Church Supper Macaroni and Cheese |
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Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cook Time: 55 Minutes |
Ready In: 75 Minutes Servings: 8 |
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It seems like there are endless recipe variations on macaroni and cheese; however my family is not a big fan of cheese sauce-based macaroni and cheese. It seems to dilute the cheese flavor. This simple but tasty recipe was given to me at a church supper in Terre Haute; it's old, definitely has German or Jewish (kugel?) roots. The secret is to use a good-quality EXTRA-SHARP Cheddar cheese. Ingredients:
2 tablespoons salt |
2 cups elbow macaroni |
1/4 cup butter, softened |
2 large eggs |
1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk |
1/2 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk |
1 1/2 pounds extra-sharp cheddar cheese, shredded |
1 pinch paprika, or to taste |
1/4 cup butter (optional) |
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs (optional) |
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole with butter.
2. Dissolve salt in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook macaroni, stirring often, until pasta is tender but still slightly firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Rinse macaroni under cool water, drain, and transfer to a bowl. Stir 1/4 cup softened butter into macaroni and toss a few times to melt butter and coat macaroni.
3. Beat eggs in a bowl; whisk evaporated and condensed milks into eggs.
4. Spread a layer of macaroni into the bottom of the prepared casserole; sprinkle with a layer of Cheddar cheese. Continue layering macaroni and cheese, ending with a layer of cheese on top. Pour egg-milk mixture over the layers. Use a fork to gently dig into the layers, assuring that the egg-milk mixture flows into all the layers. Sprinkle with paprika.
5. Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook bread crumbs in the hot butter, stirring constantly, until fragrant and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle crumb topping over casserole.
6. Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is browned and bubbling, about 45 minutes.
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