Super Easy, Super Cheesy Stovetop Macaroni

Macaroni and cheese.

Have three words ever gone together so well?

Okay.  Maybe "I love you".  I'll give you that one.

Otherwise? It's all about the mac and cheese.

I was asked to make this since it had been a long time since we'd had the real deal.  Hey, I love me some shells and cheese with the orange sauce out of the packet.  But sometimes you just need to get your hands in there and use some real ingredients.

So that's what I did.

Look at this.

LOOK AT THIS.

How gorgeous is that? That's 12 oz of cheddar cheese, freshly grated.  I stick to grating myself (1) because it's cheaper and (2) because the bagged, pre-shredded stuff doesn't melt so well.

Meanwhile, I was boiling 3/4lb, or three cups, of dry macaroni.

Aren't they cute?

Once the macaroni was finished cooking and was in the strainer, I melted four tablespoons of butter.

And once that was melted, I added three tablespoons of flour and cooked the flour for a few minutes.

Then I added a cup of milk and allowed it to get bubbly and thicken.

Finally, in went the cheese.  I took it slowly, a small handful at a time sprinkled in, and stirred it to melt the cheese thoroughly between additions.  Don't toss it all in at once!

And here's what you get by the time all the cheese is in and melted.

Yummy.

In goes the macaroni, along with another ingredient which I hadn't tried in the past but which I think helped a bit: a tablespoon of dijon mustard.  It cut the richness and added a little kick as well.  Definitely worthwhile.

A lil' salt, a lil' pepper, and voila! Success!

Yum.  Yum, I say.

Could it be any easier? I'm guessing not.

So give it a shot, okay? Do an extra lap around the block tomorrow.  I know that's what I'll be doing!

Enjoy!



Linking up with:

Meatless Monday at Sweet and Savory
Tuesday at the Table - All the Small Things
Tasty Tuesday at Balacing Beauty and Bedlam