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White Cheddar Mac and Cheese: Finger-lickin' Good Recipes Friday/Weighing in...

 
Weighing in...

I lost 1 pound this week! 
Recipes like the one below aren't helping me to make a lot of progress!!

It's Finger-lickin' Good Recipes Friday! 

Here's my submission: 
White Cheddar Mac and Cheese!
It's a family favorite!


White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

My gang loves macaroni and cheese. Like many other Southerners, they consider mac & cheese a vegetable!
This is a really good recipe. I love the flavor of the white cheddar, but you can use regular, if you prefer. A mixture of the two is nice, also! 
This recipe makes a large (9x13-inch) panful and is great for serving a crowd. You can half the recipe for a smaller group and bake it in an 8x8-inch pan. It does heat over well!
Since I was serving baked beans with bacon the day I made this, I didn't add the bacon garnish to this batch of mac and cheese, but the dish is really tasty with the bacon crumbles. But then, what savory recipe isn't usually improved upon by adding a bit of bacon?!
Oh, by the way, you don't really have to bake this. If you prefer, or if time is short, you can just combine the cheese sauce with the noodles and dish it out! 

White Cheddar Mac and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 cups milk
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5½ cups shredded sharp white Cheddar
Freshly ground black pepper

Optional Garnish:
4 slices bacon

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat.
Add salt.
Add the macaroni and cook for 8 to 9 minutes; drain. Return to cooking pot and cover with cold water.
Melt the butter over medium-high heat.
Whisk in the flour and cook for about 1 minute; whisk constantly.
Gradually add milk.
Continue to whisk vigorously, and cook until the mixture is nice and smooth.
Add 4 cups of the cheese and continue to cook and stir to melt the cheese.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Drain macaroni. Return to cooking pot.
Pour cheese sauce over macaroni. Stir gently until all the macaroni is coated well with the cheese sauce.
Spoon into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.

Garnish:
While the pasta bakes, cook the bacon until crispy; crumble.
To serve, sprinkle the bacon over the macaroni and cheese.
Labels:

Comments

  1. mubApril 23, 2010 at 9:23 AM

    I have a GREAT finger-lickin' recipe... literally!

    Crockpot BBQ Ribs- http://misadventuresofmub.blogspot.com/2008/10/crockpot-barbecue-ribs.html

    I bet they'd be tasty with this Mac & Cheese too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. susieloulouApril 23, 2010 at 9:56 AM

    Whoa - macaroni in a white sauce - sounds sinfully good! I did not lose an ounce but hung precariously to my previous one-pound loss. My recipe is 4h corn casserole - I have no idea what I've already posted. I'm going to have to make myself a LIST :-)
    I recommended this recipe to THREE people who made it in the last couple weeks!!
    http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=325819

    ReplyDelete
  3. EmilyApril 23, 2010 at 1:18 PM

    Hi Connie. I think I messed something up because my name showed up instead of my recipe name. Your mac & cheese looks and sounds wonderful! Hope you have a great weekend! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. DonnaApril 27, 2010 at 3:59 AM

    You mean mac and cheese isn't a veggie?
    ;-)

    Did you make it through our southern storms?

    ReplyDelete
  5. ConnieApril 27, 2010 at 2:14 PM

    Yes, Donna, we are all well. Our prayers are with others in our state who didn't fare as well.
    Thank you for asking, Donna! :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. DonnaApril 28, 2010 at 2:31 AM

    Wonderful!
    We've heard some very sad stories- glad your family is safe and well!

    ReplyDelete

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