(no subject)

[axelrod]

I am looking for an easy, made-from-scratch mac&cheese recipe.

I'm also open to more complicated recipes with more than the bare minimum of ingredients, but the priority is something that is dead easy, for those times when everything seems overwhelming and just too complicated - not that physical tiredness isn't a problem for me sometimes, but it's the mental-level stuff that really becomes the obstacle, you know?

I strongly prefer something made from scratch, because that works out to be cheaper and I want to make mac&cheese one of my staples, but if there's a mix that you adore feel free to toss that out (I like Annie's, myself) since sometimes it is a choice between something premade and just not eating an actual meal.

I do not like cheddar cheese-based mac&cheese. Monterey jack cheese is already one of my staples but I am all about the dairy products and am not opposed to regularly buying another kind of cheese as well.

Ways of adding animal protein which don't make the recipe much more complicated would be awesome too. I don't think of mac&cheese as something you put meat in, but I'm willing to experiment.

I'm also interested in different ways of seasoning mac&cheese - I've used nutmeg and paprika in the past.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

ETA: I, personally, do not eat pork, though including recipes and variations which do for the sake of other members of the comm is fine with me. 

Comments

[katarik]

The macaroni-and-cheese I was raised on appears to be like nobody else's on *the entire internet*, but it literally could not be easier as long as you have access to pre-grated cheese and can handle lifting a pasta pot and mixing cheese + pasta:

Boil pasta, as much as you think you want. Add garlic to the water! It is tasty. Take cheese (my preferred mix is cheddar, romano, mozzarella, and a dash of parmesan) and *as soon as* the pasta has been drained, pour in cheese. Stir the hell out of it.

If two cups pasta, go for one cup total cheese -- 1/4 c mozz, 1/8 c romano, 1/8 c parm, 1/2 c cheddar is my usual ratio, but if you don't like cheddar obviously feel free to mess around with that. If one cup pasta, 1/2 c cheese, so on and so forth.

The heat of the pasta will melt the cheese pretty fast as long as it's grated fine enough, and then it is delicious and hot and cheesy and easy as hell. Eat!

[automaticdoor]

That sounds AMAZING.

[katarik]

It is SO GOOD OMG.

[axelrod]

Oh, cool, that is really easy! Not the same texture as more conventional mac&cheese but the idea here is to make sure I actually put some macronutrients in my face. I think I'll get some pre-grated parm and romano ...

Garlic in the order is nifty, never heard of that before - and fuck knows I love garlic : )

[rydra_wong]

Thinking out loud: if you had the spoons, you could try adding a dollop of pesto and some pine nuts with the cheese? Bonus protein from the nuts.

[axelrod]

Hmm, worth considering. Those aren't staples currently, but maybe pine nuts should be.

[katarik]

... I am totally stealing this tip jsyk.

[katarik]

It would, I think, also work well with some pre-cooked chicken! Just stir in your protein alongside the cheese, if the chicken is also hot.

I find the garlic adds a little more complexity, and also basically om nom nom garlic.

[mdlbear]

Yup. I usually add butter (before the cheese) and cream or milk (after), but it depends on how much butterfat one is willing to tolerate. The butter-and-cream version gives you the classic fettuccini Alfredo if you use Parmesan cheese; it would work with any dry, hard cheese.

[azurelunatic]

I tend to do this with rice. Grated cheese over rice, since I have a rice cooker and it is one of the simplest hot starches for me to make. And rice is one of the things that I have successfully cooked with, say, chicken broth, instead of water, for the bit of extra protein.

[katarik]

Oooh, I like cheesy rice, so that would probably be tasty! And easy to add protein to, as well -- can of cooked chicken dumped in would be solid.

[jesse_the_k]

Somebody else makes "Mom's Style" mac'n'cheese! Those cheese mixes sound great (or grate moan). One could up the protein some more with cottage cheese.