Skillet Mac N Cheese Recipes

SKILLET BACON MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Make the bechamel sauce, recipe follows, in a large 12-inch oven-safe skillet.
• Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta until nearing al dente, but not fully cooked; drain. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Over low heat, stir the dry mustard and cayenne pepper into the bechamel sauce. Gradually add the Cheddar, Gruyere, and 1 cup Parmesan cheese, stirring constantly until all of the cheese has melted into the bechamel sauce. Add an additional cup of milk and cream. Taste and adjust the seasonings, if needed.
• In another large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy and golden brown. Remove the cooked bacon from the skillet, reserving 3 tablespoons rendered bacon fat.
• Add the cooked pasta to the bechamel and stir to coat evenly with the sauce. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, chopped parsley, and reserved bacon fat. Coat the bread crumbs and chopped parsley with bacon fat and sprinkle the mixture over the top of the macaroni. Sprinkle the top with 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese.
• Bake until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Top with crumbled cooked bacon. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.
• To make the Bechamel:
• Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or an oven-safe skillet.
• Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until the paste cooks and bubbles a bit, avoid browning, about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens. Bring the sauce to a boil. Add the nutmeg, salt, and pepper, to taste. Reduce the heat, and cook, stirring for 2 to 3 minutes more. Remove from the heat.

SKILLET MAC & CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain., Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron or other heavy skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth; gradually whisk in cream. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cook and stir until thickened, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted., Add macaroni; cook and stir until heated through. Top as desired.

ONE-SKILLET CHEESY BEEF AND MACARONI

Steps:

• Heat a very large skillet (for this full recipe, it should be a deep 12-inch pan) over medium high heat and brown the beef, stirring until no pink remains, about 5 minutes. Drain the beef and set aside.
• Wipe out the skillet, add the oil, and heat it over medium heat. Add the peppers, carrots, onion and garlic and sauté until almost tender, about 5 minutes.
• Add the ground beef back to the skillet, as well as the basil, oregano, tomatoes with their juice, water, Worcestershire sauce, and chili powder if using. Season with salt and pepper, turn the heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Add the pasta, stir and cover. Lower the heat to medium and simmer covered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is tender, and most of the liquid is absorbed, 8 to 10 minutes. Taste and season again if needed.
• Sprinkle the cheese over the casserole then cover for just 1 more minute until the cheese is melty, and serve. Serve this right out of the pan.

SKILLET MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat broiler. In a large straight-sided, oven-safe skillet, melt butter. Remove 1 tablespoon butter and combine with breadcrumbs and Parmesan.
• Add onion to skillet and cook until softened. Whisk in flour and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Very gradually whisk in milk and bring to a simmer. Add macaroni and cook, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pan, until tender, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in remaining cheese and the mustard, and season with salt and pepper. Top with breadcrumb mixture and broil until golden brown, 1 to 2 minutes.

CAST-IRON MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• 1. Preheat broiler. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil (covered to speed things up). Heat a large cast-iron skillet (8 to 10 inches across, and 2 inches or more deep) over low heat.
• 2. When the water boils, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Set a timer, since you'll be distracted by the next steps.
• Use a thick potholder with that skillet! Cast iron gets very, very hot. After burning my hand one too many times, I learned to pull a small dishtowel through the hole in the skillet's handle. It serves as a good visual reminder-just be sure it's kept well away from the flame. One of my mom-testers offered another bit of advice: Always use two (potholdered) hands when picking up a cast-iron pan. Otherwise, you might casually try to grab it with your free, bare, hand. Ow.
• 3. While the pasta cooks, make the cheese sauce: Put the butter into the now very-hot skillet. It should melt, foam, and begin to brown almost immediately. Pour in the milk, then add the mustard, paprika, and salt, and whisk together.
• 4. Set aside 1/2 cup of the grated cheese for topping the final dish. Begin to add the rest of the cheese to the skillet, one handful at a time, whisking between each addition. When it has all melted, sift the flour over the skillet, one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each spoonful. Stop adding the flour when the sauce is almost as thick as housepaint.
• Easiest way to sift small amounts of flour: Use a regular old strainer.
• 5. Continue to cook the sauce, whisking constantly, until pasta is cooked. Drain the pasta well and add to the skillet, then remove from the heat.
• 6. Stir pasta and cheese sauce together until fully combined, then sprinkle the top with the reserved grated cheese. Broil until top is browned and bubbly, 4 to 6 minutes. Cool for a few minutes before serving.
• VARIATIONS
• • Go southwestern by adding a strained 10-ounce can of diced tomatoes and green chiles (such as Ro-Tel) or a generous cup of your favorite salsa, drained. Use Cheddar and Jack cheeses in the sauce. • Smoke it up by frying 2 diced strips of bacon in the skillet before adding the milk. Skip the butter completely. • Add 8 ounces frozen vegetables (your choice) to the pasta pot about 5 minutes before pasta is done. Since the water will take a little time to come back up to a boil, increase the cooking time by a minute or two. • Don't laugh, but a couple of diced hot dogs, cooked in the butter then removed until you stir it back in with the cooked pasta, makes for a surprisingly delicious twist. Use organic, kosher, or even tofu pups. • Make it secretly healthy by stirring a 10-ounce package of frozen butternut squash puree, defrosted, into the cheese sauce just before adding the pasta.

CHEESY MACARONI-BEEF SKILLET

Steps:

• Brown meat in large skillet; drain.
• Stir in tomatoes and water; cover. Bring to boil. Stir in Macaroni and the Cheese Sauce Mix; simmer, covered, on medium-low heat 10 min. Stir.
• Top with shredded cheese. Remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 min. or until cheese is melted.

SKILLET MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add bread crumbs, 1/4 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper and cook, stirring frequently, until deep golden brown, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to bowl and wipe out skillet.
• Bring water, 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk, and 1/2 t salt to simmer in skillet over medium-high heat.
• Add macaroni and cook, stirring often, until macaroni is al dente, 8-10 minutes.
• Whisk remaining evaporated milk, cornstarch, and hot sauce in small bowl, then stir into skillet.
• Simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
• Off heat, stir in cheeses, one handful at a time, adding water as needed to adjust consistency.
• Sprinkle with toasted bread crumbs.
• Serve.

SKILLET MAC AND CHEESE RECIPE

Steps:

• Melt 4 tablespoons butter in skillet set over medium heat. Sprinkle the flour and Stone House Seasoning into the butter and whisk until the flour has been incorporated into the butter. Continue to cook until the flour has lightly browned, about 1 minute.
• Whisk constantly as you slowly pour the warmed milk into the flour mixture making sure that the mixture remains smooth and without lumps.
• Allow the mixture to come to a low bubble and cook until the sauce has thickened. Turn the heat off to the skillet and add the cheeses, and hot sauce if using. Stir until the cheeses have melted.
• Add the cooked elbow pasta (macaroni) to the skillet and stir into the sauce.
• Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and mix with the panko. Spread the panko on top of the mac and cheese and place under a broiler until just crispy, about 1 to 2 minutes.
• Remove from heat and serve immediately.

SKILLET TACO MAC N CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat water for macaroni.
• While water heats, dice onion and celery.
• In large skillet, cook ground beef, onion and celery until meat is no longer pink.
• Add tomatoes (with liquid), corn, and taco seasoning to meat mixture and let simmer.
• While meat simmers, prepare mac and cheese as directed.
• Combine meat mixture with mac and cheese, mixing well.
• Serve with sour cream.