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Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

October 29, 2008 by Erin, The $5 Dinner Mom 22 Comments

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Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Stouffer’s has nothing on this yummy homemade favorite!

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Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

A scrumptious homemade mac and cheese!
Prep Time10 minutes minutes
Cook Time25 minutes minutes
Servings - 4 servings

Ingredients 

  • 16 oz. elbow pasta
  • 3 Tbsp butter
  • 3 Tbsp flour
  • 1 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • fresh veggies side dish

Instructions

  • Cook pasta as directed on package instructions.
  • To make sauce, melt butter in saucepan. Add flour and whisk together. Add milk and whisk, whisk, whisk. Turn heat to medium and let sauce thicken. Add more milk to thin it out or more flour to thicken. Whisk so sauce doesn't clump up.
  • Add cheese and let melt.
  • Place pasta in baking dish. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir through. Top with any remaining cheese and bake 10-15 minutes until top begins to golden.
  • NOTE: Add the cheese just after whisking the milk in to achieve a creamier texture!
  • Serve Homemade Macaroni and Cheese with veggies.
Cost $2.93 (or $4.22 if add ground beef)
Kroger Run

Not pictured: GF cereal, GF pancake mix, and rice pasta from Trader Joes and 4AA batteries from Kroger. *Note: the boys are on a 2-week trial for Gluten Free Diet.

Total Spent: Kroger $39.09
Total Saved: $34.94 (47%)
Trader Joes: $14
Weeks Total: $53.09
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Filed Under: Budget Friendly Recipes, Homemade Recipes, Pasta Recipes Tagged With: butternut squash, zucchini

Comments

  1. Shama-Lama Mama says

    October 29, 2008 at 4:36 pm

    Hey there! I saw your login name on another blog where we both were commenting for a giveaway. With 5 dollar meals, I just had to pop in and see what you were all about!

    See, you don’t even HAVE to have a bloggy giveaway to pick up new readers! Go YOU!

    Reply
  2. Sherry says

    October 29, 2008 at 6:01 pm

    Yum! Macaroni and cheese is always a winner in our book. 😀

    Reply
  3. iheartbowheads.blogspot.com says

    October 29, 2008 at 6:56 pm

    so amazing!!!! Great job.

    Reply
  4. Sortin'ItAllOut says

    October 29, 2008 at 8:31 pm

    Hi, Thank-you for another great idea. That pumpkin really seems to make the mac and cheese have a “store bought” color, too.

    Are your boys doing well off of gluten? I have been off gluten for about 3 years now. My kids are now also gluten free. If you need any ideas you can visit my personal blog:

    A Queen, etc.

    It is a little rough, ok a LOT rough, but I do have some simple, inexpensive meal ideas up there.

    Thank-you for a great website!

    Reply
  5. Sortin'ItAllOut says

    October 29, 2008 at 8:31 pm

    Hi, Thank-you for another great idea. That pumpkin really seems to make the mac and cheese have a “store bought” color, too. BR/BR/Are your boys doing well off of gluten? I have been off gluten for about 3 years now. My kids are now also gluten free. If you need any ideas you can visit my personal blog: BR/BR/A HREF=”http://queenblog7.blogspot.com/2008/10/recipes-i-want-to-try-from-around.html” REL=”nofollow”A Queen, etc./ABR/BR/It is a little rough, ok a LOT rough, but I do have some simple, inexpensive meal ideas up there. BR/BR/Thank-you for a great website!

    Reply
  6. Minimalist mommy says

    October 29, 2008 at 9:36 pm

    I have mac and cheese on my Nov. menu but yours looks better. I am switching my link to yours. Yum.

    Reply
  7. Evelyn says

    October 30, 2008 at 2:38 pm

    Can you tell me about Cellfire. If you don’t want calls to your cell phone can you still sign up for the coupons? I do not have internet or text message on my cell.

    Reply
  8. Andrea @ Mommy Snacks says

    October 30, 2008 at 9:11 pm

    This is probably the only homemade mac and cheese recipe my kids would eat. I am trying this next week!

    Reply
  9. Andrea @ Mommy Snacks says

    November 6, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    Erin, I made this tonight and I though it was delish! I added some chicken and broccoli while it was baking, and a few breadcrumbs on the top. I’m guessing it was under $5 from stockpiling.

    It made enough for two servings for our family so I froze one (hopefully it turns out OK).

    Reply
  10. Tiffany says

    May 5, 2009 at 2:18 pm

    New to the site & gathering some new menus to use! How much butternut squash do you use? The recipe doesn’t specify.

    Thanks!

    Reply
  11. Rebecca Hosea says

    May 20, 2009 at 6:02 am

    If you or anybody else is interested I have a great MAC & CHEESE SOUP recipe ~ GREAT comfort food! Here is the link http://tinyurl.com/or5pgn

    Reply
  12. Kristen says

    June 29, 2009 at 3:56 pm

    I love your website but I wonder if this is cheaper than the boxed mac n cheese. I’m sure it’s tastier and healthier but is it that much cheaper than homemade? I live in Florida and it’s so ridiculous for food down here but of course they always have the ready made cheap bad for you stuff on sale it seems. We pay 3.99 for a pound of ground beef on sale and forget about produce on sale but we can get a honeybun that’s about to go out of date for 17 cents! And they wonder why most Americans are over weight.Not saying that to offend anyone I’m a part of that statistic! But they practically give bad food to you for free. We don’t get much mark downs where I live. I wish I had your luck and knowledge of getting the great and healthy deals you do but I love your site. Hopefully your ideas will rub off on me! Thanks again!

    Reply
  13. Shaunda Holmes says

    July 24, 2009 at 9:19 pm

    I was on my way to check out your Taco Soup recipe and had to stop here to tell you that I looked up this recipe last night and tryed it tonight ……..and……….. My really picky kids and fiance loved it ……LOVED IT …….. THANKS SO MUCH!!!
    Shaunda

    Reply
  14. Candace says

    September 22, 2009 at 4:08 pm

    I sprinkle crushed corn flakes on top with the remaining cheese, and my husband just loves the crunchy result!

    Reply
  15. GolubevArsenij22 says

    June 8, 2010 at 9:56 pm

    металлочерепица и профнастил в Киеве

    Reply
  16. Tokio says

    August 25, 2010 at 4:26 am

    Самые полезные и вкусные блюда с фото и рецептами.

    Reply
  17. loo says

    June 24, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    Думаю продвижение неизбежно будет нам помогать.

    Reply
  18. Amanda M says

    September 18, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    Tried this out tonight and my husband actually said, “I would much rather make mac & cheese this way every time”…good bye artificial boxed stuff! We have been trying to eat as little processed food as possible and this simple recipe is just what we were looking for! We used half mild cheddar and half sharp and it was delicious 🙂 Thanks!

    Reply
    • Mahendra says

      December 8, 2012 at 2:02 pm

      Thank you for clarifying with your reeards Okanagan Gluten Free Consulting. We take great precautions in making sure CheeCha Puff fans can always tell the difference and there is no chance for cross contamination in our production facility. Simple steps for buying Gluten Free CheeCha Puffs: They are clearly marked Gluten Free on the front of each bag around the CheeCha Puff logo. Also the packaging is different between the two lines where the gluten free flavours are always in a natural colour matte finish bag and our regular Low Fat CheeCha Puffs are always in a brightly coloured glossy bag. So your reeards know as well we batch test each batch produced and the test is at 5ppts/million. The North American standard for testing is 20ppts/ million. Feel free to contact us at if anyone has further questions or concerns.Best Regards,Tracey CadrinCadCan Marketing & Sales Inc.

      Reply
  19. Rosemarie Groner says

    April 17, 2015 at 1:31 pm

    I just realized that I’ve never left you a comment despite being a HUGE fan and making this mac and cheese every week. I came here just to tell you about it. But then I saw the trackbacks from my blog in the post and thought, well, guess that’s kind of the same thing. Thanks for everything you do! I give your cookbook as a gift all the time!

    Reply

Trackbacks

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    September 7, 2014 at 3:55 pm

    […] $5 Dinner Mom Mac N Cheese […]

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  2. Cheap Eats Menu Plan. 7 days, 21 meals, 3-6 people. $100. @ The Busy Budgeter says:
    September 7, 2014 at 3:57 pm

    […] Macaroni And Cheese, Squash And Green Beans […]

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