Oven Baked Mac and Cheese
This recipe has come from years of tweaking and perfecting, all to give us the very best baked mac and cheese.
Baked to creamy perfection.
Ingredients:
1 lb pasta of choice
2 tbsp cornstarch
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 ½ cup heavy cream
½ lb mozzarella
½ lb velveeta
6 oz gruyere
½ lb sharp cheddar
½ lb smoked gouda
½ lb colby jack
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp mustard powder
Directions:
In a large sized bowl shred all the cheeses and coat with cornstarch.
Boil your noodles until slightly underdone and set aside.
In a large pan on medium low heat, melt the butter before whisking in the flour until combined.
Whisk in evaporated milk then heavy cream little bits at a time. If you pour it all at once it could break the sauce or curdle.
Small amounts at a time, whisk in half of your grated cheese.
Add your noodles into your bechamel sauce and combine well.
In a 9x13 baking dish, place half of the noodles/sauce, then half the remaining shredded cheese. Add the other half of the noodles/sauce and then the remaining cheese.
Bake at 350°F for 15-20 minutes, then broil for another 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let rest for about 5 more minutes, then serve and enjoy! 😊
Fried Mac and Cheese Balls
If you’re looking for some fun and whimsy, with a dash of gourmet perfection, then these mac and cheese balls are for you! Fried to a deep golden brown, crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside. You can’t get any better than this!
Plus they make them in The Loud House!
Ingredients:
1½ cups of elbow macaroni
¼ cup butter
1 Tbsp. flour
½ tsp. salt
1 cup whole milk
1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
½ cup mozzarella
½ cup Velveeta
¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs beaten
¾ cup panko bread crumbs
Directions:
Cook the macaroni noodles for slightly less than according to package directions and drain.
Make a simple roux: Melt butter into a medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in flour and salt. Turn heat up to medium-low, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly.
Slowly whisk in milk, whisking constantly, until sauce is smooth. Bring sauce to a boil; reduce to low heat and simmer for 1 minute.
Stir in the shredded cheeses. Continue to cook, while stirring, until cheese is melted. And then add in the Velveeta
Remove from heat and fold the pasta into the cheese sauce.
Place the mac and cheese into a sprayed down dish. Let cool for 30 mins in the fridge or freezer (you need them hard but not ice cubes).
Place flour, eggs, and bread crumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dredge each macaroni and cheese bite: coat bite lightly with flour, dip in eggs, then coat with bread crumbs.
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook about half of the bites at one time, frying bites for 1-1 1/2 minutes per side. Drain bites on paper towels.
Serve with a little green onion and siracha garnish, and enjoy!
Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese
This stovetop mac and cheese is inspired by the one that Kevin eats in Home Alone. It’s a creamy, cheesy, wonderful masterpiece that is all too easy to make. With only a few ingredients, this is one of the easiest mac and cheeses to make, and perfect whether having a night in for one, or feeding a whole family!
The perfect stovetop for every mac and cheese lover!
Ingredients:
8 oz elbow macaroni
4 oz Velveeta, cubed
4 oz sharp cheddar, shredded
4 oz mozzarella, shredded
4 oz Colby Jack, shredded
½ cup heavy cream
½ can evaporated milk
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
Directions:
Cook the macaroni in salted boiling water until just al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a small saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and garlic powder and cook for about 1–2 minutes, just until the roux is smooth and lightly fragrant (do not brown).
Slowly whisk in the evaporated milk, heating gently until warm but not boiling. Add the heavy cream and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth and slightly thickened.
Add the Velveeta cubes and stir until fully melted. Gradually add the shredded cheeses a small handful at a time, stirring constantly until the sauce is silky and fully combined. Season with salt and pepper.
Fold in the cooked macaroni and stir until every noodle is coated in that iconic, creamy cheese sauce.
Serve hot and enjoy!
Nutella Banana Bread
This banana bread is a comfort for our household! We are all about using as much of the food we can in our pantry and fridge, and bananas are always first to ripe, so banana bread is good, but we want to always be excited to eat it. As if it's a dessert we're excited to grab. Originally based off a Tasty recipe, we've been modifying it to make it work with Nutella too—because sometimes, banana bread is better when it's warm out of the oven and every bite is mixed with oozing warm chocolate.
My favorite way to enjoy banana bread!
Ingredients:
3 ripe bananas
⅓ cup melted butter
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp, salt
1 ½ cup flour
½ cup chocolate chips
⅓ cup Nutella
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350°F
In a large bowl, mash the ripe bananas until smooth. Stir in the melted butter until well combined.
Add sugar, egg, vanilla, baking soda, salt, flour and stir until batter is smooth and runny.
Mix in the chocolate chips.
In a well greased loaf pan, add half the batter, then dollop half Nutella into corners and center. Using a butter knife, carefully make swirls around the loaf pan. (Do not over mix). Repeat with remaining batter and remaining Nutella.
Bake the banana bread for 50 minutes in the oven.
Cool for 10 minutes and serve while hot, or wait to cool completely. Enjoy!
Classic Gingerbread
Every year, I am obsessed with gingerbread! So as a tradition, I make it for friends, loved ones, parties, etc! And this recipe specifically is a special one. Martha Stewart gingerbread was a staple in our household as kids. This gingerbread is super stable and flavourable at the same time, and over the years I’ve made a couple adjustments along the way so they come out absolutely perfect each time! So I’ll be enjoying my Christmas cookies this year, how bout you?
A gingerbread mug made from this recipe.
Ingredients:
Gingerbread Cookies:
5 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter (room temperature)
1 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
4 tsp ground ginger
4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground pepper
1 ½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
1 cup unsulfured molasses
Icing:
2 egg whites
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp lemon juice
Directions:
In an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, beat unsalted butter with sugar until fully combined, add in eggs one at a time on low and all the spices: ginger, cinnamon, cloves, pepper & salt. Continue to mix until fully incorporated, occasionally scraping down the sides with a spatula.
Add in the molasses and mix on medium speed. The texture should be liquidy. With a sifter, sift in baking soda, baking powder and 1 cup of flour. Mix until it’s combined, and slowly sift in one cup at a time while mixing. The dough should start to become thick with more flour added.
Place the dough in cling wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 350 degreesF and roll out the dough on a clean, floured surface. Make sure the dough is flat enough to be between ⅛ inches to ¼ inches in height. Cut with fun christmas themed cookie cutter shapes, and carefully move the cookies onto a parchment lined baking sheet for the oven. Repeat the dough rolling with the excess dough until there is nothing left.
Bake the cookies for 8-10 minutes rotating halfway through. Place them on a cooling rack.
Once the cookies are completely cooled you can decorate them using royal icing. The royal icing takes 2 hours to fully dry.
In an electric mixer with the beater attachment, whip egg whites until bubbles form. Slowly add in powdered sugar little bits at a time as well as lemon juice.
To create a more droopy texture, add in more lemon juice, and for a more stiff texture (like for gingerbread houses) add more powdered sugar.
Place icing in a piping bag with the tip cut off.