Dinner Last Night: Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

NOTE: Please excuse that there is no delightful corresponding image to match this recipe.  I tried googling a few, but none looked quite like the final product of this particular recipe so I opted for a fall spread instead.  :)

Dinner last night was another success from Dinner: The Playbook, Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese.  Now I've made all kinds of mac and cheese in my day, and I pretty much appreciate all of them, from the boxed Kraft of babysitters past to the kind with a homemade roux.  This was easily one of the quickest versions I've found, while still tasting pretty good, ideal for a weeknight dinner with kids.

Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 pound whole wheat tubular pasta (I used penne)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/4 cup grated Cheddar
• 1 1/4 cup grated Gruyere
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
• 3/4 cup milk, warmed in a saucepan or microwave if possible
• 1/3 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs (Jenny suggests mixing in crumbled potato chips, but I opted for just breadcrumbs)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375.
2. Prepare the pasta according to package directions and drain.
3. Grease a medium-large baking dish with butter.
4. In a large bowl, toss together pasta and cheeses, reserving about 1/2 cup of cheese. 
5. Add pasta/cheese mixture to baking dish and pour warmed milk all over.
6. Sprinkle the top with bread crumbs and reserved cheese.
7. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until top is golden and sides are bubbly.

This left us with a good amount of leftovers. 

recipe/dinnertheplaybook