How to Make Homemade Macaroni and Cheese From Scratch
Macaroni and Cheese Recipe
Macaroni and Cheese a True Comfort Food
It is so easy and inexpensive to make this favorite dish from scratch.
First off you'll need to make a simple white sauce. This is one of the first things my Mother taught me make. Because when well made it has a place in many homey creamed dishes. It can stretch leftovers or give cooked foods a new life. It is also a base for souffles. The foolproof way to attain a perfectly smooth sauce is to have your milk hot when you add it to the butter and flour.
To make your basic White sauce or Bechamel sauce as it is sometimes called;
Ingredients;
2-tablespoons butter
2-tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-cup milk, heated
salt and freshly ground black or white pepper. Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed large saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, but don't let it brown, about 2 minutes.
Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring to a boil and add the salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes more.
Remove from the heat. You may cool this sauce for later use, in that case, cover it with wax paper or pour a film of milk over it to prevent a skin from forming.
Makes 1-cup
Now that you know how to make the base, let's get on to making the homemade macaroni and cheese.
Ingredients;
9-ounces elbow macaroni, cooked, rinsed and drained
1-cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1/2-cup low-fat small curd cottage cheese
2-cups white sauce (so you'll need to double the basic sauce recipe)
1...Preheat oven to 375 degrees and butter (or use cooking spray) a casserole dish.
2...To make the white sauce a cheese sauce, stir in the 1-cup cheddar cheese and cottage cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
3...Add the cooked macaroni, stir to blend well and pour into the casserole dish, sprinkle with a little more grated cheese evenly over the top.
4...Bake uncovered, until the top is golden brown and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Serves 4
Tips;
Some additional uses for basic white sauce.
1...For a thicker cream sauce. Use 3-tablespoons flour to 1 cup milk. This is the consistency needed as a base for croquettes and souffles.
2...Curry cream sauce, add 1 teaspoon curry powder and 1/4 teaspoon ginger with the flour.
3...Mock Hollandaise, just before serving, beat in 2 egg yolks, 6 tablespoons butter (1 tablespoon at a time), and 1 tablespoon lemon juice.
4...Mornay sauce. Add 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese and 2 tablespoons grated Swiss cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Stir until well blended. Just before removing from the heat, beat 2 tablespoons of sauce into 1 lightly beaten egg yolk. Stir the sauce-yolk mixture back into the sauce and add 2 tablespoons butter. Cook and stir for 1 more minute.
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Comments
Thanks for the great recipe!
Oh yeah! This is a good recipe! Thanks for the variations too to snazz up my mac and cheese!
You should add some step-by-step pictures and maybe a picture of the final product ... this is especially helpful for those new to cooking. (It can also help with earnings too.) Thanks! =)
Yummy! I have never tried to make Macaroni and Cheese from scratch. I'll have to give it a try. Also, I love the pictures!
Thanks Deb, is there any other way to make good macaroni and cheese than from scratch?
I have to put my grandmothers recipe in here for mac and cheese, it's somewhat different than yours but still mac and cheese. More Southern I guess!
Looking forward to your grandmothers recipe.
Another great recipe for us all to try. Love your pictures too I reckon you have done well with all of them.
Thank you eileen, an old eHow article redone. Looks a lot better here! LOL
This sounds delicious! Its on the menu for this weekend, thanks!
Thanks Kate, hope it works out well for you.
Delisch, love the extra sauce recipes, as well. The cottage cheese addition to the "nothing better than homemade" mac and cheese recipe sounds good. Lovely, thank you.
Thanks Sharon, the add of cottage cheese is my own touch. I add to lasagna too.
How timely! Every where I go I see more and more Mac and Cheese on menus. Your version sounds yummy! Super photos!
Thanks diva, nothing better than true mac and cheese.
Mac and Cheese is my all-time favorite!! Thanks for this recipe...going to bookmark for future use!! Yum; can't wait!! :o)
Thanks Intro
The ulimate mac and cheese recipe! I'm going to hang on to this one and give it a try. An excellent side dish for Thanksgiving. Happy Holidays, Lynsuz!
I love macaroni and cheese. I put cayenne pepper in mine to give it a tiny bit of a kick. But maybe that's a British thing?!
So much better than what comes in a box.
So true, much better than those dry box mixes.
yum! mac and cheese is a million times better than the box. and easy peasy to make!
Thanks moanasaves.
Okay, gave this recipe to a friend and she took it to her company's pot luck today. She made it in a crock pot, got rave reviews. This one will be added to my rotation, will go great with some BBQ ribs.
Thanks Mark, it goes well with everything.
Yum...comfort food. Sounds great.
Thanks Jack.. tis good comfort food to be sure.
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