Mac & Cheese

My love of mac and cheese is deep. For as long as I can remember eating, it's been my favorite food. I even think I can still accurately claim it as such, even at the age of 26. When my sis and I were little, and our parents were going out to dinner, they would always leave a box of Kraft for our babysitter to make for us -- never plain, always with one protein and one vegetable. Usually it was canned tuna with corn or peas.

Drool!

And yes, it's completely acceptable for mac and cheese to be the delicious vehicle for vital nutrients.

MAC & CHEESE PORN.

When I was little my mac of choice was Kraft (it's the cheesiest!), but now that I'm grown, I like to make it from scratch. Don't get me wrong, I still love the boxed version, but with a homemade mac recipe this easy, you'll have no excuse not to try it. My sis passed this recipe on to me from an old issue of Cooking Light, and it's a recipe I default to often. It's easy, cheesy, and fun.

Cheesy, cheesy goodness.

Macaroni and Cheese
via Cooking Light Magazine, adapted slightly

2 cups uncooked pasta (wheat pasta is perfect; you can't even tell)
1 cup lowfat milk
2 tablespoons flour
8 ounce block cheddar, or approx. 2 cups pre-shredded (I like extra sharp)
½ teaspoon salt
ground black pepper to taste

Step 1: Cook pasta according to package directions in a medium-large saucepan; drain. If using a block of cheese, shred the entire 8 ounces.

Step 2: While pasta is cooking, combine milk and flour in the pasta saucepan over medium heat. Start stirring immediately with a whisk; cook 2 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Add cheese, salt, and pepper, stirring until smooth.

Step 3: Toss drained pasta in with the cheese sauce, and stir until the pasta is completely coated. Add fixings and let stand 4 minutes. Attempt to keep friends from stealing bites.

Serving suggestions: For an easy weeknight dinner, I like extra sharp cheddar with green onions and frozen peas. For something a touch more exotic, I like white cheddar with chopped bacon (not baco-bits, but actual bacon) and diced fuji apples.

Makes excellent leftovers, if you can restrain yourself from gobbling the whole thing up!