I was inspired this past week to make this Mac-n-Cheese Please recipe while talking to my girlfriend, a fellow WMR, who was telling me how she had just made macaroni and cheese for her son’s birthday party. It got me to thinking, when was the last time I made a really good mac-n-cheese AND how can I lighten that recipe up? Well, in true confession style, I did lighten the recipe up by using one less cup of the bechamel cheese sauce and it was good but not great and I do not blog any recipe that in my humble opinion is not great. So the next day I made another cup of the bechamel cheese sauce added it in, reworked the recipe from a certain step and voilà much to my delight and hopefully yours this recipe became great again! Another true confession and in keeping with WMR-Take One I now had to diligently practice portion control but hey a mouthful or two of something ultimately decadent and delicious compared to a plateful of good is a Win-Win trade off to me! 🙂
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta of your choice according to package directions. I always add a palm full of kosher salt to the boiling water I do believe it adds taste and if I need the pasta water to loosen up the sauce at times it is already pre-seasoned.
I am so Boiling! - Chop up your onions and shred your cheese.
Let’s get ready! - Now we can get this party started! In a nice big cast iron pot or whatever oven safe pot you got, melt 4 tablespoons of the whipped butter on medium heat. Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, whisking with each addition to combine the flour and butter to make a roux (sauce thickener). Now add the milk one cup at a time as well, whisking again with each addition. Now the arm workout comes in. We want a smooth sauce so keep on whisking until you achieve a no lump sauce. When you are lump free, add the mustard powder, cinnamon, bay leaf and onion. Stir those ingredients together, turn the heat up a smidge and boil for about 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. After you have boiled the sauce to thicken it, lower the heat to medium-low and add that glorious cheese, stir to melt and simmer for about 5 more minutes.
I am going to make cheese sauce someday! 
I am Simmering! I love when cheese joins the party! - In the meantime, melt the remaining whipped butter in a pan and add the breadcrumbs. Coat all of the breadcrumbs.
- Remove the bay leaf from your sauce. Take your drained macaroni and add it to the beautiful bechamel cheese sauce and combine them together coating all of your macaroni. Sprinkle the breadcrumb and whipped butter mixture evenly over your macaroni and sauce and do the same with the parmesan cheese. Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Turn the oven off and set your broiler to high, broil the topping for about 2-3 minutes until it is nice and golden brown.
And two become one. 
I am the Top! 
Everything is better with Parmesan! - Remove from the oven and let your bubbly, delish goodness rest for about 5 minutes (if you can restrain yourself 😉 ) Plate and Enjoy!! 😀
Mac-n-Cheese Please!
I encourage you to leave a comment or a success experience you have had!! The Leave a Reply fields are optional, if you want to remain anonymous just fill in the comment section and hit post! Thank you for sharing your experiences and remember “no [wo]man is an island.”
Ingredients
- 1 lb box Pasta Shell Macaroni -Or any type of pasta shape you prefer, Penne works good too.
- 7 tbsp Whipped Butter
- 4 tbsp All Purpose Flour
- 4 cups Milk -I use 1-2% milk and it does not effect flavor at all.
- 1 cup Chopped White Onion
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon -My secret ingredient, not so secret anymore.
- 1 Bay Leaf -Optional, offsets the sweetness of the cinnamon.
- 1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 cup Shredded Gruyere Cheese
- 1 tbsp Mustard Powder
- Kosher Salt -To taste
- Black Pepper -To taste
- 1 cup Bread Crumbs -Plain or Italian style, totally up to your tastes.
- 1/4-1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Servings:
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta of your choice according to package directions. I always add a palm full of kosher salt to the boiling water I do believe it adds taste and if I need the pasta water to loosen up the sauce at times it is already pre-seasoned.
- Chop up your onions and shred your cheese.
- Now we can get this party started! In a nice big cast iron pot or whatever oven safe pot you got, melt 4 tablespoons of the whipped butter on medium heat. Add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, whisking with each addition to combine the flour and butter to make a roux (sauce thickener). Now add the milk one cup at a time as well, whisking again with each addition. Now the arm workout comes in. We want a smooth sauce so keep on whisking until you achieve a no lump sauce. When you are lump free, add the mustard powder, cinnamon, bay leaf and onion. Stir those ingredients together, turn the heat up a smidge and boil for about 2-3 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. After you have boiled the sauce to thicken it, lower the heat to medium-low and add that glorious cheese, stir to melt and simmer for about 5 more minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the remaining whipped butter in a pan and add the breadcrumbs. Coat all of the breadcrumbs.
- Remove the bay leaf from your sauce. Take your drained macaroni and add it to the beautiful bechamel cheese sauce and combine them together coating all of your macaroni. Sprinkle the breadcrumb and whipped butter mixture evenly over your macaroni and sauce and do the same with the parmesan cheese. Bake in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes. Turn the oven off and set your broiler to high, broil the topping for about 2-3 minutes until it is nice and golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and let your bubbly, delish goodness rest for about 5 minutes (if you can restrain yourself 😉 ) Plate and Enjoy!!
Recipe Notes
- I like to add onion to this recipe because it adds a little sweetness without being overpowering. Feel free to add any vegetables to this recipe as well as it is so versatile. And at WMR you know we love to add vegetables to every recipe we can.
- Experiment with your cheeses. I happen to love cheddar and gruyere, they just play so nicely together without upstaging one another. I am sure your palates can come up with some other winning combinations.
- I encourage you to try this recipe with the cinnamon. If you don't like cinnamon, nutmeg will do but it truly is that one ingredient that makes you go hmmmmm.
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Kimberly
Author; Blogger; Self-Proclaimed “Woman” of all trades and Self-Proclaimed “Master” of some! AFAA Certified Group Aerobics Instructor since 1998; MA Licensed Real Estate Agent since 1995; former Certified Financial Counselor and Passionate Advocator of Financial Education for Women. Tech Geek; Home Cook & Most Importantly, Mother of 3, my #1 Reason for Living!!!
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