Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Ok, technically this is baked rotini and cheese because I couldn't find whole wheat macaroni noodles when I went to the store. However, this is the most delicious pasta with cheese sauce ever! Now a $0.75 box of processed Mac and Cheese is a hard price to beat but what are you getting for that $0.75. Mac and cheese from a box contains: Wheat flour, Niacin, Ferrous sulfate, Thiamin Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Folic acid, Whey, Milkfat, Milk Protein Concentrate, Salt, Sodium Tripolyphosphate, Citric acid, Lactic acid, Sodium phosphate, Calcium phosphate, Milk, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Enzymes, and Cheese culture. That is a lot of processed and artificial ingredients! Personally, I don't think Mac and Cheese from a box even tastes all that great especially when compared to real homemade food. 

Fun Fact for this post: It is also believed that Thomas Jefferson loved Macaroni and Cheese so much he had it served at dinner parties.

To get started cook about 8 oz of dry pasta. This time I used whole wheat rotini. While the water is coming to a boil and the pasta is cooking you can make the cheese sauce. 

Start by heating 2 Tablespoons of butter over medium-high heat in a large sauce pan and saute about half of an onion. The onion adds really good flavor to the pasta but if you don't like the texture of eating onions mincing them up really small helps. Cook the onions until they are just soft. 






Add in 2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour and a teaspoon of pepper. I also add in 1 teaspoon of ground mustard and 1 teaspoon of paprika. Stir the flour mixture into the onions. Continue stirring until it turns into a small paste. 






Add in 2 cups of milk and stir constantly as you pour the milk in and continuing stirring; you want the sauce to reach a smooth consistently instead of lumpy. Continue to stir and cook the sauce until it starts to thicken. 

 Add in 2 cups of cheese. This can be done in any sort of combination. I did 1 1/2 cups of cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup of monterey jack cheese. You could use just cheddar cheese, cheddar and swiss, American cheese or any combination of the above. Stir the cheese into the sauce mixture until melted. 






 Once the pasta is done cooking fold it into the cheese sauce. Pour into a greased 2 quart baking dish. 


I like to put a breadcrumb topping on the pasta before baking it. It gives a nice crispy finish. Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a small skillet with 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs. I prefer to use Panko breadcrumbs. They are a Japanese breadcrumb that tend to be crispier than regular breadcrumbs. Toast the breadcrumbs until they are a light brown.


Once the breadcrumbs are toasty sprinkle them over the pasta mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until the top is crispy and browned. 

Homemade baked Macaroni and cheese using real natural ingredients! 

Cost Break Down!!

A whole onion cost $0.52 and I used half so it was $0.26. 1 Tablespoon of butter costs me about $0.08 so the 3 Tablespoons I used cost about $0.24. 2 Tablespoons of flour cost me $0.07. I would guess that the pepper and the spices cost about $0.25. A gallon of milk cost me $3.26 so 2 cups would be $0.40. The cheese I used cost me about $2.00. A box of rotini pasta cost me $0.99 and I used about 2/3 of it so I would say it cost about $0.66. The 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs I used cost about $0.25

All together I made a 2 quart pan of baked macaroni and cheese for $4.13. That is a homemade dinner made from real ingredients for less than $5!