“Someone, please make mac and cheese” desperately read a comment on the Facebook event page for a Friendsgiving potluck I was going to go to. I hesitated for a moment, as I had never made mac and cheese from scratch before. But I had no idea what to bring anyway being the indecisive person I am (any Geminis out there that feel me?), so I decided to take the bullet and go for it.
On the day of the potluck, I nervously brought in my mac and cheese, cradling it in a big blue Ikea bag. “I hope it’s not too mushy,” I thought to myself as I cautiously put it at the end of the table next to the green bean casserole and mashed potatoes. “What if no one likes it? I don’t want to deal with leftovers.”
Soon, it was time to dig in. We all got in line and as I came up to the table, half of the mac and cheese was already gone! I let out a sigh of relief as I scooped a bit onto my plate. No need to worry about leftovers now! Give this recipe, adapted from joyfoodsunshine, a shot if you’re looking for a good homemade bowl of mac and cheese.
Ingredients:
1 16 oz box of pasta
4 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of flour
½ teaspoon of salt
3 teaspoons of garlic powder
2 cups of milk
½ cup of heavy cream
4 ½ cups of shredded cheese (It can be any kind of cheese but I personally like a combination of the Mexican blend and pepper jack)
(reserve ½ cup for sprinkling on top of the mac and cheese)
Any toppings (bacon, jalapeño peppers, panko bread crumbs, etc.)
Instructions:
- In a small pot, pour in the pasta and cook as instructed on the box.
- Mix together the flour, garlic powder, and
- In a separate, bigger pot/pan, heat up the pot/pan and add the butter in until it melts. Once it melts, whisk in the flour mixture. Continue whisking until it turns brown.
- Pour in milk and whisk until smooth.
- Whisk in heavy cream until smooth.
- Allow the mixture to cook on medium low heat until the mixture is thick enough to stick to the back of a spatula. Don’t let it boil though!
- Once it is thick enough, reduce the heat and add in 2 cups of the cheese. Whisk until smooth and then add the other 2 cups of cheese. Whisk again until smooth and all the cheese is melted. Adjust the taste here if more salt/seasoning is needed.
- Stir in the cooked pasta and some of the pasta water.
- Put the cooked pasta into a pan and sprinkle on the ½ cup of cheese as well as any toppings (I really recommend jalapeño peppers!). Put into a preheated oven at 375 F for 15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling.
- Dish out and serve!!
Make this for your next holiday potluck or a pick me up for finals! :)
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!