Is there anyone out there that doesn’t like Macaroni and Cheese? Anyone? Bueller? I didn’t think so. It’s right up there at the top of my list of good old comfort food.
I use a tried and true recipe, given to me by one of my best friends, Jen. It makes a cheesy, totally creamy mac and cheese. You know how some homemade ones can be grainy and well, kind of curdled and dry? This one is nothing but creamy. The secret? Food snobs, you may want to avert your eyes now…
Velveeta. Yes. I’m serious. I tried a few other recipes for mac and cheese. They tasted fine, but were dry, and I just couldn’t get the famous “creamy” type that I was looking for. But with Jen’s recipe, it’s super creamy and just so damn good.
I made some changes this time around. Yesterday, we packed the kids up in the truck, and headed to Vermont. We went to the Vermont Country Store. We love going there–they have so much in the store–cool retro stuff, great foods, and amazing Vermont Cheddar. LOVE their cheddar. It’s creamy and melts in your mouth. So we grabbed a big old hunk of that, along with a bunch of other things, went out to dinner, and called it a day.
You should have a look around their site–I guarantee you’ll see stuff you haven’t seen since you were a kid, or stuff you remember your parents and grandparents using. We make a trip up there at least three times a year and come home with bags of stuff.
So anyway, I used half Vermont Cheddar and yes, half Velveeta. I can’t get away from it’s creamy goodness in this dish. The result? The Velveeta gave it the ultimate creaminess, and the cheddar gave it that extra kick of flavor. It’s delicious! And a nice sprinkling of panko bread crumbs over the top give it some nice crusty crunchy goodness.
Vermont Mac and Cheese
- 16 ounces elbow macaroni (cooked)
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 cup flour
- 3 1/4 cups milk
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1/2 lb cheese, Velveeta cut into cubes
- 1/2 lb Vermont Cheddar
- panko breadcrumbs
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a pan, melt the butter along with the salt, pepper and flour and stir until smooth.
- Remove from heat add milk and wine, then return to heat and bring to a boil.
- Boil 1 minute while whisking.
- Remove from the heat and add both cheeses, and stir until melted.
- Pour over elbows, mix well, and pour into very lightly greased baking dish.
- Sprinkle with panko and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.
So…maybe it’s not gourmet with the Velveeta and all, but it’s good. Really good. And in the big picture, isn’t that what counts? And I could have added a bunch of additional things, but then my kids may not have eaten it. And my husband and I don’t really need to eat a whole pan of this by ourselves, hehe.
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What do you think?