Homemade Mac & Cheese

This is one of the husband's favorite meals.  Seriously- he can't get enough of this stuff.

The original recipe came from the husband's Grandma.  They were in town visiting one Christmas and I asked her to show me how to make this favorite dish.  It was good folks- no, beyond good, it was awesome.  But the original recipe had WAY too much cheese, grease, fat etc and there was NO WAY that I could feed this to my family with a clear conscience.  I'm not even kidding- there was 2 pounds of cheddar and 2 packages of bacon and a full stick of butter!  Ack!  So over the years, I've lightened it up a bit and adjusted the ingredients to fit our organic, non GMO lifestyle.

The results....pretty darn awesome.

Homeschooled Housewife's Homemade Mac & Cheese

8 oz sharp cheddar cheese
4 cups milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
6-8 slices turkey bacon
16 oz penne pasta
salt & pepper to taste
pinch of nutmeg
heavy cream


The ingredients are simple.  The process is easy.  Start by boiling your water for the pasta, the husband likes this with penne pasta but you could use whatever you like.  Then put your bacon in the oven, 375 for 8-10 minutes.  We use Applegate organic turkey bacon and yeah- I cook bacon in the oven.

Once you start the water boiling- begin on your sauce.  Super easy.  If you know how to do a bechamel sauce, the process is identical.  And folks- this is one skill you simply must have.  Making a good homemade bechamel sauce will come in handy more times then you can count- so trust me & learn how to do this!

For the sauce- melt your butter & then add the flour to it.  Cook on very, very low heat for just a minute.  You're basically cooking off the flour taste.  Then slowly add in your milk- 1/4 to 1/2 cup at a time.  You want it to slowly thicken with the flour/butter mixture.  Continue adding all your milk, making sure to stir often so you don't scald it.  Once you've added your milk- time to dump in the cheese.  Use a good quality cheese that melts.  We use Organic Valley sharp cheddar- just cut it up into small chunks and slowly add to the milk.  Don't put it in all once!

By this point, your pasta should be done cooking.  Don't forget to check your bacon- better yet, set a timer!  Drain your pasta and set aside.  Cut up your bacon and add to the sauce.

Finish your sauce by adding salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Go easy on the salt since there's already salt from the cheese and bacon!  You can also add a little bit of heavy cream at the end to give your sauce a richer flavor.  It's not needed and if you're trying to lighten up this dish- then skip it.  But when we want to indulge, you know I add at least a 1/4 cup of heavy cream!  A pinch of nutmeg and you're done!

Combine your pasta and sauce and put into a large cassarole dish.  Now- you can totally cook this a little in the oven or just eat it as is.  We do both.  The husband likes it cooked a bit, 375 for about 20 minutes while I like it fresh from the stove top.  As with any recipe, I urge you to use only organic ingredients.  You can also get fancy and use a combination of different cheeses or fun shaped pastas.  Trust me when I say that using quality ingredients just makes your food taste better!

Enjoy!