Macaroni and Cheese

It occurred to me that it's been far too long since I posted anything.  While I could say that it's because I've been recovering from recent unpleasantness (which is true), I've actually just been far too busy playing Mass Effect 3.  But, since I beat that the other day (damn you, Bioware!  you'd better have some good DLC planned to fix what you did!), I figured it was time for a new recipe.

One of the things that my loving mother made for me while I was convalescing was her homemade macaroni and cheese.  You know that slogan for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, "it's the cheesiest"?  Yeah, no.  This is.

You'll need: 2 C uncooked elbow macaroni, 1/4 C flour, 1/4 C butter, 1 tsp salt, 2 1/2 C shredded cheese (whatever kind you want; Mom used 1 1/4 C sharp cheddar and 1 1/4 C colby jack), and 2 C milk.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Boil your macaroni in a big pot.  While that's going, in a large pan over low heat, melt the butter and combine it with the flour and salt to make a rue.

This is what a rue looks like.

Now add the milk and heat it up until the sauce thickens, stirring constantly.  Now add your cheese and keeping cooking and stirring until it's completely melted.  (By the way, this is also a really good cheese sauce for something like broccoli or cauliflower.)

CHEESE!!!

All melty!

By now your macaroni is probably cooked nicely.  Drain it and put it in a large oven-safe bowl or casserole dish and pour your cheese sauce over the macaroni.  Stir it all up to get everything nice and coated.  Now, you could be all traditional and put bread crumbs or something on top.  OR, you could ADD MORE CHEESE!

Told you it was the cheesiest.

Put it in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.  And there you have it; super cheesy, and super delicious, macaroni and cheese!  And if this seems like an awful lot of macaroni and cheese to try and eat up, don't worry; it freezes really well.

Thanks Mom!