Ooey Gooey White Mac and Cheese

So, it’s a Saturday afternoon and most of the family is home and I decided to make some mac and cheese for lunch. And not the boxed stuff with powder or a packet of distinctly disturbing glowing bright orange cheese product. I wanted to make a creamy cheese sauce with the real stuff.

So, I put on a pot of water to boil my elbow macaroni and then I looked to see what remained in my cheese drawer as I am on the cusp of needing to do a shopping order.

I knew I didn’t have a couple of cups of shredded cheddar cheese, so I went through the drawer to see what I could find. As the pasta drained, I added milk to the pan, popped in the Irish butter and gathered enough cheese for the sauce. I ended up with five different cheeses, which resulted in a creamy, decadent sauce, but one that wasn’t too rich and definitely did not taste like it came from a box mix. It had a gooey-ness that let you know it was made with love by mom.

I think what took it over the top is that I added it some wonderful Brie. It is definitely the way to go if you want to level up your mac and cheese game.

Ingredients:

8 ounces cooked macaroni

2 cups milk

2 tablespoons Kerrygold Irish Butter

About 6-8 ounces of Velveeta Queso Blanco

1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 - 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

4 ounces of Havarti (I chopped up deli slices)

3-4 ounces of Brie (with thins removed), cut into small chunks

As my noodles drained, I put the milk into the already hot pan that I made my pasta in. And added the butter, then returned the pasta to the pan and added all the cheeses on top, put the heat on low and put a lid on the pot to melt it quickly. After about two minutes I stirred. Returned the lid again and after another minute or so, after all the cheese had melted it was ready to serve.

I put mine in a bowl with a little chopped basil on top and some freshly-ground pepper. I thought how yummy it would be to add a bit of panko on top and pop it under the broiler or in the air fryer for a couple minutes to brown, but I was too hungry to wait. It was near pasta perfection just as it was. Sometimes mac and cheese is just too rich or just too artificially-cheesy for me and I am done after a couple bites. This was wonderful with a slightly sharp flavor that was mild enough that I could eat a whole bowl without feeling like it was too much.

By the way, the Brie that I used was a Supreme Cheese sample that I received from Savencia Cheese USA LLC  and is crafted locally in Lena, Illinois. It was so buttery and smooth and is something that I now think that everyone should add to their mac and cheese.