Popularity Isn't Everything {Recipe: Baked Macaroni and Cheese}

Kraft boxed mac and cheese was all the rage when I was a kid, in fact I believe their ads claimed to be America's #1 packaged dinner, but my mother refused to buy it. I think I may have talked her into it once. She probably had a coupon. Mainly, if I had it at all,  it would be at a friends' houses. The only macaroni and cheese we ever had was made from scratch. While I liked the homemade macaroni and cheese, I thought the boxed stuff was way better. Of course my mom was right, the homemade was the better of the two and I will not touch the Kraft stuff now. 

The other thing my mother would never buy, which every other household seemed to have, is American cheese. That I could go along with. We only had Tillamook cheddar in our house (again, it's an Oregon thing). It about gagged me if I went to a friend's house and I was served American cheese. I still can remember struggling to swallow grilled cheese sandwiches made out of American cheese in an effort to be polite. 

Baked macaroni and cheese is one of the first dishes I learned to make on my own. I was around 10 years old when I learned to make it. The recipe I used came from my mother's old Better Homes and Garden Cook Book. I have no idea the edition, the cover wore off and the page with the copyright was missing before I ever used it. It was always held together with a large rubber band. I am not sure how much longer the cook book will survive, so I thought I better make another record of the recipe. It is not fancy like all of the mac and cheese recipes I see lately, but it is a good basic recipe. 

It wasn't until recently that I thought that my daughter should make this recipe. She is a little more experienced cook than I was at 10, so she had no problems making it. Although she did point out how vague the instructions are, so I will break it down a bit more. 

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Adapted from Better Hones & gardens Cook Book, edition unknown. 

1 8-ounce package macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
1-3 tablespoons flour, depending on how thick of white sauce you want
2 cups milk 
Salt and pepper, to taste (I use about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon fine ground pepper.)
1/2 pound grated cheddar cheese*
1 cup dry bread crumbs, optional (I have never used.)

1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8x8 baking dish.
2. Cook macaroni until al dente according to package directions; drain and rinse. Pour into the prepared baking dish; set aside. 
3. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Once the butter is melted, whisk in the flour. Cook for a minute or two, then whisk in the milk slowly to help prevent lumps, Continue to cook the white sauce until it starts to thicken, then add 2/3 of the cheese. Stir until all the cheese is melted. 
4. Pour the cheese sauce over the macaroni in the baking dish and give it a good stir. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese and crumbs, if using, over the top. 
5. Bake for 30 minutes, or until bubbly and starts to brown. 

*Original recipe calls for American cheese. 

Serves 6

Enjoy!