One of the biggest blessings I’ve received from being a blogger has been gaining new friends. As a stay-at-home my days are filled with wiping faces {and the occasional baby bum}, cleaning up messes, and carrying on conversations with a 3 year old which are entirely too cute but not necessarily very stimulating.
While I was away this weekend in San Francisco with Foodbuzz the beautiful and talented Rachel from Not Rachael Ray whipped up this little dish and is here to share it. She is a girl after my own heart.
Hi Everyone! I’m Rachel from Not Rachael Ray. I’m so happy to be here guest posting for Krista today! I’m a physical therapist, stay-at-home mom and food blogger. If you’d like to know more about me, make sure to check out my blog and my “about me” page for more info. You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and StumbleUpon! I’m not quite sure how I find the time to care for my daughter with all those things, but I assure you….she comes before Facebook, Twitter, and StumbleUpon. Pinterest…well….
Just kidding!
I’m so happy to be guest posting for Krista today and let me tell you, I brought one of my favorites.
I love mac & cheese.
No seriously, I really love mac and cheese.
I haven’t tested this theory, but I’m quite sure I could eat it every day of my life. I’m cool with my jean size though, so I’m not testing out this theory any time soon.
Okay. So I lied. I’m not cool with my jean size, but I definitely don’t want to see the number going up!
Also, I’m not extremely picky when it comes to macaroni and cheese. If it includes pasta and noodles, it’s pretty much a sure thing that I’m gonna love it. Don’t get me wrong though…this is a really good recipe. It’s my mom’s recipe and although I sometimes switch it up, this is one of my favorites and I’ll always come back to it.
Here‘s what’s to love about this recipe:
1) It is easy. So, so easy.
2) Inexpensive! Pasta and cheese are both pretty cheap ingredients. Especially if you buy the block cheese and shred it yourself. (I do usually, but didn’t this time—I was going more for the easy aspect.)
3) It is de.lish.ious.
Ingredients
- 1 pound elbow macaroni (I often use whole wheat—although not this time.)
- 1 pound (4 cups shredded extra sharp or sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- ¼ teaspoon ground mustard
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups low-fat milk (or go with whole if you’re feeling indulgent!)
- 1.5 Tablespoons butter (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray or grease a casserole dish or a 9x13 pan.
- Cook macaroni as directed on the package in salted water until tender.
- While macaroni is cooking, combine 2.5 cups of cheese with dry ingredients (flour, ground mustard, salt and pepper). I bought pre-shredded cheese so I just dumped the dry ingredients into the bag, re-closed it and gave it a good shake. How easy is that?!
- Combine cheese and dry ingredient mixture with hot macaroni and pour into the greased pan. Pour milk over macaroni. Top with remaining cheese and dot with butter (optional, but recommended).
- Bake for 45 minutes or until firm and golden brown. I stick a knife in it to see if the milk is still runny or if it has firmed up.
- (Optional) Let sit for 10 minutes before serving to further firm up.
- Note: I like my noodles a little extra crispy—as you can probably tell from the photos. If you like a softer noodle, I’d recommend covering this with foil for the first 30 minutes of baking.
Verdict: I think it has been said that I love this macaroni and cheese. Part of the reason I love it is probably tied into the memories it conjures up for me, but it really is delicious.
Husband’s take: I’ll begin by saying that my husband is not a huge cheese lover. Yep, I still married him despite that fact. He thoroughly enjoyed this version of macaroni, saying, “I like it because it isn’t overly cheesy.” I assured him that there was plenty of cheese in it. But he’s right—it isn’t your traditional oooey-gooey mac & cheese. It’s different…but in a good way.
1-year-old daughter’s take: She chows down everything. I’m so lucky. (So far!)
Changes I would make: NONE!
Difficulty: I’m pretty sure I already covered this…but in case you missed it, this is the easiest ever mac & cheese. Besides maybe the kind out of the blue box. But really, this isn’t much harder!
Nothing beats a big bowl of Mac and Cheese! Thanks for sharing this delicious and easy recipe Rachel! And Krista I can totally relate to having conversations with my little ones all day! Except mine are still just one way as they don’t talk much yet.
Thanks ladies for sharing! 
Thanks for stopping by Jennifer! I’m pretty sure I’ve had conversations with other adults before and they think I’m losing it because I’m speaking to them as if they were 5! Ah, the joys of motherhood.
OH Mac & Cheese!!!!! Love trying out every recipe of this lovely pasta dish. Thanks for sharing
hope you have a great time at the FoodBuzz Event.
Thanks, Michelle! It was such a blast but I definitely feel like I need a day to recover. It was so fun meeting other bloggers and putting faces to names. I hope your sister’s wedding was lovely!
I love mac n cheese too! My kids eat it for lunch far too often.
Krista, your opening paragraph sounds a lot like me! Lots of messes to clean, faces and bums to wash. And lots of talk about princesses and Barbies!
True on ALL accounts Jamie…except for the Barbie thing. The days just seem to slip by too quickly and I definitely have a handful of boys who love their mac and cheese! It’s the one thing that all of them love.
The only thing better than home made mac n cheese is EASY home made mac n cheese! Great share Rachel!
Thanks for stopping by, Chris! Don’t you just LOVE Rachel!? She knows me oh-so-well!
Though I’m not a picky eater, I never was deeply fond of mac&cheese! But I tried the vermont white cheddar one a few weeks ago at Panera Bread, and I think I fell in love. This one sounds so good and simple! Alas, I guess I am quickly becoming a mac&cheese lover.
And Krista!! I wish I could have said bye to you! I had such a great time knowing you, and NOT knowing that it was you at first, and laughing with you. You’re seriously such a treasure, and so genuine at heart. Let’s keep in touch or I will come to your house and raid your kitchen. <3
Oh, I just love you! You are SO welcome to come raid my kitchen! I wish I could have said bye too. You are such a joy to be around and I am so grateful for the time we did get to spend together. xoxo
P.S. Welcome to the “Mac & Cheese is awesome” Club. Members get t-shirts.
Love it!! I’m a huge mac and cheese girl myself. Can’t beat this!
Love that crispy crust on top. That’s my fave part of mac ‘n cheese
That is the BEST part! Rachel did a fabulous job!
There seem to be a thousand and one ways to make mac n cheese and I’m positive they’re all incredible in their own ways! I’ll definitely need to try this. It’s only slightly different than one I already make but a change is a change, right?
Easy is good! The easier the better when I come home from work and feel like I wanna die. I’ll just eat this fabulously comforting mac ‘n’ cheese instead! You’re so smart.
My 3 yrold wil surely love this..chewy gooey…thanks for sharing…ur pics r so tempting…yum..
Liked ur space,writing style ,pics….thumpsUP..
Ur happy follower …do visit my space as time permits..
Sanyukta
http://creativesanyukta.blogspot.com/
mac and cheese is such a awesome comfort food. especialy a great mood pick up on bad days. Its an emotional rescuer.
Amen to that, Helene!
Thanks for letting me guest post Krista, and for the kind words, you are too sweet. Hope you had the best time in San Fran. xoxo
It was so great and a HUGE (HUG) for doing this for me. You are a gem!
I found your site from Not Rachael Ray and I am so glad I did! This looks fabulous and super kid friendly!
Welcome Bree! Didn’t Rachel do a fabulous job!? This would last mere seconds at our dinner table for sure!
This looks delicious! So easy, too. It would be a great lunch at our house
I love a good mac and cheese, and this one looks fantastic!!
I don’t know if I want to admit this but I’ve never actually had mac n cheese. It’s not really bit here in Australia. I love pasta and I love cheese so I’ll have to give this recipe a go!
Way to go, Claire! Anything with cheese can’t be half bad, right!? By the way, I just love your name.
Nothing beats homemade mac and cheese!!!
Ooooooh, this mac n’ cheese looks just perfect. I love the cripsy-ish browned parts on top. Those always send me over the edge. This recipe seems so simple but just right.
That looks like a super dinner! I have cans of macaroni and need a new twist on the old dish.