Old Fashion Mac & Cheese

I am finally posted my mac & cheese recipe.  People are always asking me for this recipe and I have never written it down, so here it is.  I can now direct people to my blog for this recipe.  Enjoy!

Old Fashion Mac & Cheese
2-3 cups uncooked Elbow noodles (or any shape you like)
2-3 cups Whole Milk
3 tblsp butter
3 tblsp flour
2 -3 lb Your favorite cheese flavor (should be a strong cheese, I use an aged white cheddar) Shredded and divided in half
salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 375

1.) Make a roux, to make a roux you add the butter and flour into a sauce pan large enough for the milk and cheese to be added later. Cook the flour and butter for 5 minutes stirring constantly making sure it does not burn. Slight browning is okay.
2.) While the roux is cooking shred the cheese and get your water boiling for your noodles, add a tblsp of salt to your noodle water. Once your water is boiling add your noodles and cook 2 less minutes than the directions call for on your noodle package. Drain your noodles and rinse. Add the noodles to a casserole dish large enough to hold all your noodles and enough of the sauce you are making to cover the noodles completely.
3.) Making the white sauce: Your roux should be ready to make into the white sauce now that will later be your cheese sauce. Take your 3 cups of milk (if you are using 3 cups of milk & 3 lbs. cheese & 3 cups noodles, or two cups milk with 2 cups noodles & 2 lbs. cheese) and microwave till hot but not boiling. Add the hot whole milk to your roux and stir briskly so that no lumps form. (If after cooking for a few minutes you notice lumps in your white sauce you can strain the lumps out) Cook this white sauce till it becomes thick enough to coat a spoon.
4.) Making the cheese sauce: Add ½ the cheese to the white sauce and stir till melted. Once melted completely, taste your cheese sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
5.) Assembling your Mac & Cheese: Pour the cheese sauce over your noodles and stir to coat the noodles. The cheese sauce should cover the noodles completely but not drown the noodles. The more sauce the creamer the mac and cheese will be.
6.) Topping your Mac & Cheese: Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the noodle mixture and grind pepper on top of the shredded cheese.
7.) You can also take lays potato chips and place them in a freezer bag and using a rolling pin crush them finely and sprinkle them on top of the cheese for extra crunch.
8.) Place casserole into the oven at 375 degrees and cook till the cheese on top melts and starts to turn brown. The brown part is delicious!

This mac and cheese is best prepared and served immediately. The noodles tend to soak up the cheese sauce so it will become dry mac and cheese if made ahead. It’s still good though.