Monday, February 22, 2010

Paula Deen's Creamy Macaroni and Cheese

I have a go-to recipe for mac & cheese, but I was watching Food Network one day during my maternity leave and saw Paula Deen make a crockpot mac & cheese that sounded easy and good. Unfortunately it wasn't really a crockpot meal since you had to stir the darn thing every once in awhile (not easy to do when your crockpot is at home and you're at work). Still wanting to try it, I made the sauce on the stovetop, added the cooked macaroni and my buttered breadcrumbs and baked it at 350 until the crumbs were toasty (recipe below).


It was bubbly, creamy and delicious, with a nice crunch from the toasted breadcrumbs:


I hate to admit it, but one of the reasons I think this recipe is so good is the cheddar soup. SP absolutely loved this version. In fact, we were fighting over the leftovers. Delicious and a little bit easier then my go-to method.

Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
Modified from Paula Deen

1lb uncooked elbow macaroni
6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces (divided use)
2 1/2 cups (about 10 ounces) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3-4 slices white bread, torn into pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a casserole dish. Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain.

In a medium saucepan, mix 4 tablespoons butter and cheese. Stir constantly until the cheese melts. Add sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add drained macaroni and stir again. Pour into buttered casserole dish.

Add bread to food processor and pulse until you have coarse crumbs. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and add to bread crumbs. Pulse to incorporate. Spread crumbs over the top of the mac & cheese and bake 30 minutes or until crumbs are toasted and the edges are bubbling.
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3 comments:

  1. Wow, that looks delicious. I love Paula Deen recipes.

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  2. This both sounds and looks delicious, but I am trying to wean myself off of using soup mixes in recipes. After growing up in rural Ohio, that is a tough thing. (SMILE) It seems everything used cream of (whatever) soup.

    I recently happened upon a recipe for making your own Cream of Chicken seasoning mix, although I have yet to use it. Maybe I can come up with a suitable replacement for the Cheddar Cheese Soup, too.

    That said, I will probably give this one a try even over the protestations of my (please eat healthier) wife. Once in a blue moon can't hurt....right?

    Thanks for passing on this recipe!

    Douglas

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  3. We LOVE this recipe! One of my kids refuses to eat the boxed stuff after trying this. I had a horrible time melting the cheese first, the pan was a bear to scrub out. Now I just add the shredded cheese and the rest of the stuff (minus the butter) in the crockpot, add the macaroni, stir and leave alone for 3 hours :) Perfect!

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