Over the past week I have been cleaning out my pantry trying to cook everything that I could without going to the grocery store. Needless to say, I was running low on everything. Then I noticed that I had a bag of mozzarella cheese in the fridge and about a 1/2 cup of milk. Sounds like Macaroni and Cheese to me.
This recipe is quick and easy. Only took about 10 minutes to make, not counting the 5 minutes to heat up the water. Heating up water isn’t really cooking and thus does not count towards cooking time.
One Pan Macaroni and Cheese
- 2 cups pasta – preferably macaroni, rotini, farfalle or fusilli
- 1 cup shredded cheese – preferably low moisture cheese (cheddar or even mozzarella)
- 2 tbs butter
- 2 tbs flour
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 tbs hot sauce
- Salt and Pepper
The first step is to boil the pasta. Make sure to cook it so that it is al dente otherwise known as a bit chewy. The noodles will finish cooking in the cheese sauce. Plus, if you over cook the noodles the pasta will fall apart when you mix it.
After you drain the pasta into a strainer, place the pot back on the stove over medium heat. Add the butter and let it melt.
Once the butter is almost all melted, add the flour. Make sure to stir the mixture constantly. You want the butter and flour to start to brown to make a light roux.
After about two minutes the butter and flour should have turned a light golden brown color. At this point it is time to add the hot sauce. This step is optional if you do not like spicy stuff. However, at my house it is necessary.
Then add the milk, salt and pepper. Make sure to keep on stirring. Once the mixture starts to boil, it will start to thicken up. At this point it is time to remove it from the stovetop.
Remove the sauce from the heat and add the noodles to the pan. Gently fold the noodles into the sauce.
Now add the cheese to the pot. Gently stir the mixture until all of the cheese has melted and is covering the noodles. If you like cheese, you can add more than the cup that is necessary. Actually you can add up to 2 full cups of cheese. Some would call it excessive, I would call it Wednesday.
Now it is done. 10 minutes that is it. Only about a minute longer than making the box stuff. Look at how awesome this macaroni and cheese looks.
Look at how creamy and cheesy this is.
This is probably my favorite meal that I make. Usually, because I usually only make at 2am after the bar. But, it is also because it is comforting and extremely tasty.
Tips – If you like your Mac and Cheese to be a little thinner. Add a 1/4 cup more milk. If you like it a bit thicker add another 2tsp of butter and flour at the beginning. It will thicken up nicely.
I hope you guys enjoy.