Mac and Cheese
Before I share with you guys my mom’s amazing recipe for homemade mac and cheese, I wanted to thank you guys, my lovely subscribers and readers that love me and my recipes<3. While I love love love coming up with new recipes, and recycling the one’s I have grown up on, my most favorite part is posting about it.
Now for the CHEESE!
Watching my mom make this dish growing up, I thought she was this professional chef making a cheese roux.
What is a roux?
It is a blend of a “thickening agent” and a sauce base, stirred constantly on low heat to create a sauce of some sort.
I would watch her stir the roux constantly for 10 minutes, and when she needed a break, I was there to take over. It seemed like a grueling process that was so complex I could never make it on my own, without my mom to be my supervisor. However, this meal is easy to master. The end result is a perfect mixture between cheesy and gooey with an intense flavor, and I personally have a blast stirring constantly and watching it thicken. The key to success is to never. stop. stirring.
RECIPE:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 cups mixture of shredded cheddar, gruyere and mozzarella (add more or less to taste)
2 cups pasta of choice
INSTRUCTIONS:
Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter into a large sauce pan on low heat
Blend in the flour and salt: cook and stir for 1 minute (do not stop stirring!)
Gradually add in milk, remain on low heat and STIR CONSTANTLY, until thickened
Add in the cheese mixture, stir until completely melted
Stir in cooked pasta
Pour cheesy mixture into a quart casserole dish
Bake for 20 minutes at 350°
ENJOY!
*I also tend to add a bit of cheddar cheese (my favorite cheese) on top once removed from the oven*
While I have taken the time to master this and make it with ease, my first attempt at this on my own absolutely did not succeed. Drew and I offered to make dinner for my family and spent almost 2 hours of our lives stirring the cheese roux, confused out of our minds about why it wasn’t working. We had to throw out our first batch of cheese, and got it right the second time, but I’d still consider it a success. SO! You all better pay attention to the rules of a roux and make sure it is thickened before you add in the cheese!