Easy Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Jenny Rosenstrach, author of ‘Dinnertime: The Playbook’ and founder of dinneralovestory.com, shares her recipe for easy homemade mac and cheese.

This one goes out to all those parents who are ready to break free from the tyranny of Annie’s and Kraft. The great food writer Sam Sifton was the first to tell me to use milk instead of the traditional (time-consuming) béchamel. Revolutionary.

Ingredients:

1 lb. tubular pasta, such as penne rigate or rigatoni
1 Tbs. butter
1¼ cup grated Cheddar
1¼ cup grated Gruyère
½ cup grated Parmesan
¾ cups milk, warmed in a saucepan or in the microwave if possible
½ cup combination of regular breadcrumbs or panko and crumbled potato chips, mixed with 1 Tbs. olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Prepare the pasta according to the package instructions and drain.

2. Grease a medium-large baking dish with butter. In a large bowl, toss together the pasta and cheeses, reserving about ½ cup of cheese. Add pasta to the baking dish and pour milk all over.

3. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs, crumbled potato chips, and reserved cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the casserole is golden on top and bubbly on the sides.

Note: This will serve two adults and two kids with enough left over for one night of sides, so make it for Sunday dinner and save the remainder, covered, in the refrigerator.

Jenny Rosenstrach, a Westchester mother, created dinneralovestory.com to help families figure out how to get family dinner on the table. Excerpted from Dinner: The Playbook by Jenny Rosenstrach Copyright © 2014 by Jenny Rosenstrach. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.