Baked Macaroni and Cheese, with Smoked Gouda & Three Cheese

I don’t always make homemade mac & cheese, actually yeah I do.

IS it more time consuming to make your own homemade macaroni and cheese? Maybe? But is it worth it? DEFINITELY! In reality it’s not all that time conusming, this recipe just has a few more steps to make then the box stuff. I used to try and cheat, by not using a cheese sauce, but once my mom started making homemade mac & cheese with a sauce I knew I couldn’t go back. Now this isn’t the same macaroni cheese recipe that my mom makes, but it’s similar.

Mine uses my favorite butter Minerva Butter from my home state of Ohio, I’m a big fan of supporting local small businesses whenever possible.

Now let’s talk about the star of the dish- cheese! There are so many options when it comes to cheese, but anything aged & smoked is a go to because it adds a depth in flavor that can’t be beat and then add in old trusty american (velveta cheese) and the nuttiness of parmesean. My go to is smoked gouda & aged white cheddar those make this cheese absolutely addicting.

Now I will say this dish is decadent I mean it is sinful in every way, but when you want comfort food it can not be beat!

Of course it’s topped off with bacon because everything is better with a little bacon crunch. My husband thinks I need to add tomato to this dish, I think that’s insane to add into a macaroni and cheese dish, but I told him we can give that a go when Summer home grown tomatoes are plentiful. So look for a spin on this dish come Summer time.






Let’s talk shells for a minute you can use what ever macaroni you’d like, but I love the pop of ooey gooey cheese that you get in every bite with the shells.


 








Smoked Gouda & 3 Mac and Cheese

Recipe by Tasha BarbourCourse: DinnerCuisine: American
Servings

10

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

30

minutes
Total time

40

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 lb small-medium shells or elbows, macaroni

  • 4 cups shredded cheese (smoked gouda, aged white cheddar, parmesean, velvetta) Also love using sharp white cheddar can add a little extra to top it.

  • 1 stick of unsalted butter

  • 4 TBS flour

  • 2 cups of milk or half and half

  • 1 cup heavy cream

  • 1/4 sour cream

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1 tsp fresh cracked pepper

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 paprika

  • 2 slices of bacon cooked and chopped to top it off with

  • 1 cup pasta water

Directions

  • Cook macaroni per package directions and reserve 1 cup of pasta water in case you need to thin out cheese mixture.
  • Using your same pot melt butter over medium heat. Add in flour and whisk constantly for 1 minute, add in milk and heavy cream whisk until mixture thickens.
  • Fold in the cheeses, salt, pepper, seasonings, and sour cream. Whisk until the cheeses melt into a sauce, whisk for about 3 minutes breaking up any lumps that may form. If the sauce gets too thick you can pour in some pasta water.
  • Turn off the heat and stir in macaroni.
  • If you want to bake it and get a nice brown crunchy crust, preheat oven to 375 degrees and bake for about 10-15 minutes. Don’t forget to add that leftover cheese and bacon to top it with.

Notes

  • This Mac & Cheese is good baked and unbaked!
  • Any aged or sharp cheese adds additional flavor to it feel free to add your favorite cheeses.
  • I prefer to use medium shells, but any small or medium macaroni pasta will work.
  • If you don’t plan on baking it just add in the bacon or top it wit the bacon when serving.