Homemade Macaroni and Cheese Recipe

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Mr. Giraffe and I hosted a family gathering at our place a few weeks ago. You may have seen the dirty dishes :) My main contribution was homemade macaroni and cheese. This is my grandmother's recipe, so I may be biased, but I think it's delicious. Rich, cheesy, and creamy. In other words, not a health food, but scrumptious!

It was gobbled up and raved about, so I thought I'd share the recipe here. 
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

• 2 1/2 cups pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 - 2 teaspoons pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups grated American cheese
• 1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup half and half (feel free to use milk)
• 2 cups milk

Directions
Preheat oven to 375º. Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions. Put cooked pasta in a 9x13 baking dish. Over medium heat, melt butter and add flour to make a roux. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add spices and salt, and slowly pour in milk and half and half. Let thicken. Add all but 1/2 cup of cheese and let melt. Pour cheese sauce over the cooked pasta in the 9x13 dish. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Bake an additional 15 minutes. Dish out and enjoy!

 Any other mac and cheese lovers out there?

Comments

  1. AnonymousFriday, September 06, 2013

    Sounds very rich and cheesy! The last couple of times I made mac and cheese, I added a cup of pureed pumpkin or squash - I was surprised that I couldn't really taste it, so it was more of a "vegetable hiding" technique! Yours looks really cute with the wagon wheel pasta!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AmandaSaturday, September 07, 2013

      Love the veggie puree idea - I'll definitely try that next time. Do you pour it in with the cheese sauce?

      haha, I'm glad you noticed the pasta. I thought the kids would appreciate them over regular macaroni noodles but it turned out only the adults noticed, haha. :)

      Delete
  2. SarahN @ livetolistSaturday, September 07, 2013

    I should suggest the bf adds those spices in - currently it's a recipe from his head but I know neither onion nor garlic powder in the pantry so he can't be using them! I live garlic so I'm sure this would enhance his recipe!

    Oh yeah Australian tax year ends June 30. Not sure when it's due by as it's extended if you use an Agent/accountant. Every country seems different with their financial year!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AmandaSaturday, September 07, 2013

      Yeah, I love the combo of onion and garlic so I add them to tons of things. It's nice that your bf cooks for you :)

      I had no idea Australia had their tax year separate from the calendar year - interesting!

      Delete
  3. SarahN @ livetolistSaturday, September 07, 2013

    I should suggest the bf adds those spices in - currently it's a recipe from his head but I know neither onion nor garlic powder in the pantry so he can't be using them! I live garlic so I'm sure this would enhance his recipe!

    Oh yeah Australian tax year ends June 30. Not sure when it's due by as it's extended if you use an Agent/accountant. Every country seems different with their financial year!

    ReplyDelete
  4. MeghanMonday, September 09, 2013

    I love homemade mac and cheese. I tried one recently with a béchamel sauce - hello rich! There are so many possibilities of what you can do with it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. AmandaMonday, September 09, 2013

      I pinned a recipe with béchamel, but haven't tried it yet . . maybe I need to move it up on the docket!

      Delete

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