Military Mommy's Mac and Cheese

OK, let me be the first to admit it...I LOVE food. I love to cook, I love to bake, and I love to eat. Infact, my husband said one of the reasons he married me was because I was the type of girl who would finish her steak. Charming, I know.

When cooking, I have a few rules, well more like guidelines. I like to cook fresh, organic, and homemade as much as possible. It gives my growing family the nutrition they need and gives me a piece of mind. I know, I know, you are thinking sometimes it is more cost effective to just grab a box of .99 Mac and Cheese than to whip up homemade mac and cheese, but I will show you how to match coupons with promotions so homemade cooking will be budget friendly.

Let me put this disclaimer out there for my recipes...I am NOT Jenny Craig. I don't count the calories in the food that I make. My motto is all things in moderation and a good dose of a daily early morning jog with my neighbors, also known as the so-not-desperate housewives. Anyway, if you are looking for some yummy food that will feed the troops...this Mac and Cheese recipe will hit the spot!

When I first started making Macaroni and Cheese, I used the Mueller's Back of the box recipe. It was fine, but I thought it needed more. So, over the past couple of years I have found a cheesy combination that my family loves. I usually serve it with a salad, and even with 5 people, I have enough for leftovers for lunch the next day. Again, this is the recipe that works best for me. Have fun making it your own with a different type of pasta or different mixtures of cheeses...whatever floats your mac and cheese boat!

NOTE: I buy the block cheese instead of shredded for two reasons. Usually the block is cheaper and I don't like the consistency of bagged shredded cheese, but I am sure it would work in this recipe, if you prefer it.

Ingredients:
1 lb. box of Rotini Pasta
4 TBSP butter/margerine
4TBSP flour
2tsp. salt
1tsp. ground mustard (my mother-in-law uses regular mustard)
pepper to taste
4oz. Velveeta cheese (I use this for the creamy factor)
15-16oz sharp cheddar cheese
2oz monteray jack cheese
3 1/2 cups milk (I use a 2 1/2 cups skim, 1 cup whole. But use what you've got. 1%-2% is ideal)

TOPPING:
1/2 cup bread crumbs (don't have any? no problem, use 1/2 cup crushed up croutons instead)
2 TBSP butter/margerine

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook Pasta according to directions on package. While pasta is cooking shred cheese. Drain Pasta set aside. Melt 4 TBSP butter/margerine in a large saucepan on med-high heat. Once butter has melted slowly whisk in flour then add salt, ground mustard (or reg mustard), and pepper. Next, slowly whisk in milk. Keep whisking to avoid clumps from flour butter/mixture. Heat milk until light boil, stirring constatnyl, remove from heat. Stir in cheese. Stir until melted. Pour pasta into 13"x 9" baking dish. Pour half of cheese mixture on top, carefully stirring into pasta, add remaining cheese mixture. For topping, in small saute pan melt 2 TBSP butter. Pour bread crumbs and stir. Saute bread crumbs until golden brown. Pour bread crumbs over mac and cheese to form crust. Bake in 375 degree oven for 25 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!


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