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Wednesday, June 12, 2024

52 Recipes in 52 Weeks #11 Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

One of my projects for 2024 is to try one new recipe each week for the year.  These will be chosen from all of the flagged pages in cookbooks that I have or from the file of 'need to try' recipes.  I will try new desserts, main dishes, side dishes and breads.

This is another recipe from Recipe Tin Eats.  We don't eat macaroni and cheese very often but sometimes I really do have a craving for it. I made this in March when the weather was still that in between phase of Winter and Spring so it really did hit the spot. I have a number of recipes for mac and cheese that I use from time to time but wanted to try the cooking method of this one. The pasta is cooked right in the sauce so there is no chance of it getting that thick gloopy sauce or overcooked pasta that no one likes. 

Ingredients:
3 1/2 tbsp. butter
3 tbsp. flour
2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups of water
2 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni noodles
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar, colby or gruyere cheese
salt and pepper

Seasonings:
1 tsp. garlic granules or powder
1/2 tsp. onion granules or powder
1/2 tsp. mustard powder

Instructions:
Melt butter in a medium pot over medium heat. Add flour and cook for 1 minute.
Add about 3/4 cup of milk and mix into butter mixture.  It will become a slurry pretty quickly.
Add remaining milk and mix to combine the slurry.  Then add the water and seasonings.
Add macaroni and mix.  Stir occasionally as it comes to heat.  When you see wisps of steam as you stir, lower the heat to medium low.
Stir regularly as it cooks for 9-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens and the macaroni is just cooked-tender but still firm.  It should still be saucy at this stage and thinner than you want.
Take it off the stove and stir in the cheese quickly.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.

TBG isn't a huge fan of mac and cheese but did enjoy this as much as I did.  I liked the consistency of it and the flavor was spot on.

We had leftovers so I put them in a dish and sprinkled with a panko breadcrumbs and parmesan mix. and put the Ninja on reheat mode 325 for 20 minutes.  To me, it was good reheated but not as good as fresh off the stove top.

I give this a solid 8 out of 10.  I love the one pot method of cooking the pasta in the sauce.  

24 comments:

  1. Thanks. I am a LOVER of mac and cheese. It is one of my favorite food groups!! LOL

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    1. Me too. TBG, not so much. I loved that this was all cooked together in one pot and you can pretty much use any cheese you want.

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  2. I miss eating mac & cheese. Now I want that with some pan fried andouille sausage.

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    1. We don't have it often because TBG is usually not a fan. I would miss it too though if I couldn't eat it. Sausage with mac and cheese is one of my favorites too. I usually throw in some broccoli to make it at least a little healthy.

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  3. I thought I was the only person on the planet who doesn’t like it! Most people LOVE Mac N Cheese. I’ve never heard of not boiling the noodles separately. Sounds like it worked out well.

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    1. TBG is right there with you. I had never tried it this way either but it really does work.

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  4. Very interesting! I have never heard of making mac and cheese in this way and I very well may try it! Thanks, Lori! xoxo

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    1. I hadn't either but it really does work well. No chance of overcooked noodles or goopy cheese.

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  5. This comes at a perfect time. TheHub wants mac and cheese tonight and I don't want to heat up the kitchen. Thank you!

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    1. I hope you enjoy it like we did. It's a quick easy one pot dish for sure.

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  6. I occasionally get a craving for mac and cheese but it has to be homemade. None of that box stuff. I like the idea of making it all in one pot. That makes things so much easier.

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    1. No box stuff here either. When I make this again I will half the recipe because it was OK re-heated but not as good as it was when it was first cooked.

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  7. I don't eat mac and cheese very often but have what I think is a decent recipe. I will definitely give this one a shot though as it can always be improved on!

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    1. We don't eat it often either but I wanted to try this method of making it and I was happy with it.

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  8. This sounds lovely and very fattening.

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  9. Would you believe, I was literally going to look up a recipe for stovetop macaroni and cheese?? Steve is grilling tonight, and I wanted a side I knew Flynn would eat! Thank you!!!!!!!

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    1. What a coincidence!! It's a good recipe and the cooking method seems pretty fool proof. Enjoy!!

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  10. Oh! Homemade Mac and Cheese and Baked Ziti are 2 real comfort foods. Your recipe sounds delicious! Such a good idea to go through your cookbooks and make some of the recipes!!

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    1. We love baked ziti. Yes, comfort food for the soul. I have so many cookbooks it's hard to choose what to make.

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  11. yes yes yes I am on a search for a good no rubbish M&C recipe. This looks a good one. I have good pasta too.

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    1. It is good. Easy and convenient way to cook it also.

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