Eat and Freeze Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Tuesday, May 31, 2011 I consider myself an expert in this area.
I have a total weakness for macaroni and cheese. It started out as a kid with the "blue box" and progressed from there. When I began cooking for myself, I experimented with all kinds of recipes. Honestly, my high school cafeteria made excellent mac n cheese! It was so saucy and creamy. I wondered how in the world did they accomplish that? I tried my best for years to cheese-up a basic Bechamel sauce, but never got it quite right.
I've been through many versions with lots of grown up add-ins, but to tell you the truth... my standby favorite has always been Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese that you grab from the freezer and pop into the oven. It is pure heaven! The noodles are soft and plump. The sauce is cheddar cheese perfection, and there's a lot of it. Brown it on top, and you'll have a fight on your hands for who will get the browned bits. Comfort food at it's finest! But it can get a bit expensive if you've got a lot of "comforting" to do. Or you're an emotional, 9-month pregnant woman who really could use some good comfort food because everything else is most definitely UNcomfortable! Ok, so that's me.
I call my version "Eat and Freeze Macaroni and Cheese" because it makes a ton. Totally enough to enjoy some now and freeze half for later. Feel free to scale it down if you dare. I'm sure you won't after your first time. Most importantly, this version of Macaroni and Cheese is a dead ringer for the Stouffer's version. REALLY! Do a blind taste test, and you'll see. Here's what you need.
Eat and Freeze Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
4 cups 2% milk
7 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 pounds medium cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
16 oz. dry elbow macaroni noodles
The noodles: Bring a gallon of water to a vigorous boil. Add 2-3 tablespoons of salt. Stir in pasta and cook for 12 minutes. When done, partially drain noodles leaving 2-3 cups of cooking water in the pot with the noodles. Cover with a tight fitting lid and wait for sauce to finish. The extra water will be absorbed and give you those soft, plump noodles!
The Sauce: In a large, deep boiler with a heavy bottom, wisk flour into milk until smooth. Place over medium heat, and stir frequently until warm but not boiling. Shred cheese (I use my handy food processor for this) and add to hot milk. Add butter and salt. Stir with a whisk to prevent clumping until cheese in melted. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring frequently with a whisk to prevent scorching and lumps.
Combine sauce and noodles. Pour half into each of two greased large casserole dishes. Cover one with foil to freeze.
Bake fresh at 400 degrees F for 20 minutes.
Bake frozen dish at 375 degrees F for 60 minutes.
If you even consider making substitutions, please don't. I'm normally not so intolerant, but if you're looking to nail that Stouffer's taste just do it like it says above. Regular cheddar in too understated while sharp is over the top. Medium cheddar is where it's at. And please resist the urge to get a bag of pre-shredded cheese! They dust it with corn starch to prevent it from sticking together, and it will not melt smoothly and will over-thicken your sauce. Whole milk tends to separate when simmering and skim milk just cuts the creamy factor noticeably. Did I say I've made a few batches of Mac n Cheese in my day? :)
This post was inspired by the any-day-now arrival of my third little boy. I'm in that end stage of pregnancy where NOTHING is comfortable and I'm starting to feel a bit weary. I've been cooking for an army for a couple of weeks and freezing half so that we won't be eating fast food, frozen pizza, or an endless train of cold sandwiches after I get home from the hospital with our new baby. Not that those things aren't ok once in a while, but good nourishing homemade food is what this mom wants in those first days home. I'm looking forward to having my sweet husband pop that big tray of frozen macaroni and cheese into the oven after the baby gets here. My sweet family and good food! Life IS SO GOOD!
Keep lovin' and keep cookin'!
