Pioneer Woman's Macaroni & Cheese

I'm adding this one to the Macaroni & Cheese Project list! This turned out really good; however, still not my favorite! It was creamy and flavorful, but I prefer to use more than one type of cheese. I'd say four out of five stars.

Ingredients
4 cups dried macaroni
1 whole egg
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 heaping teaspoons dry mustard (more if desired)
1 pound sharp Cheddar, grated (not pre-grated cheese), plus more for baking
Salt
Seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional spices: cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Cook the macaroni until still slightly firm. Drain and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat the egg. In a large pot, melt the butter and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook for a couple of minutes, whisking constantly. Don't let it burn. Pour in the milk, add the mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Whisk together until smooth. Pour the egg into the sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in the cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt and the pepper. Add any additional spices if desired. Taste the sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! DO NOT UNDERSALT.

Pour in the drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine. Serve immediately (while it's still very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese and bake until bubbly and golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

The Macaroni & Cheese Project: Recipe 004

Salt, to taste

1 pound elbow macaroni

1 (12-ounce) can 2 % reduced-fat evaporated milk

2/3 cup low-fat milk (2 %)

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/8 teaspoon garlic salt (optional)

Pinch cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons cornstarch

8 ounces 50 percent light cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

4 ounces fontina cheese, grated

DIRECTIONS:

1. Bring 2 1/2 quarts water to a boil in a large saucepan. Stir in 2 teaspoons salt and the macaroni; cook until the pasta is completely cooked and tender, about 5 minutes. Drain the pasta and leave it in the colander; set aside.

2. Add the evaporated milk, 1/2 cup of the 2 percent milk, mustard, garlic powder (if using), cayenne, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the now-empty saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Whisk the cornstarch and remaining 1/4 cup milk together, then whisk it into the simmering mixture. Continue to simmer, whisking constantly, until the sauce has thickened and is smooth, about 2 minutes.

3. Off the heat, gradually whisk in the cheddar and gruyere until melted and smooth. Stir in the macaroni, and let the macaroni and cheese sit off the heat until the sauce has thickened slightly, 2 to 5 minutes.

THE VERDICT:

DIFFICULTY: Very easy.

TEXTURE: Creanmy and smooth, yet it has a nice, thick texture. The longer you leave it on the stove, the thicker it becomes. Mmm.

TASTE: I'm realizing that fontina is the magic cheese. It makes everything taste wonderful! The extra spices gave the mac'n cheese extra depth.

REHEAT FACTOR: On pulling it out of the fridge, I noticed that it congealed into one large mass of mac'n cheese, similar to baked macaroni. Once nuked, it was a bit drier, but tasted just fine.

OVERALL: I was surprisingly pleased with this stovetop version of mac'n cheese. I would definitely make it again. I give this recipe 4½ out of 5 stars.

The Macaroni & Cheese Project: Recipe 003

When I was in Tennessee, I had this fabulous and macaroni and cheese made in a crock pot. I've tried emailing the lady who made it for her recipe, but to no avail. So, I did some searching and it seems like the ingredients for crock pot macaroni and cheese is basically the same throughout various recipes.

I must have a super-powered crock pot because after 5 hours, it was nearly burnt around the edges and a little dry. I suggest 3-4 hours.

Here's the recipe.

8 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
4 cups(16 ounces) shredded sharp Chedder Cheese
1 can (12 ounces) evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
Place the cooked macaroni in crockpot that has been sprayed with nonstick cookingspray. Add the remaining ingredents, all except 1 cup of the cheese, mix well. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup of cheese and then cover and cook on low settingfor 5 to 6 hours or until the mixture is firm and golden around the edges. Do not remove the cover or stir until it has finished cooking.

THE VERDICT:
DIFFICULTY:
Easy. The most difficult step was boiling and cooking the noodles!

TEXTURE:
Dry and chunky. I blame this on my crockpot. I think if I shut it off around 3-4 hours, it would have been a lot creamier.

TASTE:
Again, with only 1 cheese, it's a bit on the bland side. Salt helped.

REHEAT FACTOR:
This gets dry once reheated. A small dot of butter is required to get the creaminess back.

OVERALL:
I'm indifferent on this one. I would like to retry it with the shorter time on the crock. I give this recipe 3 out of 5 stars.

The Macaroni & Cheese Project: Recipe 002

Non-stick cooking spray

Salt

3 cups elbow macaroni

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/3 cups 1 percent milk

3/4 cup shredded Fontina cheese

1/2 cup Parmesan

1/2 cup shredded non-fat cheddar 4 ounces processed light American cheese (recommended: Velveeta Light)

1/2 cup Japanese (panko) bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray and set aside. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Salt water, add macaroni, and cook until al dente. Drain into a colander, run under cold water to stop the cooking, and then set aside.

While pasta is cooking, combine flour and milk in a large saucepan, whisking until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick, about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Add cheeses and cook until melted and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the macaroni and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Pour mixture into prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle bread crumbs over top. Bake until bubbly, about 30 to 40 minutes.

THE VERDICT:

DIFFICULTY:

Moderate. This recipe requires making a cheese sauce, which isn't difficult at all, but does add a few extra steps and cheeses.

TEXTURE:

Creamy yet just chunky/dry enough. Not greasy at all. The Velveeta makes it just creamy enough and it doesn't come out all stringy.

TASTE:

The variation of cheeses really add a lot of flavor to this recipe. I really like the addition of the fontina and parmigiano-reggiano as they add the right amount of zip.

REHEAT FACTOR:

This gets dry once reheated. A small dot of butter is required to get the creaminess back.

OVERALL:

I especially like this recipe because it cuts about 1/2 of the calories by using the Velveeta Light, non fat cheddar and lowfat milk. This recipe is one of my favorites and I've made it several times.

I give this recipe 4.5 out of 5 stars.

The Macaroni & Cheese Project: Recipe 001

Baked Macaroni & Cheese is a huge topic on The Nest. Someone is always in search of the best recipe, so what I've decided to do is start trying recipes from around the 'net and do my own critiquing and voting! Plus this will be a great place to compile the various recipes.

I've numbered them starting at 001 to protect identities. If you want the direct link or original post, please let me know.

I found this recipe on The Nest and it was requested by many people on my local board.

Recipe 001
4 cups cooked elbow macaroni, drained

4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese

2 eggs, beaten

3/4 cup sour cream

4 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Once you have the macaroni cooked and drained, place in a large bowl and while still hot and add the cheddar. In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and add to the macaroni mixture. Pour macaroni mixture into a buttered or pam casserole dish and bake for 30 to 45 minutes. Top with additional cheese if desired.

THE VERDICT:

DIFFICULTY:

Easy. The hardest part of this recipe is boiling the water! No cheese sauce to make.

TEXTURE:
I liked the texture right away. I do like my mac'n cheese a bit chunky, but not too dry. It had a bit of creaminess, but a little greasy from the butter and cheese.

TASTE:
I should have realized that with one type of cheese, this wouldn't have much flavor variety. Even though I used sharp cheddar, I felt the taste was a little bland. It needed another more sharp or pungent cheese to 'wake' this up. I should have been turned off by the addition of the eggs. I'm not a huge fan of eggs, so when I bit into a shell filled with scrambled egg, I was not a happy camper.

REHEAT FACTOR:

Surprisingly, this had a better taste/texture once it was reheated. It seemed a little creamier the second time around.

OVERALL:

I give this recipe 3 out of 5 stars.