Creamy Macaroni and Cheese (my new favorite)

Here we go again, another Macaroni and Cheese recipe right?  Wrong, well technically you're right but this one is super fantastic, it's my favorite so far.  If you're looking for a creamy mac n' cheese that your kids will love, this is it.  I was looking for some very specific elements when we got invited to a friends house for a barbecue this past weekend.  I wanted a mac n' cheese that would be orange (because some kids believe that all cheese is orange and that's the only way they'll eat it), I wanted something that used Velveeta and sour cream.  Strange you say?  Well, in my experience these items combined make a super duper combination and I was right! If you're wondering why I don't have any photo's of this all dished up on a plate and ready to eat, it's because the minute it came out of the oven we got in the car and headed to our friends house...but trust me it was good.

Start by boiling your pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water while you get some of your ingredients ready so you can just cruise right along.  This isn't required of course but it does make things easier. I eye balled about 8 oz of Velveeta since I had the large box of it on hand.  I of course added a little more than 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar because, hello it's cheese! The only 2% milk I had on hand was my toddlers milk (yes she gets the good milk and her daddy and I suffer with store brand skim milk). Anyway, you get the idea here. Not pictured are the spices.

Melt a stick of butter in a large sauce pan. You know this will be good if it starts with a stick of butter right?

Once the butter has melted, pour in your flour and stir to blend.  (No lumps here please).

You can see how it combines rather well, that's exactly what you want.

Stir in the milk slowly while whisking until smooth. Turn your heat down to simmer and whisk continuously until thickened.  This shouldn't take more than a minute or two.

Drain your pasta and add the cheddar to the hot pasta and mix well. Set this aside for a moment.

Now mix in the Velveeta, sour cream, Parmesan cheese and spices and stir until well incorporated.

Once your Velveeta has melted pour this mixture into the pasta and cheese mixture.  Mix well and then pour into a casserole dish (2 quart) that has been sprayed with non-stick spray.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is slightly brown and bubbly on the sides.

Now, sit down and enjoy this wonderful macaroni and cheese, we sure did!

This is a "Taste of Home" Recipe and can be found at: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Creamy-Macaroni-and-Cheese

2 cups of uncooked pasta

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups of 2% milk

8 ounces of  Velveeta - cubed

2 cups (8 ounces) of shredded sharp cheddar

1 cup (8 ounces) of sour cream

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp. ground dry mustard

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Boil the pasta in a big pot of salted water until al dente.  While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large saucepan.  Once melted, add the flour and whisk until smooth.  Pour the milk in slowly until well incorporated and reduce the heat to simmer.  Whisk this mixture until it's thickened and doesn't have any lumps.  Add the sour cream, Parmesan cheese, Velveeta and spices and stir until the cheeses have melted.  Right about now your pasta should be done, drain it and mix the hot pasta with the shredded cheddar cheese.  Once your creamy Velveeta cheese mixture is smooth, mix with the pasta and cheddar until well incorporated.  Pour this mixture into a 2 quart casserole dish that's been sprayed with some cooking spray.  Cook for about 30 minutes or until it's slightly brown and all bubbly along the sides.