Bake time: 30-40 minutes
Prep time: 20 minutes

This makes a large amount of very rich macaroni and cheese. Cut the recipe in half to serve a family of four.

Traditionally, I have always prepared macaroni and cheese using a roux based cheese sauce (or sometimes out of a blue box…. Sssssh don’t tell), but after discovering Southern Style mac n cheese, I have another favorite in my recipe box. It’s definitely a more expensive and cholesterol laden favorite. You won’t want to make this on a tight budget. This is one of those “sometimes” dishes. Sometimes you’ll make it because you want awesome mac n cheese. Most of time, you won’t want to drop all that money on cheese.

PLEASE GRATE BY HAND! I cannot stress enough that you should please, pretty pretty please, go through the trouble of grating your cheeses by hand. If you look at the ingredients on the back of a package of pre-grated cheese, you’re going to find fillers like cornstarch. You don’t want to add cornstarch to this dish. Cornstarch is a thickener, which will give your dish a different consistency than intended.

Ingredients:
12 oz pasta
3 1/2 cups milk (use whole milk if possible)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 large eggs
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
1/3 cup Asiago cheese, finely grated (2 oz)
1/2 cup aged parmesan cheese, finely grated (2 oz)
1 1/4 cup Romano cheese, finely grated (4 oz)
4 oz American or Velveeta type cheese, cut into small cubes
4 cups shredded aged sharp cheddar cheese (10 oz)
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 oz)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

Directions:
1. In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook your paste to al dente (almost cooked, just a little chewy). Drain and rinse your pasta very well with cold water to stop the cooking process, and keep the noodles from sticking together.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs with salt and pepper. Whisk in milk and melted butter.
3. Reserve about 2 cups of a mix of all cheeses, saving to place on top of the macaroni before baking.
4. Add the American/Velveeta cheese, Romano, parmesan and asiago cheeses. Mix well.
5. Slowly add the pasta and soft cheeses. Slowly add about 2 cups of pasta and 1 cup of cheese at a time, then fold it all together with a spatula. Try not to overmix, you don’t want to damage your noodles.
6. Pour macaroni mixture into the pan: grease two 9×13 pans, or only one pan if you’re making a half batch. Putting a full batch in a 9×13 pan will nearly overflow and increase the cook time.
7. Place into a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake 30-40 minutes, or until the sides and top turn golden brown.
8. Allow to rest 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy! Have a wonderful macaroni and cheesy day!

-Amelia