Very Basic Mac and Cheese

Ok, so I didn't use macaroni, but does it really matter?  It's tastes the same.  It's tastes delicious.  It's warm, creamy, soothing, cheesy...need I say more.
I had a couple of extra little people at my house the other day and wasn't quite sure what to feed them.  The boxed mac would have been easy but I don't always do easy.  Too many ingredients in the boxed stuff I can't pronounce that can't be good for little people.  So I took the extra 10 minutes and whipped up a very basic mac and cheese (or pasta and cheese for those that may give me grief for not using macaroni - get over it) a couple of hours before and tossed it in the oven just before dinner.  When I make an adult friendly version, I like to add sauteed mushrooms and truffle oil and top it with panko and parm for crunch.  You can keep it simple or mix it up.  I usually throw in frozen peas for my kids but I wasn't sure if the other little people would like it so I kept it simple.   I will be blogging about another, more adult mac and cheese in the future.  It's easy fun food, so why not?!
Basic rules: Before you add the cheese, take the white sauce, or bechamel, off the heat or the cheese will split.  If you think you have too much sauce or it's not super thick, don't worry, you're baking it and some of the pasta with absorb it and make the sauce thick.  And, if you undercook your pasta by a minute or so, it will be perfect after you bake it.
p.s. you could eat this right out of the pan and not bake it but the little crunch you get from baking rocks.

Basic Mac and Cheese


Serves 4

2 cups macaroni (or pasta), uncooked
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 1/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups cheddar cheese (preferably old), grated + more for topping of pasta

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Cook the macaroni until about a minute before it's done.  Just al dente.  Drain and set aside.  Heat a saucepan over med heat and add butter.  Once the butter is melted, add the flour and whisk it in cooking for about 2 minutes (watch it doesn't burn).  Add the milk slowly while whisking to ensure you don't get lumps.  Cook the white sauce until it thickens, about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.  Turn down the heat if you think it's burning.  Take the sauce off the heat and add in the cheese, stirring until it's melted.  Combine the macaroni and the cheese sauce and pour into a baking dish.  Top with extra cheese if you'd like.  Pop in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Yum!