My Favourite Macaroni and Cheese
A friend of mine had asked me a while ago if I had a go-to recipe for a gooey, tasty mac n cheese. At the time, I hadn’t, but I told her when I find it, I would let her know! Mac n cheese is one of my husband’s favourite side dishes. I’ve tried out so many different recipes – with squash, with one type of cheese, with many varieties of cheese. You name it! None of them were all that great. I often found them so heavy, that you didn’t need a lot in a serving, which meant tons of leftovers, which I didn’t find worked well the next day.
Over the Easter weekend this past year, I was looking to add a new side dish to my mom’s spread, as she always serves the same things. All great things, mind you, but I like trying new recipes, and what better time when there are lots of people around to try them out!
I came across this macaroni and cheese recipe and what I liked most about it was that the original recipe included ham! I thought this was perfect, as my mom was serving ham! So, I decided to omit the ham from the recipe and trusted that it would be the perfect accompaniment alongside the ham my mom was serving with our Easter dinner.
This dish is really easy to prepare. There’s really not that much in it. But, it had much more liquid than any other mac n cheese I had ever made. I will tell you, I was concerned about this at first. But, I put my trust in the chef who created this recipe, and carried on.
The original recipe calls for this dish to bake for 20 minutes at 450. Guess what?? This wasn’t long enough!!! The dish was still way too loose.
You can see from the picture above, that the top hasn’t browned enough. So much for trusting the chef!! I decided that I couldn’t keep the oven at 450, or the top would get too brown before the inside had a chance to solidify. I turned the oven down to 300 and let it bake for another 30 minutes. The results were perfect!
See??? Ooey gooey perfection. This behaved more like a scalloped potato (minus the potato!) recipe than it did mac n cheese. Which I thought only added to its appropriateness for Easter dinner.
You should make this. Kids love it and it has a slightly more sophisticated feel to it than some other mac n cheese recipes, which is nice for adults. Enjoy!
My Favourite Macaroni and Cheese
Ingredients
- Butter for greasing dish
- 1 package of broad egg noodles
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 1/2 cups whole milk
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 cups packed grated Fontina
- 3/4 cup packed finely grated Parmesan
- 3/4 cup packed grated mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Butter a 13 by 9-inch baking dish and set aside. Cook the noodles in a large pot of boiling, salted water for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently as the noodles will clump together. Don't overcook them as they will continue to cook in the oven later. Drain well, but don't rinse.
- Whisk together the cream, milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Stir in 1 cup of Fontina, 1/2 cup of Parmesan, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella. Add the noodles and toss to coat. Transfer this to the baking dish. Top noodle mixture with the remaining cheese, spread evenly.
- Bake for 20 minutes, uncovered, at 450 degrees F. After this, turn the oven down to 300 degrees F and continue baking for 30 minutes or until the top has browned. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Yummy Chicken ‘Stroganoff’
Guys, this dish is a new go-to!!! It’s soooooo satisfying to the palate, but so easy!!! Just account for the cook time, and this is a great weeknight meal!! A perfect Sunday dinner, though.
I’m still working on my photo quality. Don’t judge this dish on my poor picture-taking! It almost looks like a stroganoff, which in some ways, it is. But, also, not. The original recipe calls for sour cream, but I used plain yogurt, as that’s all I had. It was soooooo goood!! My 4 year old had seconds!!! The mustard flavor is really secondary. So, don’t be scared off if you hate dijon.
I’m in love with my newest Le Creuset pan. Look how good the chicken looks inside of it! I’m biased…
For the noodles, the original recipe calls for ‘super noodles’, and they sound delish! But, I didn’t have chicken bouillon on hand, so I couldn’t do them. I simply added butter and parsley to my egg noodles and that was plenty good! Although, I do plan to try the original method, if you don’t have all of the ingredients for the noodles, don’t let that stop you from cooking this chicken!
I PROMISE you will enjoy this dish.
Yummy Chicken 'Stroganoff'
Ingredients
- 6-8 chicken thighs boneless and skinless
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 to mato chopped, juice and seeds removed (I used a beefsteak tomato)
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
- 1/2 cup white wine
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons sour cream or plain yogurt
- *Buttered egg noodles with parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Season both sides of the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat and brown chicken on both sides, working in batches, if necessary, so that the chicken doesn't steam. Remove the chicken and set aside.
- Add remaining oil to the same pan, and sauté the onions till translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook down for about the same amount of time. Stir in the garlic and cook for one minute, stirring often. Add in the tomato and flour, and cook for about 1 minute, to cook off the flour flavor. Add the dried tarragon. Deglaze the pan with white wine, allowing it to cook, so that the alcohol can burn off. Return the chicken to the pan, and add your chicken stock. Cover, and place in the oven for 45 minutes (30 minutes covered and 15 minutes with the lid removed).
- When finished, remove the chicken from the pan and add the mustard and yogurt, and whisk until blended. Return the chicken to the pan, and spoon some of the sauce over the chicken, so that it is well coated. Serve with butter and parsley noodles.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Weeknight Beef Stroganoff
My mom used to make beef stroganoff for special occasions when I was young. It’s still one of my brother’s favorite dishes. I came across this recipe that is so similar to my mom’s, and such a cinch to make! I’ve made it several times now. Mid week! Easy and so tasty! And a great way to introduce steak to your littles.
Speaking of steak, this dish doesn’t require an expensive cut. Sirloin is what most people use. I used Rib Eye because that is what I had in the freezer. Any cut would work.
The first time I made this, I used a whole can of tomato paste, because I didn’t want to throw away what was left in the can. I could instantly tell that the sauce was too tomato-y, so I added more broth and it turned out just fine. The second time I did this, I only used the recommended amount, and it was also very good. So, you can’t really go wrong.
Weeknight Beef Stroganoff
Ingredients
- 2 Rib Eye Steaks thinly sliced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Medium onion diced
- Mushrooms sliced (8 ounces)*
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 Cups beef broth
- 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 Tablespoons dry sherry
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 Cup sour cream**
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Cook egg noodles in boiling salted water until al dente (soft but still a bite); toss with butter once cooked (about 2 tablespoons), and set aside.
- In a large skillet, heat oil and add the beef in batches, so that the meat doesn't overcrowd and boil. The beef will cook very quickly. Cook for about 2 minutes per side, depending how thinly you sliced your steak. Remove to a plate and set aside.
- Add in the onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add in the mushrooms and cook until soft, another 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute.
- Stir in the beef broth and tomato paste and stir until the sauce thickens a little, about 2 minutes.
- Return the beef, and all its juice, to the pan.
- Add in the sherry, salt, pepper, and thyme.
- Reduce the heat and allow the sauce to simmer for about 5 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add in the sour cream.
- Sprinkle chopped parsley into the sauce, reserving some for garnish.
- Serve over buttered egg noodles.
- Enjoy!
Notes
**You can use whatever type of sour cream you like, but full fat makes this dish much more scrumptious
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