Creamy Macaroni Cheese For Two Or One Recipes

MACARONI AND CHEESE FOR ONE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour until mixture is smooth. Slowly add half-and-half, whisking as it is poured in. Stir until sauce thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese, salt, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, pepper, and turmeric; whisk to combine.
• Drain macaroni and add to the cheese sauce. Stir until evenly coated.

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring 2 quarts of water to boil in large soup kettle. Add salt and pasta. Using package directions as a guide, cook until al dente. Drain. To prevent sticking, drain and immediately pour onto a large lipped baking sheet and let cool while preparing sauce.
• Meanwhile, microwave the milk and chicken broth in a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup or bowl until hot and steamy (not boiling). Melt butter in the empty pasta pot; whisk in flour, then hot milk mixture. Continue to whisk until thick and bubbly, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard, Parmesan and pepper. Turn off heat, stir in cheddar until melted.
• Add drained pasta (and optional flavoring ingredients, see notes) to sauce, and stir until everything is well combined over low heat. Stir to heat through, and thin with a little water if the sauce is too thick. Serve hot.

MACARONI AND CHEESE FOR TWO

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°. In a medium bowl, combine macaroni, cheese, milk, egg and salt; mix well. Pour into a greased 1-qt. shallow baking dish; dot with butter. Bake, uncovered, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, 30-35 minutes.

CREAMY MACARONI & CHEESE - FOR TWO OR ONE

Steps:

• Preheat oven at 350°F.
• Cook pasta in boiling salted water until al-dente. Drain and set aside.
• Heat the milk in the microwave, on high for 1-1/2 minutes.
• In a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add salt, pepper and chopped onion. Sauté on medium heat, until the onion is transparent and soft, but not brown.
• Sprinkle the flour on top, and allow the butter to absorb some of it before stirring.
• Add the hot milk in 3 additions, stirring constantly. The mixture will get thick very quickly.
• After the final addition of milk, continue heating the mixture, on medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and bubbly.
• *Remove from heat* and stir in the grated cheese, chives and red pepper flakes.
• Add the drained pasta and mix well.
• Fold in the cubed cheese.
• Pour into two greased onion soup bowls.
• Bake for 20 - 25 minutes.
• Allow to cool a bit before serving.

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE FOR ONE

Steps:

• In small bowl, combine crushed saltines with 1 tablespoon melted butter.
• In pot, melt remaining 1 tablespoon butter, then add flour, salt, and pepper.
• Whisk in milk until smooth and cook for 2 minutes.
• Lower heat and add all remaining ingredients, stirring until cheese is melted.
• Pour into greased 1 cup baking dish (ramiken) and sprinkle with buttered saltine crumbs.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

ULTIMATE MAC 'N' CHEESE CASSEROLE FOR TWO

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and lightly spray a 2-quart oven-safe casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta until al dente, following the directions on the pasta package. (You'll want it to still have a bite to it because it will finish cooking in the oven.) Drain well.
• Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking vigorously, 1 to 2 minutes. Continue to whisk as you add the milk, then let the mixture gently come to a simmer and thicken, about 5 minutes.
• Add the Cheddar and gruyere and stir together with a spatula until all the cheese has melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the skillet from the heat.
• Add the pasta to the cheese sauce and gently toss until everything is covered. Sprinkle half the bacon into the skillet and toss to incorporate. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared casserole dish. Top with the remainder of the bacon, then bake, uncovered, until the mixture is bubbly and the pasta is cooked through, 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

CREAMY BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Set an oven rack 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until it is al dente, about 6 minutes. Strain, reserving 1 3/4 cups of the pasta water. Set aside.
• Heat the half-and-half and cayenne in a large saucepan over medium heat until it just comes to a simmer. Continue simmering until the half-and-half is reduced to 1 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted. Whisk in the Cheddar and Gruyere until all the cheese is melted and the sauce is smooth.
• Add the macaroni and the reserved pasta water to the saucepan and stir to combine. (It will look very loose, but the pasta will suck up a lot of the sauce as it bakes.) Season to taste with salt if needed. Pour into a 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Toss the bread crumbs with the butter and a sprinkle of salt in a small bowl and sprinkle evenly over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the bread crumbs are lightly browned and crispy, about 10 minutes.

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions. , Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°. In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add 1-1/2 cups milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in sour cream, Velveeta, Parmesan cheese, salt, mustard and pepper until smooth and cheese is melted. Add additional milk to reach desired consistency. , Drain macaroni; toss with cheddar cheese. Transfer to a greased 3-qt. baking dish. Stir in cream sauce. , Bake, uncovered, 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.