Who doesn’t LOVE macaroni & cheese? Aah…that would be me. I think that stems back to 50 years ago, when my first child was born. He arrived 13 weeks early and with the mounting hospital bills, we ate macaroni & cheese every night, because quite frankly, that’s all we could afford. Back then mac & cheese was 7 boxes for a dollar..talk about FRUGAL! Anyway, my family enjoys mac & cheese, so I made it my mission to find a recipe that I halfway enjoyed. I’ve tried many recipes and disliked them all, until I ran across this gem from Trish on Mom On Timeout. Of course, I made a few changes based on a cooking show I recently watched. You can tell by the scant amount on my plate in the photo, that I was a bit apprehensive about trying this recipe, but let me assure you, I liked it…YES, Grandma liked it. I even had SECONDS! It’s creamy, cheesy and everything mac and cheese should be. My search is over!!!

Macaroni & Cheese

Recipe by Diane BeckerCourse: Uncategorized

Servings

servings

Ingredients

8 ounces elbow macaroni
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
3 Tablespoons butter
½ cup finely chopped onion
3 Tablespoons flour
1 ¾ cups whole milk
½ cup heavy whipping cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
¾ cup Panko bread crumbs
2 Tablespoons melted butter
¼ cup shredded Reggiano parmigiano cheese
1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
Pinch of grated nutmeg

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. ‘
Lightly grease a 2 ½ quart casserole dish and set aside.
Cook the pasta one minute shy of al dente according to the directions on the package (approximately 6 minutes). 4. Drain and place in a large bowl. Drizzle ½ Tablespoon olive oil over the pasta and mix well. Set noodles aside to cool.
Melt the 3 Tablespoons butter in a 5 quart pan, add the onion and saute’ for 3 minutes to soften.
Whisk in the flour and cook for 2 more minutes or until golden brown.
Slowly add the milk and cream, whisking constantly. Once bubbles start to form, cook for 2 more minutes.
Add half of the cheddar and half of the Gruyere cheese to the sauce and whisk until combined.
When smooth, add the rest of the cheddar and Gruyere, the salt, pepper, paprika and nutmeg and whisk until creamy & smooth.
10.Add the noodles, stirring until well coated, and pour into the prepared casserole dish.
11.In a small bowl, combine the Panko crumbs, melted butter and the Reggiano parmigiano cheese.
12 Stir to combine and sprinkle mixture on top of the mac and cheese.
13.Bake until bubbly and golden brown (approximately 30 minutes) and serve!