Baked Macaroni and Cheese

 

Sometimes you just want a little comfort food...








8 oz. of macaroni or other pasta of choice
3 Tbs of butter
1/4 cup of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mustard
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp sweet paprika, plus extra for on top
2 1/2 cups 2% milk (we used 1% and it worked)
3 cups grated cheddar cheese (we used a little less and couldn't find cheddar but it was still great!)

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C)

Boil the pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.

 
While the pasta is cooking you can start the sauce.  Melt the butter in a pot or pan over medium heat. Add the flour, salt, dry mustard (we used regular mustard because we had no dry mustard), and 1/8 tsp paprika. Still constantly for about three minutes.









Add milk and whisk constantly for about 10 minutes or until the sauce thickens.










Remove the pot from the heat and stir in two cups of cheese.






By this time your pasta should be finished. Either in the pot (if large enough) or the pot the pasta was boiled in, mix the pasta and sauce together. If you really really love cheese, pour half of the pasta into an oven safe dish, add 1/2 cup cheese, pour the other half of the pasta over it and add the other 1/2 cup cheese. If you are like us and do not need it so crazy cheesy, add all the pasta at once and only add a little cheese on top to make it look nice. Sprinkle with paprika.





Bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly brown and dry on top.










We enjoyed our mac and cheese with broccoli and sausage but it could also be a meal on its own.

This recipe is from Kitchen Treaty