I’ve been making this roughly forever. Which means the recipe is so long gone. But I’m going to do my very best to try to put some actual volumes to it. Either way it’s very forgiving so if you get close and adjust for taste, it will be “dewlicious” (trademark of Maddie).
My personal take on macaroni and cheese falls dead-center between Martha and trailer park. I love the taste of a true cheddar béchamel and I love the creamy consistency (and stability ) of Velveeta.
So here’s their bastard child.
Get started boiling 1 lb. pasta in hot salted water. I *love* the Cellentani for this. The corkscrewey goodness is just perfect for this sauce.
Take 1/3 stick of butter and melt it in a pot. Add enough flour (about ¼ C) to make a nice thick roux.
Cook your roux for a few minutes. Add 4 C. milk. The best way to do this I have found is to heat the milk 2 C. at a time in the microwave for 2 minutes, then add to the roux. You can do it dead cold, and it works. But it takes roughly…FOREVER to thicken.
Add 1 t. white pepper (ground) about 1 to 1 1/1 T. salt (you know I love my Himalayan sea salt. It’s pink hey), this is to taste but I prefer more than less in this (some of it’s going to depend on how heavily you salt the water in the pasta). Add 1 T. ground mustard powder and 1/2 t. Cayenne if you like it spicy like we do (even the kids will eat this but I use low heat Cayenne).
Cook until thickened and bubbly.
Add pound of Velveeta sliced. Yup I said it, a pound. I typically use the 2%. It does have less fat (cause I’m saving calories, y’all) and works fine. Cook until melted.
Add 2 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese and cook until melted.
Drain pasta
Add pasta to a deep 13X9. Since I’m usually taking this somewhere, I use the tinfoil pans, which work nicely for this recipe.
Add sauce and stir. A LOT!!
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 35-45 minutes at 350 degrees. I usually broil the top for just a bit of browning. If you’d like you can also add shredded cheddar to the top and hit it with a broil. You know, for a wedding or something.
Serve and enjoy.
IF YOU LIKE THIS RECIPE YOU WILL ALSO LIKE:
- Instant Pot Meatballs With Mushroom Gravy
- Instant Pot Triple Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Johnny Marzetti
- Instant Pot Beef Stroganoff
- Instant Pot Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese
- Instant Pot Chicken Tetrazzini
Macaroni and cheese
Ingredients
- 16 ounces cooked and drained pasta al dente
- 1/3 stick of butter
- 4 cups milk 2%
- 1 teaspoon white pepper ground
- 1 to 1 1/1 tablespoons salt
- 1 tablespoon ground mustard powder
- 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon Cayenne
- 16 ounces Velveeta sliced
- 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large pot. Add enough flour (about ¼ C) to make a nice thick roux.
- Add warmed milk and cook until thickened.
- Add seasonings.
- Add Velveeta and cook until melted.
- Add 2 C. shredded sharp cheddar cheese and cook until melted.
- Combine cooked drained pasta and sauce. Bake until bubbly and browned on top, usually 30 to 40 minutes at 350.
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