Thanksgiving Recipes, Part 3

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Recipe adapted from Pioneer Woman

1 pound elbow macaroni (I use whole wheat)

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup all purpose flour

2 1/2 cups whole milk (you can use 2% but it won't be as rich and creamy, skip the skim milk)

2 1/2 tsp dry mustard

1 egg

2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated

2 cups colby cheese, grated

1 tsp + 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 cup panko bread crumbs

1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Heat a large stock pot of water over high heat until boiling. Add 1 tsp salt and add pasta. Cook to just al dente, do not overcook, it should be slightly underdone. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile in a large pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add milk and whisk in mustard. Cook for about 5 minutes until mixture thickens. Reduce heat to low. Beat egg in a small bowl, add in approximately 1/4 cup of hot milk mixture. Stir constantly to avoid scrambling the egg. Add egg mixture to pan, whisking constantly until sauce is smooth. Add in cheddar and colby cheeses. Stir until melted. Add salts and spices. Pour in drained pasta and stir until evenly coated. You can refrigerate at this point over night if you want to prep in advance.

Pour macaroni mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Bake for approximately 30 minutes until bread crumbs are golden brown and macaroni is bubbly. Sorry I forgot to take a picture of the finished product after baking since it was a little hectic at that point on Thanksgiving.