Homemade Baked Mac and Cheese

   This recipe was found by my dear Hubby and I am so glad he did. I have only made a couple of homemade baked mac and cheeses so I was a bit nervous on getting it just right. This turned out amazing though and this sauce before adding the cheese will be my base for all cheese type sauces. It came out ooey and gooey and didn’t set up so hard that you couldn’t enjoy it. Then after baking it is a gooey and stringy cheese sauce you think of and the crunch of the panko on top. It is perfect.

I am trying a new thing with my recipes and adding an easy printable recipe at the end that you can click on and print.


Ingredients:

• 8 oz macaroni
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 4 tbsp of flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded ( I went with a Kraft bag of 3 cheddars)
• ½ cup panko

Simple Ingredients

Rue= Equal parts butter and flour. Whisk to avoid lumps. 

When the milk is added. I took this for comparison to the thickness after cooking. 

Just about ready to add in the cheese. The video below shows a bit better at how it 

should look when it is ready.

After the cheese is added.

Ready to add on the panko. 

Ingredients:

• 8 oz macaroni
• 4 tbsp of butter
• 4 tbsp of flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup cream
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 cups cheddar cheese shredded ( I went with a Kraft bag of 3 cheddars)
• ½ cup panko

 Directions:

1. Cook and drain Macaroni and set aside. Do this before you start the sauce so that you are not trying to drain pasta when you need to stir the sauce.
2. In a large saucepan melt butter. Add the flour mixed with a bit of salt and pepper for flavor. Use a whisk and stir until blended. You don’t want any lumps and it should look like picture above. 
3. Combine milk and cream and pour in a little at a time and make sure to stir constantly and get it well combined then add more.
4. Bring to a boiling point and stir for 2 minutes do not stop stirring. It will start to thicken.
5. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes stirring constantly. I still had my heat a little higher and it did not take the full 10 minutes for it to get thick enough to add cheese.
6. Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes or until cheese melts. 
7. Take off heat. Add macaroni and stir until well coated. 
8. Pour into a greased baking dish. Cover with panko, if you need more then ½ cups that’s fine.  I sprayed my panko with a bit of oil to help it brown up when cooking.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. At time remove cover and finish baking for about 5 minutes or until top is golden and bubbly. 

 Oh just looking at this makes me want to make it again! The crunch with the creaminess just can not be beat. We ate it with chicken tenders and green beans. A delicious comfort dinner.

 Printable Recipe Here Let me know how you like this feature.

original recipe found here