Got the Kraft Mac n Cheese Blues?

So there were certain staples in our diets as undergrads: One was Ramen, and of course Kraft Mac n Cheese. And as good at the time as both of those were, mostly cause we were so hungry we would have eaten day old, left out all night, pizza (which Im sure in a hungover stupor I have), the thought of powdered, day glow orange cheese that would stain your whites/counters, quickly lost its luster.  Not to mention for how much work/other ingredients you STILL had to put into making it (milk, butter, and boil the darn noodles), you might as well just make totally awesome, scrumptious, mouthwatering, mac n cheese that will feed an army, or you for days.  I am certainly not going to claim this to be GOURMET, but ask my constituents and they will tell you that this recipe is a winner!

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

preheat oven to 350 F

• 2 X 16 oz boxes Macaroni Elbow Noodles 
• 1 large block of velveeta 
• 3/4 of a half gallon of milk
• 1 stick of butter
• 2/3 cup of flour
• 1 small-medium white onion (finely chopped)
• 6 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 6 roma tomatoes
• 1 cup of parmesan cheese (fresh or from shaker)
• 1/3 cup of fresh parsley 
• 2 tblsp paprika (not necessary)

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a couple dashes of salt, add your noodles. Cook til just tender (about 10-15 minutes, you want them slightly el dente).  Drain noodles thoroughly, and in a 9 X 13 greased pan, add your noodles.Set to the side.  You will probably end up having some noodles left over. 
2. In medium to large saucepan, melt your butter over medium heat.  Add your onion and garlic.  Let simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add your flour to the butter/onion mixture.  This will make your roux.  Mix til evenly distributed and is a thick paste.
4. Add about half of your milk to the roux.  Using a whisk, over medium heat, stir until the paste is completely dissolved.  Bring the milk mixture up to temp (hot enough to easily melt your cheese) but do not let burn.  Stir occasionally.
5. Cube all of your velveeta.  Add about a quarter of the block in at a time.  Make sure to keep the cheese from sitting on the bottom of the pot or else it will burn, continuously stir until all of your cheese is completely melted. The consistency should not be soupy, more like a thinned out version of cheese dip.  So at this point it will probably be super thick.  Add more milk according to how ooey gooey you want your sauce to be.  You very well might want to add the rest of the milk, but use your own discretion.
6. Add your fresh parsley, and if you want about 2 tblspns of paprika
7. Make sure the noodles in your 9 X 13 are broken up, not clumpy.  Simply just use your hands to do this.  You can then take your sauce and pour evenly over the top of the noodles (start with a little more than half of the sauce).  Mix the sauce and noodles until evenly distributed.  Then add the rest of your sauce, and do the same.  It should be extremely saucey!
8. slice your roma tomatoes, thin but not paper thin. Place them on top of your mac n cheese evenly (make sure to press down your MacnCheese into the pan so you have a flat surface to put the tomatoes on).
9. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top of the tomatoes.
10. Place in oven at 350 degrees F for about 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.

There are lots of things you can do to this basic recipe to diversify.  Personally I like to add bacon, but you could even add spinach or bleu cheese. Or if you just love basil use that instead of parsley!

Served this, along with homemade chicken tenders at a potluck/game night I threw this past weekend.  Unfortunately I was not able to take a picture of my mac n cheese because the minute I put it on the table, the masses dove in, and it was quickly polished off....which is obviously a happy moment for any cook :0)  This served, with some leftovers, 10 people (8 of which were hungry men).

COOKING TIP:  This mac n cheese can totally be frozen.  Just make sure to take off the tomatoes before doing so, as they get a little mucky if you freezem'.  Then simply cut your Mac n Cheese into squares of appropriate serving size, and individually wrap them in plastic wrap.  Then place them all into large freezer bags.  This way if you are at a loss of what to eat, especially if its JUST yourself, you have an easy, serving for one size, mac n cheese!