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Macaroni Cheese is definitely one of my favourite comfort foods and a special treat in our house considering how expensive cheese is these days and how it’s not really the healthiest meal in the world. I was surprised to find out that while I had always know Mac n Cheese to be baked in the oven after the cheese sauce has been stirred through the noodles, most Americans firstly make this stuff from a box mix and it is just cooked on the stove which means they never get the flavour and crunch from grilling the cheese sprinkled on top. I also find that baking it in the oven for 20 minutes at 180 dries it out for too much and prefer to just grill it  for 5 minutes to melt and brown the cheese.

Firstly, I want to introduce you to making cheese sauce in the microwave and shock, horror, gasp, I do it without butter. I do it like this:

600ml heated to just below boiling point in a large jug (1l jug is fine)

2 generous tablespoons maizena (corn flour)

250ml grated cheddar cheese

Salt & pepper to taste

When milk is hot, place corn flour in a small dish and add about 100ml of the heated milk. Stir well to get rid of all lumps. Put 100ml of milk and cornflour mix back into the jug and stir well. Return to the microwave and cook at 100% power for about 4 minutes stirring well half way through the cooking time. Watch this carefully because it makes an awful mess if it is allowed to boil over. Once the mixture is nice and thick, add your grated cheese and stir until it is melted in. Season with salt and a good grind of black pepper and set aside.

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