Skip to main content

Baked Mac & Cheese


 

There is only so much you can say about Macaroni and Cheese.  It's pasta and it's cheese - what's not to love?!  I've generally preferred stove-top mac & cheese to baked, but I definitely see where baked mac & cheese has it's place.  It's great to entertain with because you can make it in advance earlier in the day, or even the night before, and pop it in the oven before serving.  

When looking for a baked mac & cheese recipe that would be creamy enough to prepare in advance, I stumbled across this recipe on Pioneer Woman.  I've never met a recipe of hers that I didn't fall in love with, so I knew this had to be tried as well.  I prepared this recipe earlier in the day and several hours later after baking it was still creamy and flavorful.  Definitely a winner!  Plus, with this recipe can even be enjoyed before baking.  However, I did notice when taste testing that the mustard flavor was pretty powerful before baking, so if I do make this recipe in plans of serving straight from the stove-top, I'll reduce the amount of dry mustard to suit my personal preferences.


Baked Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:
4 cups Dried Macaroni
1 whole Egg Beaten
¼ cups (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
¼ cups All-purpose Flour
2-½ cups Whole Milk
2 teaspoons Dry Mustard
1 pound Cheese, Grated (I used 3 Cheddars - Sharp, White and Mild)
½ teaspoons Salt
½ teaspoons Seasoned Salt
½ teaspoons Ground Black Pepper
¼ - ½ teaspoons of any optional spices such as: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Cook macaroni according to package directions until slightly firm.  Drain and set aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook the mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly and being careful not to burn.  Add the milk to the pot, stir in the dry mustard, and whisk until smooth.  Cook the mixture for five minutes until very thick.  Reduce the heat to low. 
In a small bowl, beat the egg.  Take 1/4 cup of the warm sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid scrambling the egg.  Whisk until smooth.  Pour the tempered egg mixture back into the sauce, whisking constantly.  Stir until smooth.  Mix in the cheese, reserving about half a cup for topping, and stir until completely melted.  Add in seasonings.  Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.  Add the drained cooked macaroni to the pot and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish, top with reserved cheese, and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and bubbly on top.
Note - if you prepare it in advance you might want to cover with foil and bake 30-40 minutes, removing the foil at about 20 minutes so it doesn't dry out.

Source: Pioneer Woman
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Best Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

A fabulous vanilla cupcake recipe is something everyone needs. EVERY.ONE. Not just bakers. Not just parents that host a lot of kid parties. Everyone. I've tried several, and many have been phenomenal. Then I tried Amy Sedaris's after finding the recipe online, and it was above and beyond the best vanilla cupcake I've ever made. It was an easy batter to make, baked up beautifully, and most importantly - tasted amazing. Regardless if you have never made vanilla cupcakes and need a recipe to start with, or even if you think you have the best - give this one a shot. You will not be disappointed! Vanilla Cupcakes Ingredients: 1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature 1 1/2 cups sugar 2 eggs 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 1/2 cups flour 1 1/4 cups milk Directions: - Preheat oven to 375 degrees. - Mix butter at medium speed until smooth. Mix in sugar until well blended. - Add eggs, mixing until fully
Post a Comment
Read more

Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker Beef Chili

I don't experiment much with chili because it rarely goes well for me and my family. I've slowly adapted my chili recipe over the years, but I've still always used canned chili beans, with a flavored sauce. I've been wanting to try regular beans (whether canned or dried, I wasn't discerning, just didn't want the sauce), so off to the Googles I went rather than trying to recreate the spice blend from my normal canned beans. Because I was originally planning to make chili in the Instant Pot, that's where I focused my search. Thankfully the recipe I decided to try was adapted from a Slow Cooker recipe, because life got in my way and I wasn't able to make the chili the night before as planned, and I wouldn't have had time to use the pressure cooker with my schedule that day. What drew me to this recipe was the simplicity of the ingredients. And lack of jalapeno. Because somehow nearly every time I plan chili I forget to buy a jalapeno, even if it
Post a Comment
Read more

White Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Filling

OK, so, while this recipe was the result of me literally quick thinking at the grocery store rushing around to pick up a few ingredients over Easter weekend, I came up with a fantastic cake filling, in my humble opinion.  I love the cake fillings at Costco and wanted to make a variation on that.  This is really semi-homemade but oh so good!  It's rich, creamy and decadent.  Even my husband loved it, and he's not really a cake fan.  It was so easy to make too! White Chocolate Cheesecake Mousse Filling Ingredients: 1 package Jello Pudding - Cheesecake flavor 1 8-oz. container Whipped Cream Cheese, softened 1 8-oz, container Cool Whip, thawed 3 oz. White Chocolate, melted 1 teaspoon vanilla Directions: Beat softened cream cheese and vanilla with mixer until well blended and light (a few minutes). Beat in pudding mix until fully incorporated. Stir in melted white chocolate. Fold in thawed Cool Whip Allow to set in fridge for a few hours, but don't let it get
4 comments
Read more