Recipe - Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

I didn't intend to be posting from a negative head space today, but there you have it.  I've had a really awful day.  It's been lousy, awful, terrible, horrible and sad.  The worst part is, today is a Thursday, and Tuesday was awful too.  Wednesday was almost perfect.  I have ridden an emotional roller coaster of record heights in the past few days.

So, what do I tend to do when I am grumpy?  Well... based on the title of this post, you'll probably say, "She must cook and take out all of her frustrations in her food!  How 'Like Water for Chocolate!'".  Alas, I am not THAT mother, wife, or woman.

Instead, I play video games.  I fool around.  I read.  I ignore responsibility (like the real estate class I'm supposed to be doing right now).  I am the ultimate emotional flake - when I'm down, my agenda follows.
So then, what does that have to do with dinner?

It means that lazy me continues and I don't bother getting anything out for dinner, or using time to make something to pop into the oven.  I love to cook, and I love creating food, but when I'm feeling low, all I want to do is veg out.

So then it comes to be 6pm and my husband calls and says he's on his way home from work.  Whoops.  Dinner's just... not even existing yet.

So there you have it.

Luckily, I have a few fail safe meals tucked away that require very little, if no prep work and are quick and easy to whip up.

And here enters my homemade Macaroni and Cheese!

This recipe has full credit to my mother who taught this to me.

Plus, it doesn't hurt that this is an epic comfort food and can make even a bad day just a bit more delicious.

So when you're in need of a rushed meal or just don't feel like finding your inner chef, here's a good recipe to pull out of your little bag of tricks.

Enjoy!

~Emmie~

Homemade Macaroni And Cheese
This recipe is based around a white sauce.  I don't usually add very much salt because cheese is so salty, but also because when cooking with salt, the flavour usually gets lost with the heat and you end up with all the sodium and little of the flavour.  I prefer to salt just before eating if I need that little extra taste.  Baking this dish also provides a little extra texture to what could be just a mushy dish.
I love to serve this with spinach - most of the time on the side, but it can be really tasty to mix it together also.  The slight bitter taste to spinach pairs excellently with this creamy dish. 

Ingredients:
1 16oz Box of Pasta (your choice, though I prefer something that can really grab in hunks of the cheesy sauce, like medium shells)
3tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/4 C milk
2-3 C shredded EXTRA SHARP cheddar cheese, depending on how cheesy you want it
Paprika

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees.
Boil water and add pasta.  Cook until just al dente - not any longer.  When finished cooking, drain and place pasta in oven-safe cooking dish.

While pasta is cooking:
In microwave safe bowl, melt butter for 1 min on high.
Mix in flour, and microwave for 1 min on high.
Add salt and pepper, stir.
Add milk.
Microwave on high for 1 min, stir, then microwave on high again for 1 minute and stir again.
Add 2/3 of cheese to sauce and mix well.  Microwave on high for 90 seconds.
The sauce should be easy to pour but not thin.  More milk will thin it out, more flour will thicken it.

Pour the sauce over the pasta and mix in well.  Top with remaining cheese and sprinkle paprika on top.

Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.