Thursday, August 25, 2011

Homemade Creamy Mac and Cheese

We have a winner!!! No you didn't miss a giveaway. Don't worry. I have been searching for the perfect mac and cheese recipe for a couple of years now.  My kids love the stuff, and It's not as cheap as it used to be.  I remember buying it for 15 cents a box back in the day. Not that its so expensive now, but hey...

Anyway, I love me some good ol homemade comfort food. And you can't get much better than this.  I had a friend ask me for a good freezer meal mac and cheese recipe the other day.  All of a sudden I remembered, this recipe has been right under my nose the whole time.  Years ago, a friend of ours was making some for our family.  I remember watching her pour the cream around the edge and thinking, yeah that's going to be Delicious!!!  So I decided to email her for the recipe and she sent it right back to me. 

All of the other ones that I have tried, have peen too pasty or grainy. The cheese never really melted right.  Ahhh, this one is creamier than ever.  Trust me, you will love it! 

 Homemade Creamy Mac and Cheese

1 bag  Large elbow macaroni
2-3 cans of Campbell's cheddar cheese soup ( I used 2)
2-3 (8 oz) bags of casserole mix shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
1 can of regular milk
1-1/2 cups Heavy whipping cream divided
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp White pepper (I just used black)

Boil pasta to al dente. Drain and leave in the colander.

Heat the Cheddar cheese soup with 1 can of milk in microwave bowl,

In a large pot (the same one you boiled the pasta in), pour the heated cheese in first then add the pasta slowly so you don't run out of creaminess. Add 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 of the bags of shredded cheese, 1tsp salt and 1/2 tsp white pepper. Stir it up make sure its very creamy because otherwise it can dry out when baking.

Stir well until cheese is melted.  Pour into a 9x13 pan (this fills the pan, so you could stretch it and do about 3 9x9 pans and freeze them)

If it's not super duper creamy then pour more heavy whipping cream all along the inside edges of the pan (I used about a half cup more) Sprinkle the other bag(s) of shredded cheese all over the top Broil on high for about 3 minutes. Don't let it burn. You want it to be pretty golden brown. Turn the oven onto bake at 400 for another 30 minutes.

Tip:  you will want it to be extra creamy so that when it bakes, it won't dry out.

Freezing:  I haven't frozen this yet, but I would just do everything up until the baking process.  Wrap it with foil (make sure you are using an aluminum pan.) Then wrap it with plastic wrap.  Store up to 3 months. 

To thaw, allow it to sit on the counter for a few hours.  You can also thaw it in the fridge over night.  Then proceed with the baking instructions.



1 comment:

Romulo & Lydia said...

YES!!! I'm trying it out over the weekend! And add another meal to the freezer! Thanks.