Easy Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

A friend of mine had posted this recipe on Facebook. It looked really good and pretty simple. I have to admit, I'm not a big Mac and Cheese fan...I never have been, even as a child....however, Ryan and my husband are. If we have Mac and Cheese, which is pretty rare, I just pull it out of the box and whip it up. I then make something different for myself...because, yeah, not a big fan.

The picture that was posted with the recipe just looked so good. So, what was the consensus? I still don't like boxed Mac and Cheese, but I really, really like THIS Mac and Cheese! Of course it is more work and expense than the boxed kind, but it is soooo much better. It doesn't actually taste anything like boxed Mac and Cheese.

This was a thumbs up from the entire family! It made quite a lot too...which is great since we had leftovers for lunch for several days.

My family thinks that rating from 1-10 is really difficult...so I think I will do thumbs up or down, but I need to think of something to do if it's in the middle range. Hmmm.....

Ingredients:

1 pound uncooked pasta shells

4 cups whole milk

8 Tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard (optional)

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook it just until al dente, about 11 minutes. Drain the pasta then set it aside.

In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, warm the milk until it is simmering then set it aside.

In a large heavy-bottomed stock pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter has melted, whisk in the flour and cook the mixture, whisking constantly, until it turns light brown in color and has a slightly toasted aroma, about 3 minutes. Whisk in the dry mustard (optional).

Remove the pot from the heat then slowly whisk the warm milk into the flour mixture. Continue whisking constantly to avoid any lumps. (The mixture will become very thick and then thin out gradually until it is smooth.)

Return the pot to the stove over medium-high heat and cook the mixture while whisking constantly until it has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 2 minutes. Season the mixture with salt and pepper and reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the cheddar and Parmesan cheeses until they are melted and the cheese sauce is smooth. Add the pasta, stirring to combine, and cook just until the pasta is warmed throughout. Serve immediately.

You can add chicken, ham, vegetables or anything else to this to suit you!!

Recipe from: Justataste.com