Showing posts with label macaroni. Show all posts
Showing posts with label macaroni. Show all posts
If you’re craving a simple, old‑fashioned comfort dish that stretches the budget and feeds the soul, this Grandmother's Macaroni, Cheese & Tomato Scallop is exactly the kind of recipe you’ll want in your back pocket. Made with tender macaroni, plenty of strong cheddar, and a tin of good tomatoes — the everyday staples so many of us keep on hand — it’s the kind of cozy, no‑fuss bake that generations before us relied on to feed hungry families well.
It comes together quickly, uses inexpensive ingredients you likely already have in the cupboard, and delivers that nostalgic, home‑cooked flavor that never goes out of style. Whether it’s a busy weeknight, the end of the month, or you’re simply craving something warm and satisfying, this classic macaroni casserole proves once again that the simplest meals are often the most delicious.
This simple and easy casserole might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is mine. I love macaroni. I love tomatoes. I love cheese. I also love anything old-fashioned with a vintage feel. Put all these things together and you have my idea of heavenly bliss. I could eat this delicious bake until it comes out my ears.
This is a great meal to throw together to feed your hungry family on a weeknight when you know you aren't going to have a lot of time . . . also for when it's getting close to payday and you are wanting those hard earned pesos to stretch that little bit further.
This is the kind of comfort food that your mom or gran might have cooked. You could brown off some lean minced beef and add it along with some onions, but it's not really necessary because . . . this tastes pretty fabulous just the way it is. Who says simple has to be boring??
Plain, simple AND delicious! Works for me every time!
INGREDIENTS NEEDED
TO MAKE
GRANDMOTHER'S MACARONI, CHEESE & TOMATO SCALLOP
Simple store cupboard ingredients that most people keep in the cupboard at all times!
- 2 cups (8 ounces/225g) uncooked macaroni
- 2 cups (240g) grated strong cheddar cheese (2 cups)
- 1 (14.25oz/ 400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice (2 cups)
- 2/3 cup (180ml) scalded milk
- a handful of coarse breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs
- 1 TBS melted butter
- salt and black pepper to taste
NOTES ON INGREDIENTS
- I used elbow macaroni, but you can use any smallish pasta shape that will cup the tomatoes and cheese.
- I used strong cheddar. You can also use processed cheese if you would rather.
- I used full-fat milk. I like the richer flavor of it. You could also use half and half, cream and milk, if you wish.
- You can be as generous as you like with the crumb topping. I like a lot of crumbs on top. 😁
- I use salted butter.
HOW TO MAKE GRANDMOTHER'S
MACARONI, CHEESE & TOMATO SCALLOP
This is really very simple to make and oh-so-tasty!
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a (1 liter/1 quart) casserole dish and set aside. (I like to use real butter for this. You could use margarine or a low fat cooking spray. It's up to you.)
- Cook the macaroni according to the package directions in lightly salted water, just to al dente. Drain well, rinse with cold water and drain again. (Don't skip the rinsing step. It helps to keep the macaroni from becoming gummy or clumping together from too much starch. Do be sure to drain it well.)
- Layer the macaroni, cheese and tomatoes in the prepared casserole dish, as follows: a third of the macaroni, a layer of cheese, half of the tomatoes, a third of the macaroni, a third of the cheese, the remaining tomatoes, the remaining macaroni and ending with the remaining cheese. You will want to lightly season each layer of macaroni, remembering that the cheese will be salty so heavy on the pepper, and salting judiciously! (I like to use lots of pepper.)
- Pour the scalded milk over top of the casserole, running a knife down through it here and there so that you make sure it goes well to the bottom. (This helps to evenly distribute the milk.)
- Mix the bread or cracker crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle over the top. (This will form a lovely crisp topping and protect the macaroni from drying out.)
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the milk is bubbling up and the top is nicely browned. Serve hot.
🌟 Hints & Suggestions for Success
✨ Cook the macaroni just to al dente
Overcooking the pasta will make the casserole mushy. The recipe clearly notes to cook it “just to al dente” before draining.
✨ Rinse the pasta after cooking
A quick rinse with cold water stops the cooking and keeps the macaroni from sticking together when layering the casserole.
✨ Drain watery tomatoes
Tomatoes packed in water can make the dish too liquidy, so draining them first is important. Tomatoes packed in tomato juice work perfectly as-is.
✨ Season each layer lightly
Because the cheese is salty, you recommend seasoning the macaroni layers “judiciously” and being generous with black pepper. This ensures balanced flavor throughout the dish.
✨ Make sure the scalded milk reaches the bottom
Running a knife down through the casserole after pouring the milk helps it distribute evenly and prevents dry pockets.
✨ Use strong cheddar for the best flavor
The recipe calls for strong cheddar, which melts beautifully and gives that classic old‑fashioned taste your readers love.
✨ Add onions for extra flavor (optional)
Finely chopped raw onion can be added with the tomatoes — a simple way to deepen the savory notes without complicating the recipe.
✨ Make it richer with cream
For a more decadent version, you can use half cream and half milk. This is a lovely option you’ve enjoyed before.
✨ Don’t skip the buttery crumb topping
The mixture of breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs with melted butter gives the casserole its golden, crisp finish — a key part of its charm.
✨ Bake until bubbling and browned
Bake until the milk is bubbling up and the top is nicely browned — this is a visual cue that everything has melded together perfectly.
✨ Add browned minced beef for a heartier meal
Adding lean minced beef and onions is optional but tasty — a great suggestion for anyone wanting a more substantial dish.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
DO I NEED TO COOK THE MACARONI PRIOR TO BAKING?
Yes — cook the macaroni just to al dente in lightly salted water before assembling the casserole. This keeps it from becoming mushy as it bakes.
CAN THIS BE MADE AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes, you can make this ahead of time, but do bear in mind that the macaroni may absorb the juices from the tomatoes and give you a drier finish. Just assemble, cover and place in the refrigerator until you are ready to bake it. I would not add the buttered crumb topping until just prior to baking.
DO I DRAIN THE TOMATOES FIRST?
If your tinned tomatoes are packed in tomato juice, you can use them as-is. But if they’re packed in water, or if they seem overly liquid, it’s best to drain them so the casserole doesn’t become watery.
CAN I ADD ONIONS OR OTHER VEGETABLES?
Yes — you can add finely chopped raw onion along with the tomatoes if you like. It’s an optional but tasty addition I sometimes use.
WHAT KIND OF CHEESE WORKS BEST?
A strong or sharp cheddar is ideal. It melts beautifully and gives the dish that classic, old‑fashioned flavor. I have also used processed cheese, such as Velveeta, in the past quite successfully.
CAN I MAKE THIS RICHER OR CREAMIER?
Absolutely. For a more decadent version, you can use half cream and half milk instead of all milk. It’s an optional upgrade I have used with great results.
CAN I ADD MEAT FOR THE MEAT LOVERS?
Yes — you can brown some lean minced beef with onions and add it to the layers. It’s not necessary, but it’s a tasty option if you want to make the dish heartier.
A FEW ADDITIONAL
RECIPES USING TINNED TOMATOES AND MACARONI
Pasta and tomatoes are the perfect combination. If you have these two things in your larder you are never very far from a delicious meal!
MACARONI, CHEESE & TOMATO BAKE - If you love the kind of comfort food that feels like a warm hug from the oven, this Macaroni, Cheese & Tomato Bake is going to steal your heart. It’s everything we adore about classic macaroni dishes — tender pasta, a rich homemade cheese sauce, and a bright, basil‑kissed tomato base — all baked together until golden, bubbly, and irresistible. You start with a quick stovetop tomato sauce. Then comes a silky cheese sauce, whisked from scratch and loaded with sharp cheddar. Layer the two together with cooked macaroni, add a sprinkle of extra cheese (and maybe a handful of buttery cracker crumbs if you’re feeling indulgent), and bake until the top is gloriously crisp and bronzed.
OLD-FASHIONED TOMATO MACARONI & CHEESE - This is the kind of dish that feels like it’s been passed down through generations. It starts with the familiar comfort of tender macaroni and a rich, velvety cheese sauce, but this version has a charming twist: the sauce is made with half milk and half tomato juice, giving it a gorgeous rosy color and a depth of flavor that’s both simple and surprising . No fancy spices, no complicated steps — just sharp cheddar, good tinned tomatoes, and a silky sauce that turns beautifully unctuous as it bakes . Whole plum tomatoes are nestled throughout the dish, creating those lovely little pockets of juicy tomato that make every bite feel special. Rich, cheesy, comforting, and deeply satisfying.
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Yield: Serves 4
Grandmother's Macaroni, Cheese & Tomato Scallop
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 30 MinTotal time: 45 Min
This may be simple and plain, but don't let that fool you. Sometimes the simplest things are the most delicious of all.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (8 ounces/225g) uncooked macaroni
- 2 cups (240g) grated strong cheddar cheese (2 cups)
- 1 (14.25oz/ 400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in tomato juice (2 cups)
- 2/3 cup (180ml) scalded milk (To scald milk, put into a beaker and heat on high in the microwave for 1 minute, or heat in a small saucepan until bubbles appear around the edges. Don't let it boil.)
- a handful of coarse breadcrumbs or cracker crumbs
- 1 TBS melted butter
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a (1 liter/1 quart) casserole dish and set aside.
- Cook the macaroni according to the package directions in lightly salted water, just to al dente. Drain well, rinse with cold water and drain again.
- Layer the macaroni, cheese and tomatoes in the prepared casserole dish, as follows: a third of the macaroni, a layer of cheese, half of the tomatoes, a third of the macaroni, a third of the cheese, the remaining tomatoes, the remaining macaroni and ending with the remaining cheese. You will want to lightly season each layer of macaroni, remembering that the cheese will be salty so heavy on the pepper, and salting judiciously!
- Pour the scalded milk over top of the casserole, running a knife down through it here and there so that you make sure it goes well to the bottom.
- Mix the bread or cracker crumbs with the melted butter and sprinkle over the top.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the milk is bubbling up and the top is nicely browned. Serve hot.
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If your family are fans of meatloaf and of macaroni and cheese, then they are going to absolutely fall in love with this fabulously tasty casserole recipe. Macaroni and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole combines these two loves in the most delicious way!
First of all you have a wonderfully moist and tasty meatloaf base, glazed with a BBQ glaze. This gets baked and then topped off with a lush macaroni and cheese. The two then get baked together until all of those wonderful flavors meld together beautifully!
I adapted the recipe from one I found on a blog called Full Bellies Happy Kids. She in turn had adapted it from a page called This is Not Diet Food. How can you not love blogs with names like that!
I took the liberty of cutting the recipe in half. The original baked in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. My version cooks in a 9 inch square dish.
Make sure your dish is not too shallow as the macaroni and cheese could bubble over if it is. Mine was right on the verge of doing so, but didn't, thank goodness. I hate oven messes. If you don't have a deep dish, then place your casserole dish on a baking tray, just in case.
The meatloaf base for this is very similar to the meatloaf from the package of onion soup mix. If you would rather use your own recipe, then by all means do so. Make sure it is a recipe that uses one pound of ground beef.
I always buy my ground beef at the local farmers market. It is excellent. Locally raised grass fed beef. I pay a little bit more but you cannot put a price on good providence. I know the meat is good and that it hasn't come from a bazillion cows all ground up together. 'Nuff said.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE MACARONI AND CHEESE MEATLOAF CASSEROLE
Simple ordinary every day ingredients. I don't think there is anything outrageously outlandish or difficult to procure in this.
For the meat layer:
- 1/2 cup (125g) tomato ketchup
- 1/2 cup (125g) BBQ sauce
- 1 pound (453g) lean ground beef
- 15 Ritz style crackers
- 1 ounce dry onion soup mix (1/2 packet)
- 1 large free range egg
For the macaroni cheese layer:
- 1 1/2 cups (175g) dry macaroni noodles
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1/2 can condensed cheddar cheese soup (see note)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 TBS garlic powder (not salt)
- 1/2 TBS onion powder (not salt)
- 2 cups (240g) mozzarella and cheddar cheese blend, divided
You can use any short buttery type of cracker. TUC would be good as well. I would not use flavored crackers.
I know that onion soup mix can sometimes be difficult to find in the UK. I used to buy mine on Amazon. Alternately you can use a finely chopped onion, or some dried onion flakes, and a couple of beef stock cubes, crumbled to a powder. (I would use about 3 TBS of the onion flakes and 2 stock cubes.)
I also appreciate that condensed cheddar cheese soup is not easy to find in the UK, so I have provided a very acceptable alternative in the recipe notes.
I used a ready grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese blend. Also make sure you use the onion and garlic powders and not salt. If you use the salts, the dish will be far too salty. If you only have the salts, then don't add any additional salt and use only half the amount.
It might seem like a long recipe, but it really goes together very simply and quickly. Its not complicated at all. You are in for a real treat!
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking dish. Set aside. Put a saucepan of lightly salted water on to boil.
Place the crackers into a zip lock baggie and crush until fine with a rolling pin.
Whisk the tomato ketchup and BBQ sauce together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Remove half and set aside.
Crumble the beef into the bowl. Add the cracker crumbs, onion soup mix, half of the sauce mixture and egg. Mix together gently with a fork until well combined. Dump into your prepared baking dish and pat out evenly. Spread the reserved ketchup/BBQ sauce mixture evenly over top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
While the meatloaf base is baking, make your macaroni and cheese. Cook the macaroni noodles in the boiling salted water according to the package directions. Drain well and rinse with cold water. Drain again.
Whisk the cheddar cheese soup and milk together in a large bowl. Whisk in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Make sure everything is well combined. Fold in the cooked macaroni and half of the cheese.
After the half hour cook time for the meatloaf has finished, remove it from the oven. Pour the macaroni mixture over top, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the remaining Cheese over top.
Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling around the edges.
Leave to sit and settle for about 5 minutes before serving. Delicious!
Notes
If you cannot get the cheddar cheese soup, you can make a simple cheese sauce. Melt 2 TBS of butter in a saucepan. Whisk in 2 TBS of plain flour. Cook for a minute, then slowly whisk in 2 cups (480ml) of milk. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens.
Whisk in 1/4 of the cheese, stirring to melt the cheese. Whisk in the seasonings. Leave to cool and then fold in the macaroni, and 1/4 more of the cheese. Pour on top of the meatloaf, cover with the remaining cheese and bake as above.
Alternately you can use half a tin of condensed mushroom soup, undiluted, in the place of the cheddar cheese soup and put together as per the recipe.
This really was delicious. It was far too much for just myself (at half the recipe) so I took 3/4 of it over to my sister so that she didn't have to cook supper for them tonight. They just loved it!
My sister works so hard to make a delicious meal for my father and Dan every day, I thought it would be a real treat for her not to have to cook for a change!
If you are a single person on your own, you could break this down into four single serve casserole dishes and bake as above. The bake times would be cut in about half. Wrap the extras up tightly and freeze for another time.
Thaw out overnight in the refrigerator when you are ready to eat. To reheat I would cover the top with foil and then bake for about 20 minutes at 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4 until heated through.
COWBOY CASSEROLE - A base of ground beef and baked beans with the addition of BBQ flavors. This is topped with a drop biscuit and cheese topping. A real family favorite. All you need on the side is a salad and or a vegetable of some sort.
HAMBURGER AND POTATO CASSEROLE - This tasty casserole is very different from the traditional Cottage Pie. Amazingly delicious, this casserole is made by layering potatoes, tinned soup and cheese in a dish along with cooked ground beef. Simple ingredients that taste delicious when put together. Everyone always loves this.
Yield: 4
Macaroni and Cheese Meatloaf Casserole
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M
This delicious casserole is a perfect comfort food family pleaser. I cut the recipe in half from the original, and it was still a very generous casserole. Incredibly tasty!
Ingredients
For the meat layer:
- 1/2 cup (125g) tomato ketchup
- 1/2 cup (125g) BBQ sauce
- 1 pound (453g) lean ground beef
- 15 Ritz style crackers
- 1 ounce dry onion soup mix (1/2 packet)
- 1 large free range egg
For the macaroni cheese layer:
- 1 1/2 cups (175g) dry macaroni noodles
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk
- 1/2 can condensed cheddar cheese soup (see note)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 TBS garlic powder (not salt)
- 1/2 TBS onion powder (not salt)
- 2 cups (240g) mozzarella and cheddar cheese blend, divided
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking dish. Set aside. Put a saucepan of lightly salted water on to boil.
- Place the crackers into a zip lock baggie and crush until fine with a rolling pin.
- Whisk the tomato ketchup and BBQ sauce together in a medium sized mixing bowl. Remove half and set aside.
- Crumble the beef into the bowl. Add the cracker crumbs, onion soup mix, half of the sauce mixture and the egg. Mix together gently with a fork until well combined. Dump into your prepared baking dish and pat out evenly. Spread the reserved ketchup/BBQ sauce mixture evenly over top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
- While the meatloaf base is baking, make your macaroni and cheese. Cook the macaroni noodles in the boiling salted water according to the package directions. Drain well and rinse with cold water. Drain again.
- Whisk the cheddar cheese soup and milk together in a large bowl. Whisk in the salt, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. Make sure everything is well combined.Fold in the cooked macaroni and half of the cheese.
- After the half hour cook time for the meatloaf has finished, remove it from the oven. Pour the macaroni mixture over top, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the remaining Cheese over top.
- Return the baking dish to the oven and bake for a further 20 to 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the casserole is bubbling around the edges.
- Leave to sit and settle for about 5 minutes before serving. Delicious!
Notes
If you cannot get the cheddar cheese soup, you can make a simple cheese sauce. Melt 2 TBS of butter in a saucepan. Whisk in 2 TBS of plain flour. Cook for a minute, then slowly whisk in 2 cups (480ml) of milk. Cook, whisking constantly, over medium heat until the mixture bubbles and thickens. Whisk in 1/4 of the cheese, stirring to melt the cheese. Whisk in the seasonings. Leave to cool and then fold in the macaroni, and 1/4 more of the cheese. Pour on top of the meatloaf, cover with the remaining cheese and bake as above.
Alternately you can use half a tin of condensed mushroom soup, undiluted, in the place of the cheddar cheese soup and put together as per the recipe.
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Today I baked us another sheet pan recipe for our tea. Sheet Pan Macaroni and Cheese. It was a recipe that I had saved by Amanda Hesser on Food52. If you have never perused that site, I highly recommend you join it. It is a veritable cornucopia of delicious recipes and meal ideas.
As soon as I saw this recipe for Sheet Pan Mac and Cheese I bookmarked it as something I wanted to make. I love mac and cheese and I love sheet pan suppers. The idea that you could combine those two ideas was really appealing to me.
Macaroni and Cheese is one of my absolute favorite things to eat. I try not to have it very often because really, its quite high in fat and not that good for you, but every now and then I cannot help myself.
It is not something that my mother ever made for us when I was growing up. I am not sure why.
We did have macaroni, on occasion, but it was always served plain, mixed with tomatoes and ground beef as a sort of goulash. Never with cheese. The closest we ever came to mac and cheese was the occasional treat of the blue boxed mac and cheese. That was a very rare treat.
To be honest, I was rather fussy when it came to cheese when I was growing up. I didn't mind processed cheese, but I was too afraid to get stuck into "real" cheese. Mom would buy some cracker barrel at Christmas, but I could never be tempted to eat it.
It wasn't until I got married that I started to sometimes cook with "real" cheese and came to enjoy it. And, of course, when I moved over to the UK and got to taste really GOOD cheese, I fell in love with it.
I remember when I first moved to the UK, I would go to the Chester City Market to shop. They had all sorts of stalls in there. Meat/butchers, fish mongers, green grocers, bakers, and a beautiful cheese shop. They would sell sandwich sized bags of crumbled cheese ends for 50 pence. You never really knew what kind of cheese it was. It was just marked cheese.
It was a really good price really and I always picked up a few bags that I would then bring home and make us some mac and cheese, or cheese on toast or cheese filled omelets with. So good.
You can't live in a country that produces the best cheddar in the world and not fall in love with it! Then when I cooked at the Manor, I used to be responsible for putting together cheese trays to close their Dinner Parties with. You had to know what you were eating in order to put together a tasty tray.
I got to try and taste an abundance of different cheeses and really good cheeses to be honest. I really did fall in love with all sorts of cheese and have quite an experienced palate now. I love cheese.
One of the nicest ones I got to try was this one that their daughter's In-Laws had brought over from Germany. I think it was called Tete de Moine. It was a semi hard washed rind cheese and was secured on a board with a metal pole running up the centre of the cheese round which was attached to a cheese cutter handle. This tool was called a Girolle. It scraped around the surface of the cheese, paring it into thin rosettes, which greatly resembled carnation flowers. Very yummy.
That is not the cheese used for this very delicious Sheet Pan Mac and Cheese. For this you will want two strengths of a good cheddar cheese. And quite a lot of it. (Yes, it is very naughty!)
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SHEET PAN MACARONI AND CHEESE
Other than a good sturdy sheet pan, basically only a very few ingredients.
- 1 TBS butter
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 4 cups (454g) elbow macaroni (or other small shape)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, plus more to garnish
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
Do try to get the best cheddar possible for this, both a strong and an extra strong (Old and Extra Old). You won't regret it. Also don't be tempted to use anything less than a whole milk for this recipe.
Whole milk will give you the rich result that you want. In for a penny in for a pound. You've got all that cheese, why quibble over full fat milk. This is not a recipe you want to be figuring out the calories and fat content of!
It is important that you use the right sized sheet pan for this. You want one where you can spread everything out in a nice thinnish layer so that you can get optimum surface crunch, with more of the macaroni and cheese being exposed to both the hot sheet pan and the hot oven.
If your pan is too small, your macaroni cheese won't get as crunchy. I don't know about you, but cheese crunch is one of my favorite things!
HOW TO MAKE SHEET PAN MACARONI AND CHEESE
I was amazed at how very easy this was to make. The hardest part is grating all the cheese!
Preheat the oven to 475*F/246*C/ gas mark 4. Using the TBS of butter, generously grease a rimmed sheet pan that measures 11-inches (28cm) by 17-inches (44 cm). Set aside.
Cook your macaroni according to the package directions, knocking 2 minutes off the cook time. Drain well, rinse, drain again. Pour the macaroni into a bowl.
Grate your cheeses and combine. Remove 2 heaped cups (2 1/4 cups/260g) and reserve. Toss the remainder into the bowl with the macaroni. Add salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper, again tossing to combine.
Spread the macaroni mixture into the baking sheet, spreading it out evenly. Pour the milk evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over top.
Sprinkle on some additional cayenne pepper if desired.
Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered, until golden brown and crisp in areas. Serve hot.
If you are looking for crisp, cheesy decadence, you really can't go wrong with this recipe. Its deliciously indulgent, with a lovely amount of crunchy bits, both on the bottom and the top.
Rich. Rich. Rich.
You probably don't want to know the fat and calorie content. I sent a goodly part of this home with my sister. It was really delicious and I didn't think I could be trusted not to do myself some serious harm with it in the house!
This makes a wonderful, once in a blue moon treat!
If you are looking for something not quite so indulgent, might I suggest the following:
SKINNY MAC & CHEESE - Lower in fat and calories, high in fiber and protein, but not compromised in flavor in any way. If you are wanting to indulge in Mac and Cheese without going over the top, this could be your Mac and Cheese. Its really very good.
BROCCOLI & CAULIFLOWER MAC & CHEESE - This is a delicious way to indulge your need for mac and cheese and at the same time get in two of your five a day. There is roughly half as much vegetables in this as there is macaroni, which helps to cut back on the carbs. This really is delicious and is one of my favorites!
Yield: 6
Sheet Pan Mac & Cheese
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 30 Min
All I can say is oh my goodness! This is the cheesiest. Decadent.
Ingredients
- 1 TBS butter
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 12 ounces (3 cups/340g) sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
- 4 cups (454g) elbow macaroni (or other small shape)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, plus more to garnish
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 2/3 cup (160ml) whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475*F/246*C/ gas mark 4. Using the TBS of butter, generously grease a rimmed sheet pan that measures 11-inches (28cm) by 17-inches (44 cm). Set aside.
- Cook your macaroni according to the package directions, knocking 2 minutes off the cook time. Drain well, rinse, drain again. Pour the macaroni into a bowl.
- Grate your cheeses and combine. Remove 2 heaped cups (2 1/4 cups/260g) and reserve. Toss the remainder into the bowl with the macaroni. Add salt, pepper and the cayenne pepper, again tossing to combine.
- Spread the macaroni mixture into the baking sheet, spreading it out evenly. Pour the milk evenly over the surface. Sprinkle the reserved cheese evenly over top.
- Sprinkle on some additional cayenne pepper if desired.
- Bake for 15 minutes, uncovered, until golden brown and crisp in areas. Serve hot.
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