Mac and Cheese

Last night, Russell grilled steaks.

If he had his way- we would eat red meat every night!!!

And that would be fine with my kids too.

But, I'm not much of a steak eater.  I'll eat a little if there's nothing else.

I made macaroni and cheese.

It's so much better than the box stuff.

I'm not saying that I never make the box stuff, I'm just saying that this is way better.

Mac and Cheese

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni or 8 oz

(about 1/2 the box)

2 tbsp butter

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp salt

2 cups milk

2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat your oven to 350, and start a pot of water to boil.

Start with the butter and flour.  

Whisk them together till it gets pasty.

Then add salt

Whisk milk in a little at a time until its all smooth and blended in.

Add about 1/2 cup of cheese at a time until you've added 2 cups.

Save the other 1/2 cup for on top.

You should have a thick cheese sauce like this.

Your noodles should be boiling by now.  

Don't cook them all the way - they're gonna cook more in the oven and you don't want mushy macaroni!!

Drain your noodles and mix with the cheese sauce.

Spray a baking dish like this one with cooking spray.

Dump the noodle mixture in.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.

Bake for about 20 minutes.

It's all hot and bubbly when it comes out :)

Russell's steaks were ready when I took the macaroni out of the oven.

I had some squash and zucchini in the fridge.  

I marinated it in Italian dressing and Russell threw it on the grill with the steaks.

They turned out great!!

My plate

I wish I had remembered to warm up my loaf of "everything italian" bread from Walmart.  But I guess we didn't need the extra carbs since we ate almost the whole pan of mac and cheese.