Baked Macaroni & Cheese

Jared and I have made baked macaroni and cheese before, but without a recipe and with little effort. Believe it or not, I was looking forward to following a recipe that required a bit of "work" and different ingredients.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons melted butter
8 ounces macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Place the bread crumbs into a small bowl and mix well with the melted butter; set aside.
2) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain, then place into prepared casserole dish.
3) While the pasta is cooking, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the minced onion and cook until the onion softens and turns translucent, about 5 minutes.
4) Stir in the flour, pepper, salt, and dry mustard until incorporated, then pour in the milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer, stirring constantly until the milk has thickened, about 10 minutes. Take the milk off of the heat and stir in the Cheddar cheese until melted. Pour cheese sauce over the macaroni, then sprinkle evenly with buttered bread crumbs.
5) Bake until the top is golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes.

Recipe from www.allrecipes.com


Husband Rating:
Finding a meal that Jared does not like is hard to find, so it was obvious that Jared enjoyed the macaroni and cheese.

Wife Rating:
Anything with cheese is a winner in my book! The bread crumbs were a nice touch and the onion was subtle, yet added good flavor.

We'll make this again!