Knock-Out Macaroni and Cheese

This macaroni and cheese will be a hit every time you make it. Children love it. It works perfectly to complement many other dishes (including that meat and fish that I don’t eat) and is an excellent contribution to any potluck dinner. Great for Thanksgiving. It is an all-around comfort food and so easy to prepare that you will never go back to those cardboard packaged versions again. In my opinion, the trick to my macaroni and cheese that makes it so popular is that I use a ridiculously abundant amount of cheese and do not skimp on the butter.

Ingredients

16 oz. elbow macaroni or spiral pasta (use rice pasta for the gluten-free version)
1 lb. grated cheddar cheese
3 large eggs
1¼ cup milk
1 stick butter (approximately ½ cup)
½ cup wheat germ (or flax seed meal for the gluten-free version)
2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. black pepper
generous dusting of paprika
salt to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease an oblong baking dish.

Boil the pasta until it is done. When it is cooked, toss it lightly with ¼ cup of butter, sliced so that it melts quickly into the warm pasta. Add the onion powder and black pepper (and salt if desired) and mix them into the pasta well.

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then add the milk. Grate the cheese.

Spread a generous layer of the macaroni (about 1/3 of the total macaroni) in the baking dish. Cover that layer with grated cheese. Spread half the remaining macaroni over the grated cheese layer. Cover that with another thick layer of grated cheese. Keep some of the cheese out to put on top. Spread the last (thinner) layer of macaroni and sprinkle the last of the cheese on top of that. Pour the egg and milk mixture evenly over the macaroni and cheese, making sure it sinks in. Sprinkle the wheat germ (or flax seed meal) over the top then dot with butter. Dust the top with paprika.

Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes at 350°. Then remove the foil and allow it to continue to bake uncovered for another 15 minutes to crisp the top. You’re children will be sniffing around the kitchen when they smell this one in the oven!

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!