Baked Macaroni & Cheese

I do not know Nadine but my friend, Rosa Emory gave her credit when she prepared this recipe this summer while we were on vacation together and shared it with me. It was a hit with our hubbies and combined 6 teenagers! I decided to give it a try tonight and noted a couple of things throughout the recipe. My family thought it was awesome once again! Give it a try! -Claire

(Serves 6-8 people as a main dish-many more as a side dish)

Ingredients
1 pound Elbow Macaroni
4 1/2 cups Sharp/Extra Sharp Yellow Cheddar Cheese (3 ½ cups shredded; 1 cup cut in small cubes-) (Claire's tip: I used a block of 2% Cracker Barrel Sharp Cheddar for the cubes, grated the rest and then added pre-shredded 2% sharp cheddar to complete the quantity needed)
2-3 cans of Evaporated Milk* (Claire's tip: I used 2 cans of evaporated milk, adding 1% milk at the end)
1 ¼ sticks of Butter (1/4 cup cut into tiny cubes)
3 tablespoons of Flour
3 tablespoons of finely Grated Onion
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Seasoned Salt (Lowery’s type)
1 teaspoon Ground Pepper
1/4 cup of Italian Bread Crumbs (more or less) (I used a little more and used Panko instead of bread crumbs and sprinkled oregano on top since the Panko was not pre-seasoned)
Vegetable Spray

(*2 cans are initially used, but you may need a little additional milk to fill casserole – can use regular milk for this step)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put a cookie sheet or shallow pan on the bottom shelf to catch any spills.

2. Spray a standard-sized Casserole Dish with Vegetable Oil (I use Canola or Olive)

3. Cook Macaroni as per instructions on the box; drain and set aside. Reserve the pot to cook the Cheese Sauce.

4. Shred and cube the Cheddar Cheese. Put the cubed cheese aside for layering and put ½ cup of shredded cheese aside for the topping.

5. Grate the Onion.

6. Melt 1 stick of Butter in the pot used to cook the Macaroni

7. Add the Flour and stir until smooth (about 2 minutes)

8. Add 2 cans of Evaporated Milk and heat slowly (do not boil) for about 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally.

9. Stir in 3 cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese, Onion, Garlic Powder, Seasoned Salt and Ground Pepper

10. Heat slowly, stirring constantly, until sauce begins to thicken and then stir in the Macaroni (should be a little loose so if sauce is too thick, add a little milk to thin it out)

11. Put 1/3 of the Macaroni in the bottom of the Casserole dish and sprinkle with ½ cup of cubed Cheddar Cheese. Repeat this step. Put last 1/3 of Macaroni on top.

12. Liquid should come to the top of the casserole dish level with the Macaroni. If not, add milk.

13. Sprinkle the top with ½ cup of Shredded Cheese (or more!) and then sprinkle on the Italian Bread Crumbs.

14. Dot with the ¼ cup of Butter cubes

15. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. (I used a Pampered Chef stoneware 9" x 13" dish and it took about 40-45 minutes for it to become golden brown and bubbling in my oven.)

16. Serve and enjoy! (It works out fine to cover loosely with foil and let it sit awhile as you finish up your meal!)