This isn't no blue box stuff. Which is good, cause I hate that stuff. The fact that the cheese is powdered kinda weirds me out.
Homemade Mac and Cheese
Original recipe from Wannabe Gourmet
2 cups macaroni noodles
1/4 cup flour
2 cups milk
2 Tbsp butter
1 1/2 cups cheddar or colby cheese, shredded
1/2 cup parmesean cheese, shredded (not the stuff in the green plastic container, the real stuff)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbsp hot sauce
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 375. Boil pasta until al dente (slightly firm), then drain and set aside. In a sauce pan, melt butter, then mix in flour. Add milk slowly, whisking as you go (if you add the milk too quickly, it'll scald and burn). Add in salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and add cheeses. Mix well, until all the cheese is melted. Add drained pasta to mix, coat well. Pour cheese/pasta mixture into shallow baking dish and sprinkle breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
My notes:
Honestly, the recipe that I followed sucked. There were things in the ingredients list that weren't in the dish, and things in the preparation paragraph that weren't listed in the ingredients. Uber confusing. So, this dish is heavily modified.
Since this is a savory dish anyway, I didn't follow the recipe to a T. So, I ended up with a only mildly cheesy sauce (I'll fix that next time by using a sharper cheddar, I think, and maybe tossing in some jalapenos for some kick), and way too many breadcrumbs. You just want a thin layer, not enough to create a thick crust. Oops.
Overall, though, this wasn't a bad dish. I think if I actually followed the directions it would have been better (assuming I could have followed the directions). But lesson learned for the next time I prepare it :)
