What kid doesn’t love mac and cheese? What adult doesn’t love mac and cheese? It is a small slice of heaven heaped on a plate; the food of the gods if you will. Oooey-gooey cheese and noodles. Being a child of a working family and having lived in dorms during undergrad, I have eaten my share of boxed mac and cheese with powdered sauce, and more easy mac than I’d like to admit. But now that I’m in charge of what my family eats, I make my own. It really doesn’t take much longer than the box and you won’t find any unpronounceable chemicals in my list of ingredients. With the advent of shredded cheese in the grocery store, most people probably have most of the basic ingredients on hand at any given point in time.
Being a supporter of one pan meals, I like to mix my entire meal into my mac and cheese. Additionally, I love making mac and cheese to re-purpose leftover sausage, pulled pork, bacon (Mmmm… Bacon), steak, or even veggies. In the winter it’s a great way to make frozen veggies palatable. Mac and cheese can make a ton of leftovers and it reheats well. It is actually a very easy way to get even the pickiest of eaters to eat some veggies. Everything is slathered in a layer of thick cheesy goodness. Who can taste the broccoli or kale when it’s covered in cheese?
Basic Mac and Cheese:
- 1 box, 12oz, of elbow macaroni or similar small pasta (prepared to the directions on the box)
- 2 Tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup milk (you can use cream but there’s no need to add all that fat)
- 2-3 Tablespoons flour
- 2 cups shredded cheese (I like cheddar, but feel free to experiment with others)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, sautéing until translucent. Sprinkle two Tablespoons of flour and mix with the butter until a paste is formed. Deglaze the pan with milk and whisk the mixture well until you have a homogeneous mix. Add cheese, whisking until it becomes incorporated into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Add in the pasta and mix well. See how painless that was?
OK, so you’ve got the basic mac and cheese down now lets make it a meal by adding meat and veggies. To make eight dinner-sized servings, add about a pound of meat and about 2 cups of cut veggies. If you are using broccoli, cauliflower, or another hard veggie parboil it to soften them up a little bit because they will not soften much in the warm cheese.
If you want to step it up even more try some of these combos:
Mexican mac and cheese: Choose a Mexican cheese blend instead of cheddar and add cut up carne asada or pork adobado. Top with salsa before serving.
Chili mac and cheese: Add one pound of ground beef and a small (12oz) can of stewed tomatoes. Season sauce with 1 Tablespoon Chili Powder, 1 Tablespoon Cumin, 1/2 Tablespoon Corriander, 1/2 Tablespoon Oregano, and 1 teaspoon hot sauce.
Barbecue mac and cheese: Add pulled pork and corn to the mac and cheese top with some homemade barbecue sauce.
Buffalo Chicken mac and cheese: Add 3 Tablespoons of wing sauce and 1 Tablespoon ranch seasoning to the cheese sauce. Mix in chopped chicken and celery to taste.
