In episode 038 we are making Skillet Mac and Cheese for dinner. Susie shares this one pan, super easy recipe for creamy, cheesy, homemade mac and cheese! Susie shares ways to make it both a great side dish OR dinner entrée.
Transcript
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038 Skillet Mac and Cheese_final
Intro: Hey there everyone. Welcome back to another episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can get on the table any night of the week. That’s my promise and guarantee. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich.
Susie Weinrich: Today I have an excellent little recipe for you that makes a wonderful kid-friendly. But it also makes a killer side dish that’s great for like anything that has those barbecue flavors, like ribs or barbecue meatballs, or it’s great with anything that comes off of your grill. We are making an easy One Skillet Mac and Cheese. Now this recipe, it’s made in one pan. There’s no draining involved, there’s no flour. It’s just your classic mac and cheese flavors, old school. We’re talking elbow mac, Velveeta cheese, milk, butter, and salt. That’s it, people. I’m going to go over exactly how to put that together to make a super creamy mac and cheese.
Tips and Tricks: Before we get started on the full recipe, let’s talk about a couple of ingredients and some equipment that you’re going to need. You definitely want to have a really large skillet. We’re talking like a nine to 12-inch skillet that definitely has a lid. It doesn’t matter if it’s a non-stick or stainless steel pan. I’ve made it in both and both work. But you have to have a lid that fits well. This is not the time when you can use a sheet pan as a lid because we’ve all been there. I just did it on vacation. We had some really wonky supplies in the house we were staying in, and sure enough, I had to use a sheet pan as a lid. This is not the time for that trick. You definitely want a lid that fits really well.
The other thing is we are using Velveeta cheese, loaf cheese, and people. There is a time and a place for this loaf cheese and mac and cheese is it. It’s just the same as potato flakes, instant mashed potatoes. I’m not making those for the holidays, but they are killer soup recipes. So there’s a time and place for all these ingredients that we make fun of. Velveeta cheese belongs in mac and cheese. If you don’t agree, this is not your recipe.
The other thing that we use in this recipe is Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. You know, I used to call it seasoning salt, and then I had somebody comment on my blog. It is not seasoning salt. It’s seasoned salt. It says it right on the bottle. Sure enough, it’s seasoned salt. So if you don’t use Lawry’s or you don’t have it, you certainly can just sub in regular kosher salt.
Skillet Mac and Cheese Recipe: So let’s get on to making the full recipe for your One Skillet Easy Creamy Cheesy Mac and Cheese. Okay, you’re going to start with that large skillet with the lid that we talked about in the tip section. You’re going to put that over medium-high heat and add two and three-quarters cups of water, and one teaspoon of kosher salt. Let that come to a hard simmer. Then you’re going to pour in two and a half cups of elbow macaroni. Let that come to a pretty decent hard simmer or a boil, and then turn the heat down to low, pop that lid on, and set a timer for 10 minutes. Now while that is simmering, if it starts to bubble out of the lid, just lift the lid really quickly and then set it back on and it should subside.
After that 10 minutes, you’re going to take the lid off and give the pan a stir. There should be a little bit of water left in the pan, and that’s totally okay. It will thicken up once we add the cheese and the milk. So turn the heat back up to medium and you’re going to stir in half a cup of milk. I recommend 2% or whole milk here just because it has a little bit more fat content than a skim or a one percent.
Then add eight ounces of Velveeta cheese that you have cubed into a half-inch or one-inch cubes, a quarter teaspoon of that Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, and one tablespoon of salted butter. You’re going to stir that and stir that over the medium heat for a few minutes until the cheese is completely melted into the macaroni.
Now, remove it from the heat and let it sit for just a few minutes for it to thicken up and come together. I tested this recipe many times. Sometimes I liked a little extra seasoning salt, and then sometimes I didn’t. You want to taste it before you serve it, and if you feel like you want a little more salt, then go ahead and add it. Salt can be very personal, and you may like it a little, you may like it a lot, but once you add too much, you cannot take it out.
If you’re going to serve the mac and cheese as a full entree, what I recommend adding on the side are just apple slices, cucumber slices, and maybe some carrot sticks with ranch or a blue cheese dip. Or you could do roasted broccoli, roasted asparagus, roasted carrots, whatever your family likes, whatever veggie your family likes, whatever the kids will eat. You could also add a green side salad with just a light vinaigrette or ranch dressing.
Now if you’re going to serve this as a side dish, it goes great, like I said, with anything barbecue flavor. So baked barbecue meatballs. I have a great recipe I will link in the show notes for you or barbecue ribs, or, I have a great recipe for Instant Pot Country Style Boneless Ribs that I will link in the show notes for you. Or you could just add some frozen chicken fingers that you bake in the oven. If you’re grilling, I have a great recipe for grilled pork burgers or just grilled hamburgers or Turkey burgers. I will link all of those in the show notes so that you can make this into a complete dinner.
That does it for today’s episode. Do you know what I’m going to ask right now? I would love to have you rate and review our show in your preferred podcast player. It will just help other people find this show as well and I would totally appreciate it.
As always, all of the recipes I talked about in this episode will be linked right in the show notes for you.
Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner makes your dinner time a little easier.
Recipes Mentioned
- Skillet Mac and Cheese
- Baked BBQ Meatballs
- Instant Pot Boneless Ribs
- Grilled Burgers – Beef, Turkey, or Pork
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