Recipe: Baked Mac & Cheese

My cousins, Sandradee & Justin, got us The Joy of Cooking as a wedding gift and it is by far one of my most used gifts. I have a number of go-to recipes (Chicken Parmesan is one of my favs) but I get great enjoyment out of using an actual printed cookbook rather than just constantly checking an app. Tonight, we were rushed for time, so I picked a quick baked mac & cheese recipe and made a few slight modifications, per usual.

• 2 cups elbow macaroni
• 2.5 cups white sauce (I used a jar of alfredo, rather than using their recipe to home-make it)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2.5 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• Paprika
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs
• Bay leaf

Additional ingredients I used:

• Ground mustard
• Sliced pepperjack cheese 

Preheat oven to 350

Cook the macaroni normally & drain

Meanwhile, simmer white sauce, onion, ground mustard & paprika (1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon each), salt & pepper to taste, bay leaf for 15 minutes

Remove bay leaf

Remove sauce from heat, add half shredded cheese and stir until melted

Mix sauce & pasta in a bowl

Place half sauce / pasta mixture in a greased baking dish, layer with pepperjack cheese

Place remaining sauce / pasta mixture over pepperjack, top with remaining shredded cheese and bread crumbs

Bake :30 minutes