mac and cheese

The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese

The combination of creamy gouda and havarti cheese make a silky, cheesy homemade mac and cheese sauce that tastes far better than the boxed kind.

Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese

There are several basic, classic, everyone-loves-them-because-even-when-we-shouldn’t-we-still-crave-them recipes I am driven to master.

The best steak. Check.

The juiciest roasted chicken. Got it.

The best potato salad. Double check and thank you mom.

The best homemade fudge. Ever. End of story. Period.

I’ve made several macaroni and cheese recipes on the blog, one with lobster, another with gobs of cheese and bacon, and yet another loaded with veggies and such, and I’ve deemed each of them a wonder in their own right.

But I was missing something. I was missing the basic, homey, comfort food classic of a good old-fashioned baked mac and cheese. But not anymore.

This easy baked mac and cheese recipe, affirmed by all of the “mmm-this-is-so-unbelievable,” “can-I-have-more-please” comments, THIS recipe, with it’s incredibly silky, cheesy sauce, is the best classic yet.

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Skillet Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

This easy and extra cheesy one-pot cauliflower mac and cheese dinner gets a heathified veggie bump thanks to caramelized cauliflower added to the velvety cheese pasta to create a whole new take on a comfort food favorite.

This post is in partnership with Cache Valley Cheese

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a 783 times. There’s nothing like sneaking a little healthy into dinner and knowing the thrill of everyone at the table loving it. And even better when they ask for more.

Break out the mom victory dance!

It’s one of my secrets when it comes to feeding kids of all ages. For instance, my husband. He’s the biggest kid I know and not the biggest fan of cauliflower. But when that bulbous head of a vegetable is cooked to become caramelized and sweet, and mixed with macaroni that’s coated in a silky, creamy, cheese sauce? Suddenly, he’s just as much a fan as Smudge has been since she was a wee toddler.

Sneaking healthy in. It’s my secret weapon at meal time.

This year I couldn’t be more pleased to be partnering with a brand I grew up with. Not only grew up with, but honestly ate every. single. day. I don’t think I can even remember a time when Cache Valley Cheese wasn’t in my parents’ fridge waiting for me to slice and layer in one of my famous turkey sandwiches, melt over a freezer burrito, or add a perfectly cut square slice to my liverwurst and pickle topped Triscuits for my after school snack while watching re-runs of The Brady Bunch. Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!

And please, don’t even judge me when I admit to slathering thick slices of mild cheddar with mayo and eating it just. like. that.

Cache Valley Cheese has been with me and my family forever, and I can’t wait to share my food memories and favorite recipes featuring it’s high-quality, calcium-rich cheeses here on the blog this year.

So let’s get started!

continue to the recipe… about Skillet Cauliflower Mac and Cheese

Obsessed With Cheese Mac and Cheese Recipe

One of my favorite quotes from Jessica’s cookbook refers to her cooking philosophy. “There is no exact science as to how I began cooking my own recipes—but that’s just it: I started,” she says. ” If you want to learn how to cook and how to put your own spins on dishes, like anything else you just have to START.”

Well said, Jessica.

Anyone that’s discovered the deliciousness that IS the blog How Sweet It Is is very familiar with it’s creator’s obsession with neon, 80’s pop culture trivia and that all things are better with browned butter, bacon, and sprinkles.

I featured Jessica on my first list of 5 Food Blogs I’m Following Now, and my respect and devotion hasn’t strayed. Known among her legions of fans as an inspiring creator for recipes, beauty and simply all things fun, Jessica Merchant can now add author to that list with the release of her first cookbook, Seriously Delish: 150 Recipes for People Who Totally Love Food.

Need she say more? I don’t think so. Her book pretty much says it all.

Jessica’s cookbook is jam-packed with family favorites and homages to her grandmother, nicknamed Mother Lovett, with many recipes featuring her inspiration and tutelage and where her love for cooking began—in the kitchen for Sunday dinners.

Most recipes in her book clock in at 20-45 minutes of prep time making time in the kitchen totally doable for newbie cooks to those that want to spend the time but simply don’t have it, including this Obesessed-With-Cheese Mac & Cheese. And you can enter to win a copy of Seriously Delish for your very own at the end of this post.