minutes. Change oven setting to 'Broil' and cook until top is golden brown, about 4 minutes.

Answer 7

I love Macaroni & Cheese-- Here's my recipe:

1 16 oz. package whole wheat or brown rice macaroni noodles
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 onion
2 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese or Havarti
2 Tablespoons mustard
3 cloves garlic
2 Tablespoons butter

After cooking noodles, add the rest of the ingredients, and voila! you have a fantastic and healthy dish. You could add Shelton's hot dogs for a fun twang which does not have the nitrates. You can find Shelton's hot dogs as turkey or chicken dogs. I know my recipe is the best because it's healthy as well as delicious.

I am very discriminating when it comes to dairy products. I use Alta Dena cheese which is natural from cows not injected with hormones, etc. Or, I get some feta sometimes which adds a twang flavor to whatever you put it in. It's great.
I drink soy milk, as well.

Answer 8

Amish Baked Macaroni and Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 cups milk
8 ounces Velveeta cheese
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs

Cook macaroni according to package directions, drain, pour into casserole dish and add milk, cheese, salt-pepper, mix thoroughly.
Dot with butter, top with bread crumbs.
Bake 30 minutes at 325-350 degrees.

Answer 9

theres a really good recipe that racheal ray des on 30 minute meals, that is mac and cheese with broccoli and chicken.

ive made it before and its really good, not really super orange in color, perfect sharpness....

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 pound chicken breast tenders, chopped
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound macaroni elbows or cavatapi corkscrew shaped pasta twists
2 1/2 cups raw broccoli florets, available packaged in produce department
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
3 cups whole milk
1 cup chicken stock
3 cups yellow sharp Cheddar
1 tablespoon prepared Dijon mustard

Place a pot of water on to boil for macaroni.
Heat a medium pan over medium to medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil and chicken and season with salt and pepper. Saute a couple of minutes then add onion and cook another 5 to 7 minutes until onions are tender and chicken is cooked through. Turn off heat and reserve.

To boiling pasta water, add pasta and salt to season the cooking water. Cook 5 minutes, then add broccoli and cook 3 minutes more or until pasta is cooked to al dente and florets are just tender.

While pasta cooks, heat a medium sauce pot over medium heat. Add butter and melt, then add flour, cayenne and paprika and whisk together over heat until roux bubbles then cook a minute more. Whisk in milk and stock and raise heat a little to bring sauce to a quick boil. Simmer sauce to thicken about 5 minutes.

Drain macaroni or pasta and broccoli florets. Add back to pot and add chicken to the pasta and broccoli.

Add cheese to milk sauce and stir to melt it in, about a minute or so. Stir in mustard and season sauce with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and broccoli and cooked pasta and stir to combine. Adjust seasonings, transfer to a large serving platter and serve.

Answer 10

use melted colby jack and pasta shells add a little pepper, butter, and milk and, watever else u want! Or for the cheese use just monteray jack