Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

My other half was out of town this week, so I took the opportunity to try some recipes I’ve recently come across that I knew he wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.   

 

I’ve had the Allrecipes app on my phone for some time now (love the DinnerSpinner!), but I recently signed up to receive newsletters for recipe ideas from Allrecipes.com.  This site is great because for each recipe, you can change the servings amount for how many you actually need, and the ingredients list automatically reflects the new serving size.  I still haven’t figured out what a ¼ of an egg is, but it gives me a better idea of how much I need of everything. 

 

Going for easy and delicious, I decided to try a 4-cheese Mac & Cheese, adapted from this recipe on Allrecipes.com.

 

What you’ll need to get going (based on the original recipe, for 9 servings):  

1/2 (8 ounce) package elbow macaroni

1 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded provolone cheese

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese

1 egg, beaten

1 cup milk 

For the record, there are like eleven billionty different kinds of cheese out there – not just type, but shredded, sliced, reduced fat, low-fat, etc. – and that's just the pre-packaged section!  But I must have missed the shredded provolone, because that's the one cheese I did not come across.  Alas, I got slices of provolone instead and it was a fun excuse to try my new Microplane® Paddle Grater, which I forgot I registered for and received almost a year ago!

I realize I probably could have bought a block of provolone, but I figured I wasn't going to need that much since I was cooking for one.  The grater still worked perfectly on the slices, shredding into delicious looking morsels that I wanted to just eat immediately.  (I refrained.)

How to make it:

Bring a medium saucepot full of water to a boil. Add salt for a bit of seasoning. Greg actually taught me that trick. Ha! He’s a part of this recipe even though he’s not going to eat it!

 

Anyway, add macaroni and cook for 8-10 minutes or your preference. Drain. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a shallow baking dish. Add cheddar cheese, then a layer of macaroni, add provolone cheese, then another layer of macaroni, add mozzarella cheese, then the last layer of macaroni.  Add the Colby/Jack cheese. 

Beat egg and spread it over the top, then pour the milk over that. Don't add too much milk or it will end up runny. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until “bubbly and golden brown.” (Or longer if you added too much milk.)