I used the Round Covered Baker from Pampered Chef, it is a stoneware piece and when I went to put the left-overs away 30 minutes later, it was still warm!
Now when I went to the store this morning to get some cheese, I spotted the Smoked Cheddar cheese and thought, "I bet that would add a lot of flavor to it", boy I'm telling you, that made this mac and cheese gourmet! It added so much flavor to the dish. I will be making it this way for sure the next time too.
Now there was more in there, but I just could not wait to try it and then I had force myself not to eat it all! If you don't like smoky flavor, just use all Cheddar cheese. I will write the recipe as I made it with the original in parenthesize.
Fast 'n Easy Mac 'n Cheese
1 cup elbow macaroni (2 cups)
1 cup chicken broth (2 cups)
1 cup Half & Half (2 cups)
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (2 cups)
Oil your Round Covered Baker. Place macaroni, chicken broth and Half & Half into prepared dish. Stir and cover with lid. Heat in the microwave on high for 14 minutes (use turntable or rotate every 2 minutes). Remove from microwave and add shredded cheese. Stir and replace the lid and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir and serve warm. You can top with bacon, ham or more shredded cheese. Not all of the liquid will be absorbed.
Now of course, you will need to cook it however it works best in your microwave, some cook hotter then others. My microwave is a KW 1.25, it is a smaller one too.
If you want this to be completely meatless, then I would use vegetable broth, perfect for Lent then.
I hope you give this a try. Mary
