This is part of a special series of recipe posts by Utokia Langley of She’s Got Flavor as we lead into Thanksgiving! Make sure you check back everyday for another recipe!

OK, so this Keep Em’ Comin Back Creamy Baked Macroni & Cheese is right up there with my Smack Yo Mama Finger Lickin Grand Marnier Bar-B-Que Pork Ribs! These are comfort foods that soothe the soul. If you had a long hard day or week, maybe you are just feeling down, this is the kind of comfort food that gives you that “right on time” kinda boost! It took me so many tries, so many calls to Mama, Grandma and my friend’s Grandmothers until I finally came up with exactly what I was yearning, in baked macaroni and cheese. Honestly it’s like a pizza; not that many ingredients yet still it’s so hard to get it just right. When you see old bay in the seasoning ingredients you might wonder if it was a mistake. It wasn’t, but there is a method to my flavor madness! If you’ve been trying my other recipes you already know about my obsession with flavor. I also added butter and garlic croutons as part of my topping, it adds so much flavor and a beautiful crunch! Just a couple of the many reasons this macaroni and cheese deserved the title of “Keep Em’ Comin Back”! It will do just that, so make sure you set some aside for the next day if you’d planned on left overs, otherwise all you will find is an empty baking dish!! ENJOY and don’t forget to check out my Smack Yo Mama Finger Lickin Grand Marnier Bar-B-Que Pork Ribs.

KEEP EM’ COMIN BACK CREAMY MACARONI & CHEESE

INGREDIENTS:

1 pound box macaroni noodles
1 ¾ cup of cubed Velveeta cheese (about ¾ of a 8oz pound box)
2 ½ cups of milk
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ stick unsalted butter (for cheese roué)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter (for noodles)
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (for noodles)
4-6 tsp. unsalted soft butter (to butter dish or you can use cooking spray)
¾ stick melted unsalted butter (for crispy topping)
¾ cup finely crushed butter & garlic croutons
½ cup shredded Colby and Monterey Jack Cheese (you can use cheddar instead to add sharpness)
Sea salt (to taste)
Ground pepper (to taste)
Granulated garlic (to taste)
Old Bay seasoning (to taste)

READY, SET GO:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
2. Cool macaroni noodles per back of box instructions
3. Drain water from noodles and add to a bowl to be seasoned
4. Season noodles with 4 tbsp. unsalted unsalted butter, 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, ground pepper, granulated garlic and old bay and mix gently then set aside
5. Time to make the cheese roué
6. Using the same large sauce pan you cooked the noodles in, turn the heat to high for 10-20 seconds, then turn down to low (so you do not burn your cheese roué)
7. Add ½ stick of unsalted unsalted butter to the pan and allow unsalted butter to melt
8. Add flour to unsalted butter and begin to whisk constantly
9. Once flour and unsalted butter have incorporated and mixture looks like crumbles (if it looks dry add a little more unsalted butter), add the milk in slowly always whisking
10. Once the flour, unsatled butter and milk are incorporated, start adding the cubed Velveeta cheese little by little always whisking until roué has a nice yellow color and is creamy, it shouldn’t be too thick or too runny (if it’s too thick add a little more milk, if it’s too runny add a little more flour and continue to whisk until you get your desired consistency), season with a little sea salt & ground pepper and give a final whisk
11. Once cheese roué is ready, turn heat off and add noodles to the cheese roué
12. Fold the cheese roué and the noodles together until every noodle has some cheese roué
13. Butter a baking dish (you can use cooking spray instead if you like)
14. Add the noodles that have been folded into the cheese roué to the baking dish and set aside
15. Let’s Make our Crispy Topping (YUMMY)
16. Mix the finely crushed butter & garlic croutons, ¾ stick melted unsalted butter and shredded Colby and Monterey jack cheese together
17. Sprinkle topping all over macaroni in the baking dish
18. Bake on 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese in topping is melted and top has a nice light brown color (remember your macaroni noodles and cheese roué are already cooked so you are not re-cooking just allowing the inside to bind and the cheese in the topping to melt and the croutons to get crisp
19. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes before serving
20. Check out my Smack Yo Mama Finger Lickin Grand Marnier Pork Bar-B-Que Ribs, they would go PERFECT with this Keep Em’ Comin Back Creamy Macaroni & Cheese

Sincerely,

Utokia ~
Sizzle Sizzle Baby ~