Easy Baked Macaroni and Cheese

This is another recipe that I grew up with.  It wasn't until recently that I found that most people make baked macaroni & cheese with eggs and/or flour.  This is really a much simpler and quicker way of making it with just a few ingredients.  My immediate family are real cheese lovers and we all get together at my house for holiday dinners, it was decided a long time ago that this isn't just a request but a demand for every holiday meal that we have no matter what the menu may be.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my family and I do.

Preheat oven to 350°

Ingredients  (for a 2 or 2.5 quart casserole dish)

1 box of elbow  macaroni (12 oz) 

2 lb. bag of mild cheddar cheese, shredded (or cheese of your choice)

1 tsp. of butter

¼ c of skim milk (you can use 2% or whole milk if you prefer)

½ c of canned evaporated milk

Salt & pepper to taste.

Instructions:

Cook macaroni in a pan of boiling water according to directions on the box until it’s done but still firm.

Drain.  Lightly spray baking dish with Pam.  Sprinkle approx. 2 hands full of cheese on the bottom then cover with a good layer of macaroni (about ¾ inch thick) then put just a small dab of butter close to each corner.  Lightly salt and pepper.  Then add another layer of cheese, macaroni, butter (close to the center this time) salt & pepper, continue layers until you end with the last of macaroni, save enough cheese for the top.  Then with your hand or large spoon gently toss the ingredients to lightly mix together but try to stay away from the cheese on the bottom.  Then put one last layer of cheese on the top.  Pour both milks evenly over all, (you can use 3/4 cup of the same kind of milk instead of 2 different, I just like using both).   Sprinkle a little more salt and pepper if desired, cover tightly with a lid or aluminum foil.  Place in the oven and bake until the cheese has melted then remove cover and let it lightly brown.

*Tips:

I grew up with my mother and grandmother making it this way so I don’t have a definite recipe with proper measures, I just throw it all together and according to what we like so you may need to adjust this to suit your taste or consistency.  I use a lot of cheese because that’s the way my family prefers it, by the time I’m done I will have used the whole 2 lb bag of cheese or close to it.  I use very little butter.  You may need to adjust the amount of milk, if you use a glass baking dish the milk needs to come up about ¼ of the way up from the bottom but ¾ cup is pretty close for that size baking dish.  If you get too much milk, carefully pour some of it off then cover & put it back into the oven for about 10 minutes.   When I cover the top with foil I spray the part of the foil that will be facing the cheese with Pam so that the melted cheese doesn’t stick to it.  

To make this recipe healthier:  Use whole grain macaroni, use fat free cheese and skim milk and low fat butter.  Use small amount of salt or no salt at all.   J  

You might need to make this once or twice to adjust it to the way you like and if you are a cheese lover, you will love it!