Jill Can Cook: Macaroni & Cheese

My husband, Joe, had the day off from work today. It was a rare occasion in that we didn't have some type of obligation to keep us busy today, so we ran some errands, including grocery shopping, and hung around watching football all day.

Knowing that we'd have this lazy day without any real plans, I decided it was the perfect opportunity to try out a new recipe. I chose to make Macaroni and Cheese because the whole family enjoys it and I've never so much as attempted to make it from scratch. I found a recipe on Pinterest, and tweaked it according to what reviewers said they did to make it more awesome.

Here is my version of the recipe:

Jill's Macaroni & Cheese!

Prep: 30 mins. Cook: 30 mins.

The ingredients on my countertop, waiting to become our lovely dinner. I totally forgot to use the Paprika! Oops!

• 8 ounces of Elbow Macaroni
• 1 Cup Shredded Mozzarella
• 1 Cup Shredded 4 Cheese Pizza Cheese
• 1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheddar
• 3 Cups Milk
• 3 Pieces Cooked Bacon
• 1/4 Cup Butter
• 1/2 Sleeve Crushed Ritz Crackers
• Pinch of Salt
• Pinch Pepper                    

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to the package directions. Drain.
2. Cook bacon until crispy in a pan. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan, melt butter or margarine over medium heat. Stir in enough flour to make a roux. Add milk to roux slowly, stirring constantly. Stir in cheeses and cook over low heat until cheese is melted and the sauce is thick. Put macaroni in large baking dish, and pour sauce over macaroni. Add in bacon, salt, and pepper. Stir well.
4. Sprinkle crushed Ritz crackers over the top
5. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Serve.

I had an easy enough time following directions. The smell of the bacon cooking on the stovetop made my husband keep questioning me, "Is it done yet? When will it be ready?!" He loves it when I cook, which is infrequent as he is the better cook in our house. I boiled the pasta, put it in our baking dish and when it was time to pour the cheese sauce over the top, I called him into the kitchen to snap a few pictures.

Me and my double chin pouring the cheese/bacon mixture over the pasta.
 

 After mixing it all together, I grabbed the Ritz crackers (I ate a couple first, just to make sure they weren't stale, even though I had just opened the pack!) to sprinkle over the top.

Sprinkling crackers like a boss!

Now the whole thing was ready to put in the oven to finish cooking.

Look at me! I'm a model!!

The wait was killing us! I didn't start cooking until almost 7pm, so at this point, everyone in the house was starving! Good thing we bought a precooked chicken roaster at the store to serve with it. We didn't feel like waiting another 3 hours for dinner. In fact, by the time it was all ready, it was close to 8pm, so we all ate on the couch in the living room (we're super classy, in case you couldn't tell!).

It's fall, so we served dinner with some seasonal pumpkin beer. Well, Joe, my husband had beer. The rest of us had water.

Mitchell loved it so much that he couldn't even keep his pants on!

Quinn even took a break from devouring dinner to pose for a picture! Smiles all around!

Joe loved it, too. He ended up packing up the leftovers and taking them to work the next day. He called after lunch to tell me that it reheated really well. Me, on the other hand, was not as pleased as everyone else. I think I'm coming down with something, so maybe my taste buds are a little off. I might have to make it again when the common cold isn't kicking my butt. And the next time I make it, I think I'll add some onion powder or something, just to add some more dimension to it.

I would recommend this recipe, considering it was a huge hit as far as my family was concerned. Plus it was really easy to make. It did make a lot of messy dishes, but that's what dishwashers are for.

Me, relaxing with my cats, after all the full bellied kids went to bed.