Talia Bunting

Gather. Cook. Eat. Repeat.

  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Travel
  • Essentials
  • Investing

How to Make Simple Macaroni and Cheese from Scratch

July 2, 2014 by Talia Bunting 7 Comments

Some days I look in the fridge and all I see is a piece of lettuce and a cup of milk. When that happens I can usually root around and find a few ounces of cheese and at least a half of box of noodles which typically means Joe and Marston are getting macaroni and cheese for dinner (not that either of them complain).  Here’s my recipe for simple macaroni and cheese from scratch that everyone will love.

This macaroni and cheese recipe has only five ingredients and is a crowd pleaser. My grandma made it for my mom when she was growing up and my mom made it for me. Now I make it for Marston and he also loves it.

Macaroni and Cheese on the front porch with ice water

Macaroni and Cheese on the front porch with ice water

Notes on Macaroni and Cheese

You can use any kind of noodle for this, I’m not crazy about the macaroni noodle for macaroni and cheese, so I use bow tie. It hides the cheese in all its nooks and crannies. I love it.

Cooked Farfalle Pasta

One thing that’s important to remember about this particular sauce. It’s a béchamel sauce with cheese (which I guess technically makes it a mornay sauce), so it’s a roux (flour mixed with fat, in this case, butter) with milk. The sauce can come out tasting floury if it doesn’t cook long enough. To avoid this, make sure you cook the roux for a minute or two which will take away the flour taste.

Butter & Flour Roux

Butter & Flour Roux

Bechamel sauce

Also I Started Online Culinary School (sort of)

Speaking of roux. I don’t know if you know this about me, but I like to cook. In my dream world I go to culinary school in Paris. However, the life of someone who is raising a toddler and running a family business is not very conducive to taking 8 hours a day to start a new career. Also Joe says we’re not allowed to go back to Paris until we can afford to rent a two bedroom apartment (apparently his back hurts after sleeping on a sofa bed for two months).

A few months ago, I started hunting around for cooking classes online. I found a couple of youtube videos that taught me a thing or two. Then I found one program that called itself an online cooking school, but it was really surface level, teaching you about more recipes.

I wanted something that would teach me ingredients and technique and science and history. I wanted to know everything there is to know about food and the kitchen. When I finally discovered Rouxbe Online Cooking Schoo,l I spent four hours watching every single sample video, reading every little article and even emailing back and forth with the CEO a few times. I was in heaven.

I didn’t sign up when I was in Paris because my kitchen was the size of your refrigerator, nor did I have any of the tools I need (like a proper chef’s knife). And then when I got home life was just too crazy busy (sister getting married, planning a move to California etc). I considered postponing until after California but then I thought, there’s never going to be the perfect time, you’ve just got to make it happen.

Last week I signed up. I am so excited. There are a number of different paths you can take. I’m only taking entry level courses right now – it’s more like an audit (but you do get a certificate of completion). They have an actual certified professional chef section that I REALLY want to take, but I need to save a few more pennies as well as figure out where to find the extra time.

For the time being, I’m excited to learn more and bring you along on the journey. If you have particular questions along the way let me know, because I can find the answers now!:)

Macaroni and Cheese from Scratch

Ingredients

4 ounces of cheddar cheese diced or shredded
1 cup of milk
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 pound of farfalle noodles

  1. Boil pot of water and cook noodles to al dente about 11-12 minutes.
  2. Melt butter in sauce pan on medium heat. When melted, whisk in flour. Cook for 30 seconds and add milk. Whisk to blend butter/flour mixture with milk. Allow to thicken, creating a béchamel sauce. Whisk occasionally and making sure flour mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of pan.
  3. When milk has thickened to consistency of  add in cheese. Remove from heat and allow to melt.
  4. Mix together noodles and sauce. Enjoy!

Serve with: apple slices and baby peas

Drink with: water (but if you decide to serve this for the spouse, a wheat beer pairs nicely too).

Filed Under: All Recipes, Entrees, Side Dishes

« The World’s Best Sour Cream Potato Salad
Quick and Easy Oven Roasted Potatoes »

Comments

  1. Alissa Rosendahl says

    July 2, 2014 at 4:12 pm

    That’s so cool you are taking online classes! I started a correspondence culinary school many years ago, but didn’t finish. You are inspiring me, though. 🙂 I love reading your blog and recipes!

    Reply
    • Talia Bunting says

      July 2, 2014 at 10:12 pm

      Thanks lissie!:) I didn’t know you did that! thanks for always encouraging me! xo

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. How to Make Your Own Homemade Ketchup - Talia Bunting says:
    September 14, 2015 at 8:21 am

    […] paste is the key ingredient here. I’m learning all about tomatoes in my online cooking class right now. When purchasing any kind of canned tomato, you want to make sure tomatoes are the only […]

    Reply
  2. The Best Homemade Tomato Sauce - Talia Bunting says:
    September 23, 2015 at 7:27 am

    […] been working my way through the mother sauces on Rouxbe. So far I’ve done two — tomato and hollandaise. However, I think I still have PTSD from […]

    Reply
  3. The Top Ten Pantry Staples Always in My Kitchen - Talia Bunting says:
    January 22, 2016 at 12:36 pm

    […] Friday nights are for pizza or homemade macaroni and cheese (and beer). Rainy Wednesday nights are for tomato soup and grilled cheese. (I didn’t link […]

    Reply
  4. Warm Farro Salad with Butternut Squash & Pomegranate says:
    February 3, 2016 at 10:37 am

    […] but everyone liked it so much and it was filling so we didn’t even get to the leftover macaroni and cheese I had […]

    Reply
  5. How to Make a Morel Cream Sauce - Talia Bunting says:
    April 14, 2016 at 8:35 am

    […] in extremes. Usually at least once a week we have rice and beans, macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza and hamburgers. It’s the stage of life we’re in. I need to cook fast and […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Hi! I'm Talia. I like learning. Right now I'm learning about investing and wine. Join along here!

About Talia Bunting >>

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Join My Investing Team

Subscribe to be the first to know about my latest investment ideas, what I'm learning, and my journey to becoming an investor.

Categories

Homemade Tomato Soup Using Canned Tomatoes

How to Become an Investor: Day 2 - How do you analyze a stock?

How Do You Analyze a Stock? No really, how?

Atlanta Dining Guide

Atlanta Dining Guide

Archives

Connect

You don't need a culinary degree to make​ ​sophisticated food. I want to​ ​improve your food education.​ Sometimes I travel ​and wear new clothes, and I'll tell you about that, too.
Read More…

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
How to Become an Investor: Day 2 - How do you analyze a stock?
Atlanta Dining Guide
Lamb Tacos with Preserved Lemons and Fenugreek Aioli
Five Last Minutes Mother's Day Gift Ideas
Double Chocolate Fudgy Brownies

Copyright © 2025 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress