The addition of ham turns this quick macaroni and cheese recipe into a meal. With lots of melted cheddar cheese, it’s ready in under 30 minutes.
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A few months ago I made macaroni and cheese this way for some young friends in a sly attempt to broaden their mac cheese horizons away from Kraft.
Aldie, who takes 30 minutes to eat a piece of apple, devoured hers in 2 minutes and asked for seconds! The other girls devoured hers too.
How to make mac and cheese on the stovetop
I’m sure some of us macaroni and cheese lovers have experimented with simply adding shredded cheese and milk to freshly made macaroni, right?
If your experience is like mine, doing this doesn’t really yield the best results. The cheese will be either stringy, lumpy, or both.
To prevent this from happening, here are a few tips:
5 more popular mac and cheese recipes
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From the editors of Simply Recipes
Fast stovetop macaroni and cheese
Cheddar cheese can be notoriously stringy as it melts. To keep the cheese from becoming too stringy, it helps to coat it lightly with a little flour or cornstarch. Adding some water to the sauce helps, as does some lemon juice. Agitation encourages stringing, so keep agitation to a minimum.
ingredients
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1/2 pound Cheddar cheese, grated (Above 2 cupspacked up)
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1 teaspoon cornstarch
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2 liter water
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1 tablespoon Salt
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2 cups uncooked Elbow Macaroni
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2 tablespoon unsalted butter
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2 tablespoon flour
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1 1/4 cups milkheated until steaming but not simmering
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1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
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1/4 Cup Ham, chopped in 1/4 inch cubes
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Freshly ground black pepper
method
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In a medium bowl, mix together the cornstarch and shredded cheese:
set aside to coat cheese. The cornstarch keeps the cheese from becoming too stringy.
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To cook macaroni noodles in boiling water:
In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, bring 2 liters of water to a boil with a tablespoon of salt. Add 2 cups of elbow macaroni and follow the cooking time instructions on the package, minus about 2 minutes. (If your macaroni doesn’t have instructions, start checking after 7 minutes).
Cook al dente – cooked through but still slightly firm. Drain noodles.
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While the macaroni is cooking, prepare the sauce:
Melt 2 tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 2 tbsp flour. Let cook for about a minute.
Slowly drizzle in 1 1/4 cups of milk while beating (to avoid lumps) until sauce is smooth.
Slowly add the grated cheese and stir until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice.
If the macaroni isn’t done yet, reduce the heat to just high enough to keep the sauce warm.
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Add the cooked macaroni and ham to the cheese sauce:
Stir to combine. Don’t overmix. Sprinkle with some freshly ground black pepper.
Serve immediately.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 446 | calories |
| 27g | Fat |
| 29g | carbohydrates |
| 21g | protein |
