Microwavable Mac 'n Cheese

The beauty of Mac 'n Cheese. Whether you prefer it made with milk or creamer, lots of butter or only a little, milky and creamy or thick and cheesy, Mac 'n Cheese is one of the best American comfort foods. I have successfully made Alfredo pasta in a microwave and ever since then, I haven't been able to stop wondering if I couldn't make Mac 'n Cheese in the same way.

I don't know about you, but I absolutely hate those little individually-sized Easy Mac packages. The noodles come dusted in that mysterious white powder that no one actually knows what it is, but is required to "properly cook the noodles". Regardless of the white powder, the noodles come out mushy at best, with a subtle "freshly microwaved" after taste. You also get no creative freedom with the cheese sauce, which never thickens even after ten minutes, regardless if you prefer cheesy over creamy. I, myself, prefer creamy Mac 'n Cheese, but even for me Easy Mac leaves something to be desired. My macaroni tastes are rather specific, I'm not a big fan of baked Mac 'n Cheese, different flavored Mac 'n Cheese (like garlic and herb, etc.), and I absolutely refuse to eat it leftover.

So that brings me to this week's recipe:

1. One box of Elbow Noodles
2. One 8 oz. Bottle of Whole Milk (or 2% if you like it watered down)
3. One bag of shredded cheese of your choice (I chose Cheddar Mix)

I originally thought I would follow a similar procedure as my microwaved pasta, but I was able to find a recipe that uses a different procedure. Start by adding about 1/4 of the bottle of milk and macaroni to a microwave safe bowl. This only makes a single serving of Mac 'n Cheese, so measure the macaroni accordingly (about 1/4 of the box). Microwave this for one minute.  Stir thoroughly. Repeat microwave and stir 5-6 times, or until the noodles are fully cooked, adding milk if necessary (you should have to add milk about four times). There should be a little bit of milk left over even though the noodles are cooked; you need this to make the cheese creamy. Mix in about half of the cheese, until melted and smooth, microwaving for a few seconds if needed. The great thing about making the Mac 'n Cheese yourself: you can adjust the consistency to your tastes. I added a bit of milk to the cheese to make for a creamier sauce.

The finished product-- actually pretty appetizing, right?

After dutifully mixing for a few minutes, my macaroni is similar to that from McAllister's in consistency. The taste is very cheesy, as to be expected, which doesn't suit my tastes exactly, but turned out to be rather delicious. The consistency was just the way I like it, and I'd say ultimately this recipe was worth it. It took around 10-15 minutes to prepare, and was admittedly more difficult than making it at home on the stove, but if you have some extra time and are really craving some homemade Mac 'n Cheese, go for it! It's honestly quite similar to the Mac 'n Cheese I've made at home.

This is just one way of making Mac 'n Cheese. My pasta ambitions don't stop here, so tune in next week where I will attempt to make Mac 'n Cheese from a box and compare it to this weeks recipe.