Macaroni and Cheese

I’m a big fan of the Pioneer Woman and I read her blog daily. When she wrote about having a new cooking show on the Food Network on Saturday mornings I had to check it out.  This week she made homemade macaroni and cheese and sliders. It looked so delicious on TV that I made it for dinner Sunday night. I only made half of the recipe and had to skip the mustard since Carl is anti-mustard. The macaroni and cheese was creamy and delicious! We made sliders too, topped with caramelized onions and bacon on sweet Hawaiian rolls.

Macaroni and Cheese

4 cups dried macaroni

1 whole egg beaten

¼ cups (4 Tbsp) butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

2-1/2 cups whole milk

2 tsp (heaping) dry mustard

1 lb. cheese, grated

½ tsp salt, more to taste

½ tsp seasoned salt, more to taste

½ tsp ground black pepper

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium eat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very think. Reduce heat to low.

Take ¼ cups of the sauce and slowly pour it into the beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs. Whisk together until smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth. Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed.

Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.

Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Here is the link to the original recipe on the Pioneer Woman's website.