There are lots and lots of Mac and Cheese recipes out there. I've consolidated the ones I wanted to save on this page.
This is a very basic straighforward recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and is the one I usually make, with some changes which I noted below. It's very quick, very simple, and I usually have all the ingredients on hand.
Ingredients
6 oz elbow macaroni (1 -1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash pepper
2 cups milk
2 cups cubed American cheese (I use 1/2 lb shredded mix of cheddar, monty-jack, pepperjack, whatever)
1 medium tomato (I omit this)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350deg. Cook macaroni according to package directions; drain.
2. For cheese sauce, in a saucepan melt butter. Cook onion in butter till tender but not brown. Stir in the flour, salt, and pepper. Add milk all at once; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 to 2 minutes more. Add cubed cheese (shredded, in my case); stir till melted.
3. Stir macaroni into cheese sauce. Turn into a 1-1/2 qt casserole. Arrange tomato slices on top; sprinkle with a little salt (I omit the tomatoes). Bake in 350deg oven 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through (in my case, slightly browned around the edges).
Haven't tried it but it looks good; it includes a little bit of hot sauce and mustard powder so it probably has a slight kick. In addiiton to Cheddar, it uses Gruyere cheese which I'm beginning to love. They also top it with bread crumbs which is okay by me. Rather than copy the recipe onto this page, just click the link to get it from the Serious Eats website.
From Martha, provided to her by John Legend. For some utterly ubsurd reason it says to use skim milk, which is advice to avoid. I can't guess why they'd say that, it certainly can't be for health reasons, considering the other ingredients. .
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for baking dish
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 cups elbow macaroni
2 (12-ounce) cans evaporated milk
1/3 cup skim milk
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
2 (8-ounce) packages extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 (8-ounce) package Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Paprika, for sprinkling
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Generously butter a 13-by-9-inch glass baking dish; set aside. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt and macaroni. Cook until al dente according to package directions. Drain, and return to pot. Add butter, and toss until pasta is coated and butter has melted; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together evaporated milk, skim milk, and eggs. Add seasoned salt, garlic powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside. In another medium bowl, combine cheeses; set aside.
3. Place 1/3 macaroni in an even layer in the bottom of prepared baking dish; cover evenly with 1/3 cheese. Repeat with remaining macaroni and cheese mixture. Pour milk mixture evenly over contents of baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake until top layer is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes before serving.
From the Washington Post. Evidently she served this to Elton John when he was an unknown backup pianist for her and had no money. Anyway the writeup says it is outstanding. It uses five types of cheese and says you can mix and match cheeses but the Velveeta is a requirement. It's called "Over the Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese".
Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Muenster cheese
1 cup (8 ounces) Velveeta, cut into small cubes
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, or more to taste
1 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups half-and-half, cold
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or other ground red chile, or to taste (optional)
Instructions
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
2. In a medium bowl, toss together the Parmesan, Monterey Jack, cheddar, Muenster and Velveeta. Reserve about 3/4 cup cheese mixture for the topping.
3. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add 1 teaspoon of the salt and the macaroni, and cook until just tender, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes. Drain the pasta, give it a stir and set aside while you make the sauce.
4. In the same pot, over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter until it foams, about 2 minutes. Add the flour and whisk until the flour sizzles and turns blonde without letting it brown, about 2 minutes. Whisk in 2 cups of the half-and-half. Reduce the heat to medium, switch to a rubber spatula and stir until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 1/2 cups half-and-half and remove from the heat. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, the black pepper and cayenne or chile pepper, if using.
5. Stir in all but the reserved 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture until completely incorporated. Carefully, stir in the cooked macaroni, breaking up any large pieces that may have stuck together, until just combined. The cheeses will not all be melted, they will finish melting in the oven. Taste and adjust the seasonings, and then pour into the prepared 9-by-13-inch dish. Top it with the reserved 3/4 cup of the cheese mixture.
6. Bake, uncovered, for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the cheeses on top are melted and the mixture is bubbling and hot.
Variations: For a stove-top version, keep the pasta and cheese in the pot and stir over low heat until the cheeses are melted and the macaroni is hot, about 10 minutes.