Lisas Macaroni And Cheese Food

LISA'S MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
• In a large bowl, combine macaroni, Swiss, mozzarella and Cheddar and stir until cheeses melt. Stir in milk. Season to taste with salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and parsley. Spoon into prepared dish, and dot with margarine.
• Bake in preheated oven 50 to 60 minutes, or until top is crunchy.

MARK'S MOM'S MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and then stir in flour; cook for 1 minute or until lightly golden. Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture, stirring until thickened, and then stir in the 3 cheeses until fully melted. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Add cooked macaroni and stir to coat evenly. Transfer to a shallow baking dish. Bake for about 45 minutes, until brown and crisp on top.
• Remove from oven and preheat the broiler. Sprinkle Parmesan and bread crumbs over top. Return to the oven and broil until cheese is bubbly.

LYSSIE'S BEST MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Cook elbow macaroni as directed, in fairly salty water.
• Melt butter in frying pan over medium heat. Stir in salt and pepper. Add flour, and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth (about a minute or two.you really want to cook the flour, without making it brown).
• Remove the frying pan from the stove and add milk.
• Return the frying pan to the burner and gradually increase heat as you stir constantly. When mixture boils, continue to stir for one minute, then remove from heat. Stir in shredded cheddar cheese.
• Add cheese sauce to the macaroni and stir thoroughly.
• Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, sprinkle top with paprika, then bake for another five minutes.

ORIGINAL MACARONI AND CHEESE - (WITH VARIATIONS)

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350. Coat the bottom of a 7x11-inch or 9-inch square baking dish with cooking spray.
• In a food processor, combine the breadcrumbs, butter and parmesan. Pulse on and off until the butter is completely and evenly blended into the crumbs.
• In medium saucepan, bring the broth and nutmeg to a boil over high heat. Stir in the macaroni, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 8-10 minutes.
• In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolk.
• Reserving the cooking broth, drain the pasta. One tablespoon at a time, beat 1/4 cup of the reserved broth into the egg yolk. Add the pasta and toss to coat well.
• Layer the macaroni into the baking dish in three layers, sprinkling with cheddar between each. End with a layer of cheddar, then top with the bread crumb mixture.
• Bake for 16-18 minutes, until the crumb topping is nicely browned.
• Italian-Ish Macaroni Gratin: Add 1/2 teaspoon dried basil and 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano to the breadcrumb. Increase the broth to 4 1/2 cups. Omit the nutmeg. Add 1/3 cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes when you cook the pasta. Add 1/2 cup minced fresh basil when you toss the pasta with the egg yolk. Use 1 cup cheddar and add 3/4 cup provolone.
• Healthier Macaroni Gratin: Reduce the breadcrumbs to 1 cup. Use 4 teaspoons olive oil instead of butter. Use reduced-sodium broth. Use 1 1/2 cups whole wheat macaroni . Add 1 cup cut green beans to the pasta for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Use reduced-fat cheddar.
• Turkey & Mac 'N' Cheese Casserole: Reduce the broth to 2 cups and the macaroni to 1 cup. Use a whole egg instead of an egg yolk. Beat 3/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt into the egg along with the 1/4 cup broth. Toss the macaroni with the yogurt mixture and 1 cup diced roast turkey, 1 cup peas and 1/4 cup minced chives or scallion greens. Layer with cheese and top with breadcrumbs as in the original recipe.
• Mexi-Mac: Add 1/2 teaspoon cumin to the breadcrumb mixture. Omit the nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup minced Cilantro when you toss the drained pasta with the egg yolk. Use pepper jack instead of cheddar.