Macaroni and cheese recipes?

What are you favorite recipes for macaroni and cheese (home-made). I love it but I feel like jazzing it up sometimes- I always use old cheddar..what other cheeses are good in this? I know not emmenthal as it just curdled and ended up in tiny,little pieces-very unappetizing. I have been putting cayenne pepper in but it still seems a bit bland-any ideas?

It's the ultimate in comfort food, isn't it? There are so many different variations from the stove top type, oven-baked, some incorporate chicken, or ground beef, some call for tomato soup. Sometimes I add a bit of several cheeses -- cheddar, parmesan (freshly grated), lots of pepper and saute' some mushrooms and toss them in. Or I'll make a non-traditional recipe like this one, called.Pastitsio Pie. It's creamy, a Greek ground beef and macaroni casserole with a hint of cinnamon. Scores 10 on the comfort food scale.


2 cups macaroni
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1-1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/2 tsp each, dried oregano, cinnamon and salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can (14 oz/398 mL) stewed tomatoes
1 can (5-1/2 oz/156 mL) tomato paste
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp dry bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Sauce:

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup cottage cheese
1 egg
Pinch each nutmeg,salt and pepper

In saucepan of boiling salted water, cook macaroni until tender but firm. Drain and rinse under cold water; drain again and set aside. Meanwhile, in nonstick skillet, melt 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) of the butter over medium heat; cook onion and garlic, stirring, for 3 minutes.

Stir in beef, oregano, cinnamon, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, for 7 to 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Drain off fat. Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste and vinegar; cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in parsley. Set aside.

Sauce: In saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour; cook, whisking, for 2 minutes; without browning. Pour in milk; cook, whisking, for about 5 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat;stir in cottage cheese, egg, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

Grease 10-inch (25 cm) pie plate with remaining 1-1/2 tsp (7 mL) butter; sprinkle with bread crumbs. Spoon in half of the macaroni. Spread meat mixture evenly over top; sprinkle with one-third of the Parmesan. Spoon remaining macaroni over top; carefully pour sauce over macaroni. (Can be prepared to this point, covered and refrigerated for up to 1 day. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes; add 10 minutes to baking time.) Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan. Bake on baking sheet in 350 degree F (180 degrees C) oven for 50 to 60 minutes or until top is golden.

Makes 6 servings.

Per serving: about 595 calories, 43 g protein, 27 g fat, 47 g
carbohydrate, high source fibre, excellent source calcium and iron.

Another, which is Italian style is very tasty, too.

Italian Macaroni and Cheese


1 lb ground chuck
1 can (16-oz) can tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 tablespoon minced onions (instant or fresh)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Dash pepper
2 cups cooked shell macaroni
1 cup cream style cottage cheese
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups sharp cheddar cheese grated

Cook meat until it loses its red color & drain. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, onion and water. Stir in sugar, garlic salt, oregano, Italian seasoning and pepper. Simmer slowly 30 minutes. Combine macaroni & cottage cheese. Put a little meat sauce in the bottom of a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Top with half macaroni mixture, half the shredded Cheddar and half the remaining meat sauce. Repeat layers ending with the sauce. Sprinkle Parmesan over the top.

In preheated 325 F oven bake 40 minutes, or until heated through.

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients
(Serves 6)

* 3/4 lb bacon (optional, but I think this really makes the dish!)
* 1/4 cup butter (margarine will do in a pinch)
* 1 1/2 cup bread crumbs (unseasoned, and don't use sourdough crumbs either)
* 1 lb uncooked elbow macaroni
* 3-5 scallions, chopped
* 1 1/2 lb Swiss cheese

Procedure

1. Cook the bacon until it is very crisp. When done, blot dry.
2. Put the butter in a small frying pan and heat at a low temperature until it's melted. When melted, add the bread crumbs and sautae until the bread crumbs are browned, stirring frequently to avoid burning the crumbs.
3. Boil the macaroni in water according to directions on the package. Don't overcook ... it should be "al dente". A little olive oil added to the pot will help prevent the macaroni from sticking together.
4. While the macaroni is cooking, grate the cheese and chop the scallions.
5. When the macaroni is done, drain it in a colander. The "assembly" is done in layers into a glass baking dish. Put a layer of macaroni on the bottom, then cheese, the crumble bacon and scallions on top of this. Make the layers thin; this way, you can get about three pasta/cheese/bacon layers. When all of these are in the pan, top with the bread crumbs and bake at for 20 minutes or until the bread crumbs are a little more browned and the cheese is melted.
6. Eat. However, it makes fantastic leftovers, so you won't want to eat it all.

Notes
Cooking the bacon in the oven or in a microwave works well for this recipe. I find the best way to dry the bacon is to put a couple of paper towels on top of an old brown paper bag, then the bacon, and then a couple more paper towels on top of that, and then just pat with the hand a few times. It's important to get the bacon dry or the casserole will be too greasy.
Rating

Difficulty: easy.
Time: 20-30 minutes preparation, 20 minutes cooking.
Precision: no need to measure.

All those recipes sound good!!! I'll have to try one soon.

My homemade mac&cheese is pretty plain. I just cook shell macaroni till done, melt half a block of Velveeta (I have a big family & they love mac&cheese) with 1/3 to 1/2 cup milk, then combine. My hubby likes it with shredded cheddar cheese & parmesan cheese sprinkled on top, my daughters like it mixed with canned tuna. I eat it plain, usually.

Mine is also pretty plain. I just do the noodles and then in another pan melt some better, then put in some cubes of velveeta... let that melt & then pour it over the noodles. Sometimes I'll add some steamed broccoli or bacon bits.