Macaroni Cheese To Die For Food

VELVEETA® DOWN-HOME MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Melt 3 Tbsp. butter in medium saucepan on medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook 2 min., stirring constantly. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to boil; cook and stir 3 to 5 min. or until thickened. Add VELVEETA; cook 3 min. or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in macaroni.
• Spoon into 2-qt. casserole sprayed with cooking spray; sprinkle with Cheddar. Melt remaining butter; toss with cracker crumbs. Sprinkle over casserole.
• Bake 20 min. or until heated through.

"TO DIE FOR" BAKED MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Start by cooking 1 pound of elbow macaroni until "el dente", drain & set aside.
• Cut the crust off of white bread (set crusts aside for later) and line a very large baking dish with them. (I ended up needing one large 9x13 pan and another 8x8 pan to fit it all).
• Melt 8 Tablespoons of butter in Microwave then brush all over the bread. (YES this is one entire cube of butter.).
• Take the crusts & spread on a cookie sheet & put into a 200 degree oven until nice & dry. I deviated from JoAnne's recipe here and sprinked the crusts with a bit of Garlic Powder.
• Put 5 1/2 cups of WHOLE milk into your pot and don't try to make it with skim milk. You just got done brushing all the bread with one cube of butter. Don't you think skim milk is pointless by now? (Also, make the pot a large one).
• On a lower heat setting warm the milk a bit then slowly add 1/2 cup flour as you whisk to prevent lumping (you can also use another thickening agent like corn starch etc).
• Add 1/4 tsp White Pepper (you can use regular black pepper if you don't have white), 1/4 tsp Cayanne Pepper & 1/4 tsp Nutmeg.
• To the milk, flour, spice mixture you add 4 1/2 cups of White Cheddar (I used Tilamook Vintage White). Now I didn't want to shred it all so here was my conversion -- 8 oz to a cup -- so basically I just cubed up an entire two pound block of it and put it into the pot. I could be totally off but it turned out great anyway.
• Add 1 cup Swiss & 1 Cup Romano.
• Keep stirring over low to medium heat until the cheese is melted & everything is mixed creamy together.
• When it's all mixed and creamy mix in your elbow macaroni.
• Pour the mixture into the white bread lined baking dish (or dishes).
• Crumble up your dried out bread crusts to make coarse bread crumbs.
• Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the macaroni mixture.
• Put pans into a 350 degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes until bubbly & browned on top.

STAR JONE'S FAMOUS TO DIE FOR MAC AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Directions:.
• Pre-heat oven to 350°.
• Pour milk and butter into a medium sauce pan and heat over a low flame. Slowly add each kind of cheese (except 1 oz of Sharp Cheddar and a ½ oz of Blue Cheese) and allow it to melt. Be sure to cook over a low flame and stir constantly to prevent clumping and sticking.
• While the cheese is melting, in a separate pot, cook the macaroni according to the directions (do not overcook) with a dash of salt and 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
• Drain macaroni and pour ½ into a large baking or casserole dish. Add salt and pepper to taste then slowly add half of the cheese/milk mixture and stir together thoroughly. Pour remaining macaroni and cheese/milk mixture into the a 2 quart baking dish and stir well.
• Sprinkle remaining Sharp Cheddar and Blue Cheese on top of the macaroni and place in the oven. Bake until a light golden brown (approximately 20 - 30 minutes). Let stand a half hour and serve.
• You have just died and gone to heaven!

MACARONI & CHEESE TO DIE FOR

Steps:

• Lightly butter a 9x11 inch oven proof baking dish at least 2" deep. Shred cheeses and set aside. Cook the macaroni in ample salted water until al dente. Drain and toss into a large mixing bowl, stirring in 1-tablespoon butter to prevent macaroni from sticking together. In a 3-quart saucepan melt the remaining butter, slowly whisking in flour until a smooth paste is formed. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until golden but not brown - approximately 3 minutes. Remove from heat and gradually whisk in milk, being careful to whisk away lumps. Return to medium high heat and cook, stirring constantly until sauce thickens - about 5 minutes. Fold in the Peccorino, Tabasco, salt and pepper and pour over cooked macaroni. Set aside 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and stir in the remaining cheeses into the pasta and sauce. Pour into prepared pan and top with reserved cheddar cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour until bubbling. Remove foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until browned. Note: Mac & Cheese can be made in advance and refrigerated up to 24 hours. Allow to cool completely before covering and refrigerating. Allow an additional 20 minutes of baking time for the chilled dish.

BACKWOODS HOME BAKED MACARONI & CHEESE TO KILL FOR

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350º.
• Cook macaroni in salted boiling water according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pour into a 2-quart baking dish.
• In a saucepan, melt butter and stir in flour. Cook and stir for one minute. Gradually stir in milk. Add sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and mustard. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce bubbles and thickens. Stir in half of the Cheddar cheese until melted.
• Toss macaroni with remaining Cheddar cheese, the mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, tomatoes, and ham. Pour sauce over this macaroni mixture and mix thoroughly.
• Bake, uncovered, for about 1 hour, or until bubbly and brown.

TO DIE FOR MARINATED CHEESE APPETIZER

Steps:

• Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, and lime juice until blended.
• Stir in red peppers, green onions, parsley, cilantro, sugar, salt and pepper.
• Set marinade aside.
• Cut blocks of cheese in half lengthwise.
• Cut into thin rectangular slices.
• Arrange cheese slices alternately into a pie dish or other shallow dish, standing slices on end.
• Pour marinade over slices and spread gently with fork until cheese is pretty much covered.
• Cover and chill for 8 hours or overnight.
• Peel back cellophane slightly and pour most of marinade out into sink.
• Serve with crackers.

HEALTHIER MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook elbow macaroni in the boiling water, stirring occasionally, until cooked through but firm to the bite, 8 minutes; drain.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Melt margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook and stir onion and garlic in hot margarine until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir flour, mustard, and pepper into onions and cook for 30 seconds. Gradually pour in milk, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir grated Cheddar cheese into the sauce until cheese is completely melted.
• Mix macaroni, cottage cheese, and Cheddar cheese sauce together in a bowl; pour into prepared casserole dish and top with bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, 20 minutes.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

Steps:

• Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F.
• Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a medium bowl.
• In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 Tbsp butter.
• Pour butter into bowl with bread, and toss; set the bread crumbs aside.
• In a medium saucepan set over medium heat, heat the milk.
• Melt remaining 6 Tbsp. butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When butter bubbles, add flour.
• Cook, stirring, 1 minute. While whisking, slowly our in hot milk.
• Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick.
• Remove pan from heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cup cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1 cup Pecorino Romano; set cheese sauce aside. Fill a large saucepan with water; bring to a boil.
• Add macaroni; cook 2 to 3 min. less than manufacturer's directions, until the outside of the pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone. (Different brands of macaroni cook at different rates; be sure to read the instructions.) Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well.
• Stir macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce. Pour mixture into prepared dish.
• Sprinkle remaining 1 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyere or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano, and bread crumbs over top.Bake until browned on top, 30-60 minutes.
• Transfer dish to a wire rack to cool 5 min.; serve.