This was a recipe I found that I really enjoyed.
Serves 8. Fits perfectly in my Rachel Ray pan!
- 2 (8 ounce) packagemacaroni
- 1 packet bacon
- 8 tablespoons butter
- 8 tablespoons flour
- 2 cupmilk
- 2 cup cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- fresh ground black pepper , to taste
- 4 cups cheddar cheese , shredded good quality
- 1 cup breadcrumbs , buttered (I put more)
Directions:
-
Preheat oven to 400°F.
- Shred your cheese however you like. I bought a block of cheddar from jewel.
I read tips that said the sharper the better.
A 4oz. block was good enough for 4 cups.
- Cook half a bacon packet and set aside. Cut into small chunks for later. Keep bacon oil. (this can be removed)
-
Cook and drain macaroni according to package directions; set aside and drizzle a little bit bacon oil to keep from sticking if you'd like. It separates fine if you leave it as is.
-
In a large saucepan melt butter. Melt until a golden color.
-
SLOWLY add flour into the butter a little at a time. If you do it too fast, the sauce will taste like flour. Stir well. I use a sifter so that there are not clumps and it mixes well. It will thicken into a golden brown (looks like coffee with cream). Add salt and pepper.
-
Pour milk and cream in SLOWLY; stirring constantly.
-
Bring to boiling point and boil 2 minutes (stirring constantly).
-
Reduce heat and cook (stirring constantly) 10 minutes.
-
Add shredded cheddar little by little and simmer an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese melts.
-
Turn off flame.
-
Add macaroni and bacon to the saucepan and toss to coat with the cheese sauce.
-
Transfer macaroni to a buttered baking dish.
-
Sprinkle with breadcrumbs. (I forgot to take a picture of this but throw a TON of breadcrumbs on top. It may look like a lot but trust me... it's awesome!)
-
Bake 20 minutes until the top is golden brown. Top with some crispy bacon.
-
(You can also freeze this recipe in zip-lock bags for later use - once you have mixed the macaroni along with the cheese sauce allow to cool to room temperature before adding to your freezer - I generally pull it out the night before and allow macaroni and cheese to reach room temperature; I then add the macaroni and cheese to a buttered baking dish, sprinkle with bread crumbs and then bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and bubbling.
No comments:
Post a Comment