Easy Oven Mac & Cheese

 

I had some guests for a meal one day last week and I wanted to make them something a tiny bit different than what I usually make and I also wanted to use up some bits and pieces.  My old friend Leona used to make the loveliest mac and cheese and there was no sauce recipe involved. She simply threw everything into a casserole dish and away it went.

 

I decided to do something very similar, but I switched it a bit by changing a few things around, with d the end result being gorgeously decadently delicious! We all really enjoyed it.

 

She used to just mix cooked macaroni with some cubed cheese and put it in a dish and pour milk over top and some buttered crumbs on top of that.

 

I used a generous mix of cubed strong cheddar cheese and orange processed cheese.  (Yes, pastic cheese, but it works well here. It really does)

 

I added a touch of grated onion, just for some extra flavour . . . besides the salt and pepper.  You want to use plenty of black pepper.  It just enhances the cheese flavours so much.

 

Instead of just milk, I used a mix of milk and cream.  I know  . . .  a tad bit decadent, but it totally was worth it in the flavour and consistency at the end.  It worked fabulously!  I also added some leftover cubed ham that I had frozen a while back.  Tony declared it a success and went back for seconds!  I love it when that happens!

 

*Easy Oven Mac & Cheese*

Serve 4 to 6

Printable Recipe 

This is rich and delicious and oh so easy.  It is a once in a blue moon treat and doesn't involve any making of a sauce.  You just stir everything together and pour it into the dish and bake. 

175g elbow macaroni, uncooked (1 1/2 cups)

240ml single cream (1 cup)

240 ml whole milk (1 cup)

1 TBS grated onion

salt and black pepper to taste

225g strong cheddar cheese, cut into chunks (8 ounces)

110g orange process cheese, cut into chunks (4 ounces)

2 cups chopped leftover baked ham

4 TBS coarse cracker crumbs

butter to dot 

  

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.  Butter a 2 litre shallow casserole dish (2 quart).

Cook the macaroni according to package directions.  Drain well, rinse, and drain again.

Warm the milk, cream and onion together in the same saucepan you cooked the macaroni in.  Stir in the cooked macaroni and chunks of cheese, along with the bits of  ham.  Pour into the baking dish and spread out. Cover tightly and bake for abuot 30  minutes.  Uncover and  scatter the cracker crumbs over top.  Dot with some butter and return to the oven for about 15 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown.  Let stand for five minutes and then serve to some very lucky people. 

 

You could leave the ham out altogether and if you used a vegetarian cheese it would work well for vegetarians.  But really the ham went so well in this.  I served a nice salad and some peas and carrots on the side.  Crusty rolls were also present!  I hope you will try this. I think you will find that not only is it the easiest mac and cheese you have ever made, but also one of the tastiest!  Bon Appetit!

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