Baked Mac and Cheese - Not comercial, not prepackaged, not full of chemicals - Just good old fashioned Yumminess!

Baked Macaroni with Mixed Cheeses
Ok - so
As a mother and a chef, I want to make sure my child gets all the goodness I can provide and afford. As a child I RARELY indulged in the *blue Box* mac - it was always moms.

Are we so spoiled by convenience that we are willing to feed our kids chemicals - yup! I was reading on the Kraft website that they sell close to 1 million servings of Blue box mac every day. I can't call it mac and cheese with ingredients like *yellow # 6 and powdered cheese culture! YUCK.

Making mac and cheese is not a long labor of love.

But it is tasty goodness!

there must be a place in your recipe boxes for a version using real ingredients

Cheddar, in my opinion, is the cheese of choice, but a mix of cheese provides to be more interesting! I chose half cheddar, combined with a mix of Monterey Jack and fontina and added some dijon mustard and a dash of hot sauce and Worcestershire, reminiscent of old recipes for Welsh Rarebit.

For a crunchy top I am way off base from my mom's traditional saltine crumb topping. I like to use Low fat cheese-its, mixed half and half with panko, and a little Parmesan cheese

The result is a creamy version with cheddar flavor predominating but with other cheeses and flavorings giving it layers of more complex flavors,

Serves six as a main course, more as a side:

¾ pound of pasta – small penne, campanelle, gamelli or elbows
2-14 ounces of cheese, grated – all cheddar or a mix of half cheddar and fontina, Monterey Jack or other remnants.
2 ½ cups milk
2 ½ tablespoons flour
3 tablespoons butter or substitute
1/3 onion, diced
1 teaspoon Dijon
¼ teaspoon hot sauce or to taste
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Topping
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 cup crushed cheese-its
1 ½ teaspoons paprika
Freshly ground pepper and salt


In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta, removing it just as it reaches “al dente”, usually 2 -3 minutes before the time suggested on the box.
Drain the pasta and run it under cold water to prevent further cooking.
Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat and add the onions when the butter melts. Cook until the onions are soft but not browned.
Add the flour and cook, stirring for several minutes to cook the flour.
Whisk in the milk gradually and cook, stirring over low heat until the milk thickens, 10–15 minutes. S
stir in the grated cheese and stir until it is melted.
Add the mustard and cayenne , Worcestershire and then taste, adding black pepper and salt (remember cheese adds significant salt) and more cayenne or mustard to taste.


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Mix the pasta into the cheese and transfer the mixture to a greased baking dish.
Mix the grated Parmesan, crushed cheese its, and panko bread crumbs and paprika and spread them evenly over the surface.
Bake until the top is browned and the liquid is bubbling: 45 – 50 minutes.

serve with a nice green salad - and as Brayden says it with be *LISH-ous*