omigosh: Homemade Mac and Cheese!

Lordy! Look what we got here... A bit of stick-ta-yer-ribs comfort food for the cold, to keep you NaNos going! Thanks to Rob for one of my favourites dishes!

There are somethings I will never tire of. Homemade macaroni & cheese is one of them. Creamy and cheesy, baked with a buttery bread crumb topping, what could be better?

This recipe serves 4 in theory, but Tom & I could eat all of it ourselves. Not that we would or anything....

Ingredients:

• 7 ounce package elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 cup milk
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Optional Topping:

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray baking dish with PAM. (only heat oven & prepare pan if you are adding the bread crumb topping)
• Cook the macaroni according to package directions.
• Meanwhile, in a medium size saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat.
• Add the flour, salt and pepper; stir until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in cheese until melted.
• Drain pasta.
• Add to the cheese mixture; toss to coat. You can serve it this way or you can transfer the cheesy goodness to a prepared baking dish.
• In a medium size skillet, melt butter--when smooth, add crumbs and stir over medium heat until lightly toasted, about 3 minutes.
• Top macaroni & cheese with crumb mixture.
• Bake for 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.

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Man, that looks good! For more cooking tips and recipes, please see Rob's awesome blog, What's Cooking?