baked macaroni and cheese

baked macaroni and cheese is a classic comfort food dish that warms everyone up on a chilly wet day.  for this traditional recipe, i use 2 cups of elbow macaroni noodles.  boil these for 8 minutes, even though the box may recommend longer.  8 minutes will soften the noodles that will continue to bake in the oven with the rest of the ingredients.

for the white cheese sauce, start with 2 tbsp of margarine melted in a saucepan.  add 2 tbsp of flour and stir to mix and heat. add 1 teaspoon of salt.  gradually whisk in 2 1/2 cups of milk, while stirring to incorporate the flour mixture.  this is an important step that must be done carefully to incorporate the ingredients into a perfect white sauce.  by gradually adding the milk, and whisking with a wire whisk, and going slowly, this step can be done successfully.

after these ingredients have been incorporated and heated to coat the back of a wooden spoon, add 2 1/2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese.  then, drain the macaroni noodles, then add to this mixture. 

pour into a greased casserole dish. add another 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese to the top before baking.  bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes, and then allow to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.  baked macaroni and cheese is a wonderful classic dish to have in any recipe box for a go-to comfort food meal.  serve this dish with a green vegetable, herb roll or salad.