Cheese

Perfectly Kid Friendly Macaroni and Cheese

December 29, 2020
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0 Ratings
Photo by nicolelupu
  • Prep time 20 minutes
  • Cook time 30 minutes
  • Serves 12
Author Notes

Creamy mac and cheese topped with crunchy breadcrumbs. —nicolelupu

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Ingredients
  • Equipment
  • Box grater
  • Sauce pan
  • 9x13 Baking dish
  • Mini food processor
  • Ingredients
  • 1 pound pasta (I used shells, elbows are also great)
  • 3 cups milk
  • 4 ounces white mild cheddar
  • 8 ounces medium cheddar
  • 2 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 1/3 cup flour
  • 5 tablespoons butter (divided)
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 4 sage leaves
  • 3 slices of wheat sourdough bread
Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grate your cheeses.
  2. Boil your pasta until it's al dente, drain and set aside.
  3. Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in your large saucepan and as soon as it bubbles add the flour and cook to make a paste. (this is your roux) Slowly whisk in the milk till it thickens and coats the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and add the 2 ounces of room temp cream cheese, 4 ounces of white cheddar and 6 ounces of the yellow cheddar. Once fully incorporated add in your spices and adjust seasoning to your taste.
  4. In a small mini food processor pulse the sourdough to make crumbs, pour the into a small dish and add the remaining tablespoon of butter, melted.
  5. Add the warm, drained pasta to the saucepan and combine till the gooey sauce coats all the shells. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish and sprinkle a layer of sourdough crumbs on top, then add an ounce of the reserved grated cheddar, then more breadcrumbs then finally the rest of the cheddar.
  6. Bake in your preheated oven for 30 mins until the pasta is bubbling and the topping is golden. While you bake the macaroni add 1 tsp of olive oil to a small saucepan and flash fry your sage leaves for 1 min and drain on paper towels. When the pasta is done crumble the leaves over top of the dish and enjoy!

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