Few foods are more comforting than Mac and Cheese. It is perfect anytime, but especially good on a cold winter night. Mac and cheese is amazingly flexible, and you can make it as deluxe or as simple as you wish.

The recipe I’ll be using today comes from Thechunkychef.com, but it is similar to many other mac and cheese recipes. As usual, I’ll be making a few tweaks. Remember, you can make reasonable modifications or even omissions to many recipes and still get good results. Are you suffering from inflation and the Trump tariff taxes? This mac and cheese casserole is cheap, but it tastes deluxe. It is so much better than the stuff in the blue box.

I’m usually responsible for making dinner on Wednesday, and this Wednesday, my son’s girlfriend was coming over for dinner. She stops by often enough that dinner doesn’t have to be a big deal, but I’m mindful that her digestion doesn’t handle spicy or tomato-based foods well.

I had just baked some 7-grain bread, but I wasn’t sure how that would go with mac and cheese, so I made a quick batch of corn muffins. As for the mac and cheese, I told my son that creating it would be a father-son job. He was happy to help.

See the photos for the ingredient list and procedure. Remember that I will be making some modifications; never fear!

Boil some elbow macaroni in salted water for one minute less than what the box says. Drain. You can use other types of pasta if you wish, but elbow macaroni is the classic shape.

Melt a stick of butter over medium heat, then add 1/2 cup of AP flour, stirring constantly. Cook this mixture for about a minute.

Add about 2 cups of the half-and-half while continuing to stir and cook the mixture for a couple of minutes. I used some whipping cream that we had left over from Thanksgiving instead of the half-and-half. You could use milk or evaporated milk if that is what you have.

Add the milk, the rest of the half-and-half, and the spices. Continue stirring until the mixture looks thick.

Remove the white sauce from the heat and mix in 2 cups of the cheddar cheese. I like sharp cheddar, but you can use whatever you prefer. You can use only cheddar, or you can use several different cheeses (as the recipe’s ingredient list suggests). It is all good. You can also use less cheddar if you are trying to economize. It won’t be as cheesy, but it will still be delicious.

The recipe calls for Gruyère cheese, but I couldn’t find it. I settled on Gouda. Heck, it is also a “G” cheese… I’m a simple guy and not a cheese expert! Add about a cup of this cheese and stir it in.

This is how thick the cheese sauce should look.

I added a little mustard to the sauce, just because. Nope, it isn’t in the original recipe, but I think it adds something.

I mixed in the partially cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce.

I placed about one-half of the mixture into a greased 3-quart casserole. A 9 x 13 works the best.

Sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the mixture.

I went off recipe and also sprinkled on a little Parmesan to give the dish a little umami kick. That is totally optional.

Side note. We had some leftover fancy crackers from Thanksgiving, so I put them in a bag and crushed them. I then added some melted butter to the bag. The recipe didn’t call for a topping, but I like mac and cheese with one. Another option would be to use some crushed-up potato chips. Buttered and crushed Ritz crackers work exceptionally well.

I added the remaining macaroni mixture and topped it with the remaining reserved cheese plus a little Parmesan. I then added the buttered crushed crackers on top and baked the mac and cheese for about 20-25 minutes, uncovered, at 350°F (175°C). I baked the casserole until it was quite bubbly around the edges. I used this as my timing guide, so I’m not exactly sure if I baked it for 20 or 25 minutes. Then I let it sit for around 15 minutes before serving.

Here it is out of the oven.

Served with a homemade corn muffin and some broccoli. I know, it seems like our vegetable is often broccoli! We must like it.

That’s it, folks. Another super simple and delicious dinner. Today, it was only my son, his girlfriend, and me eating. This dinner was very economical to make, and there is a lot left over (about 3/4 of the pan). It will reheat well in the microwave for lunches. Mac and cheese also freezes reasonably well.

You can reduce the recipe costs further by using less cheese, and you can get by using only cheddar if that is what you have. The half-and-half adds richness, but you can use only milk if you choose. Sharp cheddar is the way to go, but any melty cheese will work in a pinch.

Yes, it was delicious… do you think I would post it if it weren’t?

Happy eating!

Mike