Mac & Cheese, Round Two

You may remember my post about the secret to making the best mac & cheese. (You can find it here.) Well, I tried out a different recipe tonight and it was just as good--if not better. I used Monterrey Jack cheese (bought in a block and shredded myself) which gave it a little kick. And when I say little, I mean little--Matt didn't think it was spicy at all and I could taste the spice, but didn't think it was spicy if that makes sense. It also uses Worcestershire sauce which I thought was interesting. It didn't take too long to make, but there were a lot more steps than the other recipe, where you basically throw everything into a pot until it thickens up. I will have to try out my original recipe with Monterrey Jack cheese before I decide which one I truly like the best. We shall see. In the meantime, here is the recipe (my notes in italics). If you're stuck in a mac & cheese rut, try this--you won't be disappointed!

One other thing: I did not bake it at the end. For one, I am too impatient and I was hungry! Second, I don't always like the taste of baked mac & cheese. If you like it baked, then go for it!

Ooey Gooey Mac and Cheese
by digitalgrrl on Tasty Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 cups Uncooked Elbow Pasta (I used shells-I love how they fill up with sauce! Yum!)
  
• ¼ cups Butter
• ¼ cups Flour
• ½ teaspoons Salt
• ¼ teaspoons Pepper
• ¼ teaspoons Ground Mustard
• ¼ teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 cups Milk
• 2 cups Shredded Cheese (I used Monterrey Jack)
  

Instructions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. (I skipped this step.)

Cook pasta and drain.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat. (I made the sauce as the pasta was cooking and it worked out to about the same time for each--the pasta cooked a little faster, but it was fine to just sit there for a minute (I added a bit of oil so it wouldn't clump up) while I finished the sauce.)

Stir in flour, salt, pepper, ground mustard and Worcestershire sauce.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and bubbly; remove from heat.

Stir in milk.

Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. (This takes a while, just like the other recipe, but you will know when it's finished--one minute it's thin and the next second it's really thick. You will know.)

Boil and stir for 1 minute.

Add cheese. Cook and stir until cheese is melted.

Stir pasta into cheese sauce.

(Again, I skipped this last step, but feel free to bake it if you wish. It definitely won't hurt anything. If you're impatient like me, just dish it up and enjoy!)

Pour into ungreased baking dish (I like to use to use my Pyrex 2 qt. round baking dish. It seems to dry out if you use a more shallow dish.)

Add some extra shredded cheese to cover top.

Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes, until bubbly.

Broil for a few minutes, until cheese on top browns.

The Secret...

...to making the creamiest macaroni & cheese:

(drum roll, please...)

BOIL YOUR NOODLES IN MILK!

Not kidding. Super easy, too.

3 cups milk
2 1/2 cups noodles (any kind)
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cheese (any kind)
Mustard powder (optional-just use a couple of shakes. The Pioneer Woman used this in her mac & cheese recipe and it's surprisingly good, so we added some in ours tonight.)

Put the milk, noodles, and salt into a medium-sized sauce pan and cook on medium-high for about ten minutes--stirring pretty much constantly so the milk doesn't burn. Different noodles will cook at different times, so just watch/taste it until you know they're finished. Near the end when the milk is getting thick, add in the mustard powder. Take off heat, add in cheese, and stir until it's all melted and gooey. :) YUM!

A couple of notes...

-You don't need to let the milk come to a boil before you add in the noodles like you would if you were using water. Just put it all in the pot cold and stick it on the burner.
-We used regular old shredded mozzarella, but we're definitely using something different next time. That was all we had in the fridge. Next time, we'll use something sharper, with more flavor. Maybe a sharp cheddar or something. Experiment with what you have/like. You really can't go wrong--this is so easy.
-This may even be easier than the boxed stuff. *gasp* It definitely tastes better!!!

Can't leave you without a picture. I'm only 4 away from being finished with my second box. :) LOVE these things!