This is the baked homemade macaroni and cheese recipe I was telling you about in the post with my stovetop macaroni & cheese recipe.
My Mom is asked to make this everywhere she goes (she’s a great cook, unlike myself – I have to really work at it!), and she originally got the recipe from my Grandma. Adults and kids both like it. Whenever I try it, I always think I have to change one little thing (using whole wheat pasta, different cheese that I have on-hand, or whatever), and probably because of that I don’t always have good luck with this recipe – my milk sometimes curdles. Maybe it’s just me, and if you change something it may come out fine. You wouldn’t think something little should mess the whole thing up (and if you can pull it off with the whole wheat pasta so you don’t need to use the refined stuff, even better), but I’m just warning you, this looks like a no-brainer recipe, but I’m not the only one who has struggled with it! (See my updated notes below…)
Mona Lou’s Homemade Baked Macaroni & Cheese
- Boil water in a large pan, add about 2 T. Olive oil
- Add 3 1/2 c. Kroger elbow macaroni (Mom said Grandma always insisted that it had to be Kroger brand…???) Sadly, I don’t have good luck with whole wheat pasta in this recipe.
- Stir well several times during the 8 minutes it cooks
- Drain well in a colander, running hot water over the macaroni
- Use a cold stick of butter to grease a large 4 qt. glass bowl and add the macaroni (Mom uses a can of no-stick spray, but a cold stick of butter is just as easy and without the chemicals…there I go again, trying to change just one little thing…)
- Add sea salt & pepper
- Add 2-8oz. packages of shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese
- Stir well
- Add milk just until you can see it coming up the sides of the macaroni – about 1 1/2 to 2 c. – not sure on the amounts, I’ll try to remember to keep track next time I make it.
- Put a few slices of colby cheese and 5 or 6 pats of butter on top
- Bake 375*-400* for about 1 1/4 hours, depending on how hot your oven is – it should be just light brown on top
THANKS MOM!!!
UPDATE: I made this tonight for our meatless Friday and it turned out GREAT! I didn’t even use Kroger macaroni! I ended up making a huge batch and froze one for later. Also, I baked it in a big 10×14 stainless steel baking pan, because my favorite part is the browned cheese on top, and this way there is a lot more of the yummy colby cheese in each serving. Everyone cleared their plates!
- Here’s an easy stovetop mac & cheese recipe, but not as good this one
- Healthy snack ideas
- All about cod liver oil
- My “food conversion” story
- School lunches – healthy alternatives
DON'T MISS NEW POSTS:
Subscribe in a reader or Subscribe via e-mail for free blog updates.
Learn more from the COMMENTS BELOW - join the conversation!
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
Amber 01.04.09 at 9:03 pm
When you freeze this, do you just prepare it as directed without baking it and freeze it, then thawing it and cooking it as directed when needed?
[Reply]
Kelly 01.04.09 at 9:32 pm
Hi Amber,
Yes, I froze it before baking, let it thaw on the counter for an afternoon (or longer), then baked like normal.
Kelly
[Reply]
Margaret Merkel 03.01.09 at 1:15 pm
I made Mona Lou’s Mac and Cheese and I have two issues
1.) I used my raw cow milk and the heat from the oven kills everything in it right?
2.) It was very milky – very runny – my Husband almost had a heart attack when he saw all of that hot milk – I poured the milk in so it was even with the mac and cheese like the recipe directions stated – which ended up being about 1/4 gallon. Next time I will use much less milk.
It was quite yummy though – the kids loved it.
[Reply]
Kelly 03.01.09 at 10:14 pm
Hi Margaret,
1. The heat from the oven doesn’t kill “everything”, there are still some nutrients there, but no enzymes.
2. 1/4 gallon? Wow, that is a lot, I should re-word the recipe – I think Mom always says to pour in the milk until you can just see it coming up around the sides of the macaroni. Sorry about that. I think when I do it it ends up being more like 1 1/2 to 2 cups, but that’s just a guess. I should keep better track next time I make it.
[Reply]
Kathy 04.07.09 at 8:51 am
I have my grandmother’s 1st editon of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. I use it for basice recipes like these because there are many traditional recipes still in there. I may have to convert a thing or two but that is okay. So if you see one of these cookbooks at a garage sale grab it up.
Also I have a question for the readers, how much pasta or other things made of white flour do you feel is okay to eat now and then and how often do you eat them? I am not always in the mood for whole wheat pasta. PLUS I keep reading about how bad wheat is for us also. I think I read to many of these blogs. LOL
[Reply]
Kelly 04.07.09 at 5:58 pm
Kathy,
I know what you mean, sometimes I don’t feel like ww either, but I think that the white pasta or white flour is just plain ol’ not good for us, so the less the better. (It’s so refined, denatured, whatever – no nutrients in it, just a carb filler.) Having said that, I do still compromise with white pasta sometimes, or actually I just cook much less pasta dishes than I used to. I don’t mind the ww pasta in tomato based dishes at all, though. White flour I haven’t gotten totally away from, either. I usually use half white, half ww in cookies and breads. It’s my goal to use less all the time.
You mentioned wheat being bad for us, did you see my post about alternative grains? http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/10/gluten-allergy-or-wheat-sensitivity.html
[Reply]