Homemade Mac & Cheese Recipe

There's nothing more special than a home cooked meal. Instead of reaching for the box dinner of this classic the next time you are at the store, try buying the ingredients so you can make your own. It's not only better for you (do we REALLY need all those preservatives)?, but it can be a lot more tasty, too. Not to mention you can make twice as much for the same cost!

While there is a little bit more prep work involved in making your own Mac & Cheese rather than just making it out of the box, it's really not that much more to do. About the only extra step is cutting up a block of cheese. You'll first need to make sure you have all the ingredients, including optional ingredients if you decide to add those.

What you'll need:

- Pasta shells or macaroni pasta (will depend on preference)
- Velveeta Cheese
- Milk
- Butter
- Hamburger (optional)

If you do plan to include hamburger, you'll want to cook this first before you even start your mac & cheese, because it will be the last step and you don't want to be waiting for it. When I was a kid, my mom always added hamburger to boxes of Mac & Cheese, so if you are already use to this, it's not an "extra" step in the least.

Directions:

Cook hamburger, then set aside. Boil water and cook pasta as directed. While pasta is cooking, cut your block of cheese into bite sized pieces (the smaller they are, the easier they melt, so do keep that in mind). Make sure your milk and butter are out as well, so you aren't racing to find it when it's time to add them both.

Once pasta is finished, drain and return to pot. Slowly add in milk, cheese, and a small amount of butter. Amounts will depend on your own preferences, and do be careful with the amount of milk you add to start. Too much milk and you'll have Mac & Cheese soup! My mom always use to say "You can always add more milk, but you can't take it out". Hamburger is added last and again will depend on preference. Usually a half pound to a pound works well.

Enjoy this tasty homemade treat!