Elbow Pasta Mac And Cheese Recipes

SIMPLE MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes. Drain.
• Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; stir in flour, salt, and pepper until smooth, about 5 minutes. Slowly pour milk into butter-flour mixture while continuously stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbling, about 5 minutes. Add Cheddar cheese to milk mixture and stir until cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes.
• Fold macaroni into cheese sauce until coated.

OLD-FASHIONED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni in boiling water until almost tender; drain. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, melt butter. Stir in the flour, salt, mustard, pepper and pepper sauce until smooth. Cook for 1 minute or until bubbly. Stir in the macaroni, milk and 4 cups cheese. , Transfer to an ungreased 13x9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until bubbly. Uncover; sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

BAKED ELBOW MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 375°F.
• Cook macaroni as directed on package, omitting salt and reducing the cooking time by 2 min. Rinse macaroni under cold water; drain. Combine shredded cheeses; reserve 1/2 cup for topping.
• Melt 5 Tbsp. butter in Dutch oven on low heat. Add flour; mix well. Cook 2 min. or until hot and bubbly, stirring constantly. (Do not cook until browned.)
• Whisk milk gradually into butter mixture; cook on medium heat 5 min. or until sauce comes to boil and thickens, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.
• Add remaining shredded cheese mixture to the sauce along with the VELVEETA, blue cheese, mustard and 2 Tbsp. Parmesan; cook 3 to 5 min. or until VELVEETA is completely melted, stirring constantly. Add macaroni; mix well. Spoon into 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
• Melt remaining butter; mix with bread crumbs, reserved shredded cheese mixture and remaining Parmesan. Sprinkle over macaroni mixture.
• Bake 25 to 30 min. or until top is golden brown, and macaroni and cheese is hot and bubbly around edges.

BASIC ELBOW MACARONI

Steps:

• In a large kettle, bring water to a boil. Add macaroni; return to boil. Cook, uncovered, for 6-8 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Rinse and drain.

BECHAMEL MACARONI & CHEESE

Steps:

• For the béchamel: Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat until it just comes to a simmer, then turn off the heat and set aside. In a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk constantly until the mixture turns light brown in color, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. While whisking constantly, slowly add the hot milk to the flour mixture until evenly combined and smooth. (It will get very thick when you first add the milk, then thin out.) Return the saucepan to medium-high heat and while whisking constantly, cook until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon of the salt, taste, dry mustard, and add the remaining salt as desired. Remove from the heat and set aside. Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until it's almost al dente (just on the edge of being underdone), then drain and rinse with cold water; set aside. (If you plan to top the mac 'n' cheese with panko and bake it, heat the oven to 400°F and arrange a rack in the middle.) Place the reserved saucepan of béchamel over medium heat and stir in both cheeses just until melted and smooth. Add the pasta and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is heated through and steaming, about 2 to 4 minutes. Serve immediately or, if baking, transfer to a 5-quart baking dish, sprinkle with the panko, and bake until bubbling and brown on top, about 25 to 30 minutes.