Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Gooey Love

Sundays are for relaxing, curling up with a good book, and resting up for the coming week. Sundays are for comfort. Nothing is more comforting than macaroni and cheese.

Servings: 6-8
Time: Prep: 5 minutes, Cook: 40 minutes
Hardware: Measuring spoons and cups, a whish, a wooden spoon, a pot, a sauce pan, a colander, and a 2 quart glass baking dish

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces uncooked elbow macaroni
• ½ stick butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
• 1 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1 ½ cups milk
• 2 ½ cups grated cheddar cheese
• Cooking spray
• ½ cup bread crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
2. Cook the macaroni according to package directions.
3. While the macaroni is cooking, place the butter in the sauce pan on medium and whisk in the flour. You are now making a roux. Continue to whisk until the roux is a golden color. This should take about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in the onion, mustard, and soy sauce. Whisk until the mixture has no lumps. Slowly stir in the milk. Allow the milk mixture to reach a simmer, but DO NOT BOIL.
5. Add the grated cheese to the milk mixture and allow the cheese to melt. Stir often. This should take about 5 minutes.
6. Drain the macaroni and fold it into the cheese mixture.
7. Spray the baking dish with cooking spray.
8. Place the mac-n-cheese in the baking dish. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the mac-n-cheese.
9. Bake for 30 minutes.

 Allow the mac-n-cheese to rest for 10 minutes before serving.
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Hint: I often make macaroni and cheese out of the odd ends and pieces of cheese in the fridge. Only 1 ½ cups of the cheese actually need to be cheddar. I have used gouda, Swiss, provolone, parmesan, chevre, and even a little bit of blue before (of course not all at once). Experiment and you might turn something ordinary into something magical.