Atk Everyday Lighter Macaroni And Cheese Recipes

LIGHTER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spread tomatoes in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle each sheet with 1 tablespoon oil; sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tomatoes have softened, about 20 minutes. (Leave oven on.)
• Process bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Melt 1 tablespoon butter with remaining tablespoon oil in amedium skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook pasta until almost al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, and run under cold water to stop cooking. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.
• Whisk 1/2 cup stock into the flour in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in nutmeg, cayenne, remaining 1/2 teaspoon thyme, and 1 teaspoon salt. Add milk and remaining 1 1/2 cups stock. Whisk in flour mixture. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce to a simmer. Cook 8 minutes, whisking frequently. Add cheeses; cook, stirring, until melted. Pour over macaroni, stirring to combine.
• Put eight 4 1/2-by-1 1/4-inch ramekins on a baking sheet. Put 2 tomato slices in bottom of each ramekin. Divide macaroni mixture evenly among ramekins. Top each with a tomato slice. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and thyme sprigs. Bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

LIGHTENED-UP MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Coat an 8x8-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook whole wheat macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
• Set an oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler.
• Stir 1 tablespoon evaporated milk and tapioca together in a saucepan. Whisk in remaining milk. Stir in Cheddar cheese, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and pepper. Bring to a simmer and stir until the sauce thickens a bit and cheese is completely melted. Drain pasta and stir into the sauce. Spoon into the prepared baking dish.
• Cook under the broiler until top browns, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

FAMILY-FAVORITE MACARONI AND CHEESE (LIGHTER RECIPE)

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Cook macaroni as directed on package.
• While macaroni is cooking, melt margarine in 3-quart saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Cook over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is smooth and bubbly; remove from heat. Stir in milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in cheese. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted.
• Drain macaroni. Gently stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole. Bake uncovered 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly.

ATK STOVETOP MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring water and milk to boil in medium saucepan over high heat. Stir in macaroni and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring frequently, until macaroni is soft (slightly past al dente), 6 to 8 minutes. Add American cheese, mustard, and cayenne and cook, stirring constantly, until cheese is completely melted, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in cheddar until evenly distributed but not melted. Cover saucepan and let stand for 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine panko, oil, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in 8-inch nonstick skillet until panko is evenly moistened. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until evenly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Off heat, sprinkle Parmesan over panko mixture and stir to combine. Transfer panko mixture to small bowl.
• Stir macaroni until sauce is smooth (sauce may look loose but will thicken as it cools). Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to warm serving dish and sprinkle panko mixture over top. Serve immediately.
• Tips/Techniques: Barilla makes our favorite elbow macaroni. Because the macaroni is cooked in a measured amount of liquid, we don't recommend using different shapes or sizes of pasta. Use a 4-ounce block of American cheese from the deli counter rather than presliced cheese. Inspired by an innovative macaroni and cheese recipe that calls for adding sodium citrate, an emulsifying salt, to cheese to keep it smooth when heated (instead of adding flour to make a béchamel), we based our sauce on American cheese, which contains a similar ingredient. Because American cheese has plenty of emulsifier but not a lot of flavor, we combined it with more-flavorful extra-sharp cheddar. A bit of mustard and cayenne pepper added piquancy. We cooked the macaroni in a smaller-than-usual amount of water (along with some milk), so we didn't have to drain it; the liquid that was left after the elbows were hydrated was just enough to form the base of the sauce. Rather than bake the mac and cheese, we sprinkled crunchy, cheesy toasted panko bread crumbs on top. Our simplified mac and cheese recipe takes only about 20 minutes from start to finish.

ATK-EVERYDAY LIGHTER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and the macaroni; cook until the pasta is completely cooked and tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave it in the colander; set aside. Add the evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of the 2 percent milk, mustard, garlic powder (if using), cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the now-empty saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk together, then whisk it into the simmering mixture. Continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened and is smooth, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cheddar until melted and smooth. Stir in the macaroni, and let the macaroni and cheese sit off the heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, 2 to 5 minutes, before serving.

CLASSIC MACARONI AND CHEESE (AMERICA'S TEST KITCHEN) RECIPE - (3.6/5)

Steps:

• Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat broiler. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in Dutch oven over high heat. Add macaroni and 1 tablespoon salt; cook until pasta is tender; drain and set aside in colander. In now empty Dutch oven, heat butter over medium-high heat until foaming. Add flour, mustard, and cayenne and whisk well to combine. Continue whisking until mixture becomes fragrant and deepens in color, about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk; bring mixture to boil, whisking constantly (mixture must reach full boil to fully thicken). Reduce heat to medium and simmer, whisking occasionally, until thickened to consistency of heavy cream, about 5 minutes. Off heat, whisk in cheeses and 1 teaspoon salt until cheeses are fully melted. Add pasta and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is steaming and heated through, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to broiler safe 9 by 13" baking dish and sprinkle evenly with bread crumb mixture. Broil until crumbs are deep golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes, rotating pan if necessary for even browning. Cool about 5 minutes, then serve.

LIGHTER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F Spread tomatoes in a single layer on 2 rimmed baking sheets. Drizzle each sheet with 1 Tbsp oil; sprinkle each with 1/2 teaspoons thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Bake until tomatoes have softened, about 20 minutes. (Leave oven on).
• Process bread in a food processor until coarse crumbs form. Melt 1 tablespoons butter with remaining tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs, and toss to coat, Season with salt and pepper; set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 Tablespoon salt and the pasta. Cook pasta until almost al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop cooking. Transfer to a large bowl; set aside.
• Whisk 1/2 cup stock into the flour in a medium bowl; set aside. Melt remaining tablespoon butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in nutmeg, cayenne, remaining 1/2 tsp, thyme, and 1 teaspoons salt. Add milk and remaining 1 1/2 cups stock. Whisk in flour mixture. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce to a simmer. Cook 8 minutes, whisking frequently. Add cheeses; cool, stirring until melted. Pour over macaaroni, stirring to combine.
• Put eight 4 1/2 x 1 1/4 inch ramekins on a baking sheet, Put 2 tomato slices in bottom of each ramekin, Divide macaroni mixture evenly among ramekins. Top each with a tomato slice. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs and thyme sprigs. Bake until bubbling and golden brown, about 30 minutes.

LIGHTER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil with about 2 teaspoons of salt.
• Add macaroni and cook until al dente, about 5 minutes.
• Drain and set aside.
• In same pot, add evaporated milk, salt, mustard, garlic, and 1/2 cup milk.
• Bring to a boil and then simmer about 2 minutes.
• Combine 1/4 cup milk and cornstarch.
• Add to saucepan.
• Simmer about 5 minutes or until thickened.
• Remove from heat, add cheese, and stir until cheese is melted.
• Add macaroni and let sit for about 5 minutes until thickened.