Extra Creamy, Extra Cheesy Mac & Cheese

The other night I made Macaroni and Cheese for dinner.  I don’t usually make Mac & Cheese for our family meal (I usually just make it for the girls for lunch) so I wanted something a little more “grown up” and a little more classy.I wish I had taken a picture to share but alas  we ate it before could digitally immortalize it.

When I make my mac & cheese from scratch I start with a basic cream sauce and add cheese.  Then I just stir in the macaroni.  This time however,  I wanted to bake the cheesy pasta.

What I Used:

• Macaroni (I wanted to use all medium shells but I ended up not quite having enough so we had a mixture of small shells and medium shells.   about 4 – 5 cups uncooked; cooked according to directions
• 6 cups Milk  (actually I reconstituted non-fat instant milk for 4 cups and then used 2 cups of our 2% milk.  I was running low on milk)
• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup)
• 1/4 cup olive oil  
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 tsp ground mustard
• 1/2 – 1 tsp garlic (or to taste)
• salt and pepper to taste
• (I didn’t measure the cheese…. all measurements for cheese are approximate)
• 4-6 oz cream cheese (I used slightly more than 1/2 of an 8 oz package)
• 2 cups shredded cheddar
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

What I did:

• I had my daughter cook the macaroni and set aside.  She made about 8 oz (1/2 of a 16 oz box) medium shells.  We realized that was NOT enough so then she made 2 cups of small shells.  About 4 cups of small shells or elbow macaronis or about 4-5 cups of medium shells would work.
• melt butter with oil in large heavy sauce pan; when butter is melted and bubbly whisk in flour.  At this point I whisk in my seasonings.  Cook and stir for about a minute or until flour/oil mixture is bubbly.
• gradually whisk in milk
• over med high heat bring to a boil (it should thicken as it begins to boil) (you should stir constantly but I stir very frequently or get a daughter to stir constantly)
• after reaching boil, reduce heat and stir in all the cheeses
• place macaroni in bottom of baking dish (I used my 11 X 15)
• Pour cheese sauce over macaroni (I used a spoon to kind of mix it a little and spread the sauce evenly)
• I sprinkled a bit more parmesan and cheddar cheese over the top and baked at 375 degrees until the cheese was melted and browned.  (about 25 minutes give or take)

I intended to serve this as the main dish but I did end up serving Boca Chik”in Patties with it. (These are vegetarian patties that resemble breaded chicken patties).  I also served salad, carrots and green beans.   This was a HUGE hit with my family with one daughter going back for seconds and thirds!   We did have enough left over for daddy to take for two lunches.  So I would say this would serve 8-10 people depending on the size of the appetite.

(This blog post has been submitted to the Blog Carnival The Christian Home hosted by The Legacy of Home)