Easy Homemade (optional gluten free!) Mac & Cheese
Since I know how much Tumblr loves their Mac & Cheese, I figured that I would share this awesome recipe that I just experimented with recently. Mac & Cheese is one of those things I usually eat deliciously from the box (I get Annie’s, in case you’re wondering the brand; they’ve got some amazing organic boxed mac & cheese, and the only delicious gluten free boxed mac & cheese I’ve found so far) but sometimes you just want it authentic and made from scratch. A lot of recipes I find can get pretty complex with their spices and their fancy vegetables and whatever. This is just for some straight up cheesy goodness to melt in your mouth.
So let’s get on with it, shall we?
- 14 – 16 oz of cooked pasta (your decision on the type; elbow noodles are traditional, but I’m 5 at heart and get the ones shaped like bunnies and trucks and air balloons and shit – Tinkyada makes some awesome brown rice pastas that taste even better than their wheat counter part, imo).
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour (I made mine most recently with Bob’s Red Mill All Purpose Gluten Free Flour, since my wife has her gluten intolerance and it works just like regular flour)
- 1/4 cup half and half
- 1/2 – 3/4 cup milk (I use whole – if you use anything less than 2%, I don’t trust you.)
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- Salt
- 1 – 1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
It’s optional to put in veggies like broccoli, cooked onion, peas, carrots, etc. It tastes good with chicken or shrimp in it too. You can go to town, just cook those ingredients all separately and mix them in together at the end for your delicious, well rounded mac & cheese dinner.
- Boil water in the largest pot you’ve got. If you’re unaware, cold water is best, cover it with a lid to get it to boil faster, and DO NOT SALT the water until after it has already started boiling. You will damage your pan. Once it’s at a rolling boil, add your pasta in and cook according to either the package directions or your deep, personal knowledge of your own pasta brand (I usually cook it about 1 – 2 minutes less than the package tells me to, as an fyi, to avoid over cooking).
- While the pasta is cooking, get a small pot. Place your butter into the pot and turn on the heat to melt it. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN YOUR BUTTER. That shit tastes awful.
- While whisking briskly, start to add in your flour one tablespoon at a time. This will create your thickening base for the cheese sauce so it’s not just made of pure liquid. Do this over low to medium-low heat so as not to burn the flour.
- Add in the half and half and milk, still continuing to whisk as you go. Keep whisking until there are no lumps left in the pot.
- KEEP WHISKING. Add in pepper and paprika. DO NOT ADD SALT UNTIL THE END. Unless you are using a cheese that you know isn’t salty in taste, you can easily over salt your sauce if you add it in first.
- Remove pot from heat. While continuing to whisk (see a pattern?), start to slowly add in your grated cheese. Make sure what you add melts in entirely before adding more. If the cheese is having trouble melting, put the pot back on the heat, and keep it VERY LOW so as not to fuck up your cheese.
- Once all the cheese is added, place it to the side until your pasta is done cooking. Drain pasta, place in a large serving bowl. Pour the cheese sauce over SLOWLY, mixing as you go, until it’s cheesed up to your liking.
If you’ve got left over sauce (I always do), put this shit in a small bowl and place it in the fridge. It is GREAT to have for reheating your mac & cheese. Often times when reheating it in the microwave, it loses some of that moist and cheesy goodness, burning to the plate. Adding the fresh cheese sauce on top makes sure it keeps that fresh texture to it.
via Tumblr http://ramananda2.tumblr.com/post/65936321798