(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!

[colorwheel]

oh, wow. i don't have any answers but i am going to glomph all over what people tell you. i need animal protein too.

[lilacsigil]

I also have problems getting enough animal protein (and I just don't eat enough of other kinds of protein to make up for it) so I find having some sausages in the freezer to be good. If I'm planning on cooking, say, pasta in the next few days, I can cook the sausages, leave them in the fridge for up to a week, then chop them up and throw them in. Lamb sausages are very popular where I live, but beef, beef/kangaroo mix and chicken are available too.

[highlyeccentric]

You could try acquiring pre-diced chicken pieces, the sort that sandwitch bars put in sandwitches? Alternatively, slice your own chicken fillets, grill or fry them all in one batch, freeze them. Then defrost and chuck them in cheesy pasta as needed! (Only thing is you can't freeze them more than once after the first cooking, or badness happens.)

[melannen]

Regarding animal protein: I make my mac'n'cheese out of a box (store brand, dirt-cheap six-packs, probably unhealthy as all hell) but I have been known to stir in a can of tuna (and, if I'm feeling really ambitious, some microve-steamed frozen broccoli or peas) and call it Tuna Surprise.

It comes out more-or-less like a moister version of the classic American Tuna Surprise/Tuna Casserole, so if you had bad experiences with that as a child, you probably won't much like it, but it works for me.

[fred_mouse]

A friend used to put cubes of polony or other processed meat in his macaroni cheese, because it didn't require cooking, so didn't require a second pot. Pretty sure he used to boil the pasta til nearly done, drain, put the pasta back in the pot, add milk to nearly cover it, add the meat, and leave it to heat. When it looked like the milk was hot, he would mix cornflour (two tbsp, I think - I watched him make it a lot, but it was a long time ago) and cold milk or water, and then pour it in - it needed to be stirred pretty thoroughly, as it would thicken really fast. Then he would turn off the heat and mix in the cheese that he had grated while waiting for the pasta to boil.

[kate]

Our mac and cheese is fairly easy, but heavy on the cheddar; I'm thinking it could be just as easily switched out for monterey jack, though.

Pretty much we cook pasta (I like the curlique ones, gf likes elbows) while we make a cheese sauce starting with a roux (3 tbs flour and 3 tbs butter), add a cup of milk, and then as much grated cheese as you want. (I grate the cheese and usually end up doing heaps and heaps.) The nice thing is you don't really make more sauce if you put more cheese in, you just make it cheesier.

Dump it over the cooked pasta, spoon it into bowls, and you are done! We usually top with panko bread crumbs and throw it into the toaster over to brown them up a bit, but that's not necessary if you don't like that sort of thing.

We've used bacon to great effect, but since you don't do eat bacon, I'm betting chicken breat pieces would be tasty, or maybe canned tuna if you like it (the gf doesn't so it's right out for us). It's thicker than the box sauces, though, so maybe not tuna. :|

[shimmoril]

Not the healthiest or fanciest of options, but it's one pot and quick, and could definately be adapted to some of the suggestions above.

Put water and hotdogs (2-4 depending on size) into a pot. Boil water, add macaroni. Boil/simmer until pasta is soft, drain water. Remove hot dogs (or not, if you don't mind them uncut). Cut up hotdogs and dump them back into the pasta. Add milk/butter and package of 'cheese' powder. Stir. Add random grated cheese that you have on hand. Eat out of pot with cooking spoon for minimal dish washing.

I've kept this in the fridge for almost a week, with no yuckiness. I also really like eating it cold, so clearly I'm a weirdo.

Here's my recipe...

[alumiere]

http://alumiere.livejournal.com/352511.html

382 cals/serving, 21.9g fat, 9.4g "unprotected" carbs, 21g protein

3 eggs
8 oz light cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
8 oz 2% milk
3 c kraft 2% 4 cheese mexican
2 c part skim mozzerella
2 oz grated romano cheese
1 box Dreamfields brand low carb elbow macaroni

pre-cook pasta for 10 minutes following directions on box (this will leave the pasta firm; it will cook more during the baking)

while pasta cooks thoroughly blend butter, milk, cream cheese, eggs and romano cheese (in blender or food processor)

drain pasta, return to pot, mix in blended ingredients above, then stir in 2c each mexican and mozzerella cheeses and mix to distribute cheese

in non-stick baking pan (10x12 or 11x14) pour the pasta and cheese mixture, cover with foil

bake at 325* for ~25 mins (until cheeses all start to melt together); remove foil, top with remaining cup of mexican cheese, return to oven for ~10 minutes until cheese on top is melted and golden brown around the edges

cut into 12 equal pieces and serve

* to increase protein, try mixing in 1-2 lbs pre-cooked chicken or turkey breast cut into bite size chunks (you'll probably need to add another cup of milk if you do this, and you'll want to use the 11x14 pan or it won't all fit)

* to cut the fat and calories further, replace butter with the margarine etc of your choice

* i serve this as a main course, with or without the added protein, usually with a salad or simple steamed vegetable on the side

* this can also be made with regular pasta, quinoa pasta, whatever your choice... the quinoa pasta i use tastes just like wheat pasta, and my body likes it better. but make sure you cook the pasta al dente