The Recipe: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
What you need:
4 tbsp butter
4 tbsp whole wheat flour
4 cups organic whole milk (you can use skim or 2% or soy)
4 cups shredded cheese (any type)
16 oz. of cooked pasta (macaroni, rotini, penne)
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic salt
Topping:
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tbsp melted butter
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a sauce pan on medium heat, then add flour. Cook for 3 minutes, whisking often. Stir in milk and spices and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir often. You can boil the pasta on another burner while you do this and they finish around the same time.
Add 3 cups of cheese to milk mixture and stir until melted. Pour in cooked pasta and stir. Dump contents into greased 9x13 inch pan. Mix butter and bread crumbs until well coated and sprinkle on top with remaining cup of cheese.
Bake for 30 or minutes or until slightly browned.
I used rotini the first and second time I made this and penne the third. It tastes great with both. If you aren't into spicy foods, omit the red pepper flakes (but they make it taste amazing). I also created a Sweet P friendly version with soy milk and she loved it.
PS. That picture doesn't do it justice.
