I received some new baking dishes for Christmas and promised Jared that the first thing that I cooked would be his family’s recipe for baked macaroni and cheese.
Jared’s mom e-mailed the recipe right after New Year’s and it’s taken me over 2 weeks to get it together and get cookin’. I scribbled some recipe notes and grabbed a wine glass filled with Pellegrino and a lemon slice. Gotta feel fancy while I’m making a mess in the kitchen. 
I gathered my interpretation of the ingredients that I’d need for the recipe:
- 2 cups of milk
- 2 cups of shredded cheese (sharp cheddar flavor)
- 2 cups of macaroni (cooked)
- 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons of flour
- salt and pepper
- 5-10 drops of Tabasco sauce
- 3/4 of a bag o frozen peas
- bread crumb topping (optional)
Things got off to a rocky start when I blended 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil with 2 cups of flour. Umm, no! My cheese sauce would’ve been WAY too thick.
Easy fix: I dumped the contents of the bowl in the trash and decided to start over again.
4 tablespoons of oil and 4 tablespoons of flour – much better!
I think I cooked a bit more than 2 cups of pasta. You can never have too much of a good thing. 
Shredding 2 cups of cheese was going to be a lot of work. I think I need to get a bigger cheese grater!
I’m glad that Jared was hanging around to lend a hand.
I added milk and cheese to the mix. Plus salt and pepper and a little bit of Tobasco sauce.
Whisked and ready to go!
I dumped the macaroni, peas, and cheese sauce into a big bowl.
After a few minutes of stirring to make sure everything was properly blended, the mac and cheese was ready to go.
I spooned my mac & cheese into 2 casserole dishes and preheated the oven to 350 degrees. I also sprinkled a few handfuls of bread crumbs over the top of each dish.
I put my mac & cheese into the oven to bake. The small dish cooked for 30 minutes, while the larger one required 45 minutes. While the food was baking, I grilled asparagus spear for a side dish.
I don’t know if it tasted exactly like his mom’s, but at least Jared seemed to enjoy my version. I thought it tasted great. Don’t let this small helping of baking mac & cheese fool you. I went back for a 2nd helping! 
*Do you have a family recipe for mac & cheese? Let me know if I should add any ingredients next time I make this!*
