Stir It Up!

The time has come. Time to share the recipe. THE recipe. This is my momma's macaroni and cheese. It's a little time consuming, but it's totally worth it. Everyone is different when it comes to mac and cheese. Some people like it goopy and shiny (think out of the little box), some people like it firmer and egg-y. This recipe, to me, is just perfect. It's firm (but not eggy), and still slightly goopy. You have to have a little patience though...trust me, it's worth it. The recipe listed here makes a normal sized casserole dish. It feeds the 3 of us with leftovers. You want the leftovers. If you are feeding more than 4 people, then you might want to double it. That's where the stirring part gets tricky. I'll discuss later...let's make it.





Ingredients:

3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 1/2 cups macaroni, cooked
2 cups milk
A heap o' cheese (the more the better...since I'm not stirring the white sauce for fun, I do 3 cups of shredded cheddar)
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook macaroni, drain, and set aside. In a large saucepan, combine butter and flour over medium heat to make a roux. Turn the heat down one notch and add the milk. Stir constantly until the mixture thickens and starts to slowly bubble. This bubbling is really subtle so after about 15 or 20 minutes of stirring, stop stirring just to look for the thick milky bubbles popping up through the surface. (Note: When you double this recipe, be prepared to stir for 30-40 minutes at least. Go ahead and bring the laptop into the kitchen and catch up on Facebook and emails while you absentmindedly stir). Ok, at this point add salt and pepper to taste. I don't add a whole lot. Next add in your shredded cheese. Stir it for a few seconds until the cheese it melted. Add the cooked noodles into the pot and stir to coat the noodles in the cheese sauce.

Transfer the mixture into a casserole dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes until browned and bubbly.

It rocks. Amen.