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- #Mac and cheese ritz cracker topping skin
- #Mac and cheese ritz cracker topping zip
- #Mac and cheese ritz cracker topping mac
The flavors are outstanding, and the homemade cheese sauce here is the secret ingredient. This dish is so creamy and smooth that I can never get enough of it. You see, I love cheese, and when combining it with pasta you are guaranteed to end up with something extra special!
#Mac and cheese ritz cracker topping mac
Let mac and cheese cool for 5-10 minutes and serve.There is absolutely nothing that I love more than this homemade baked Maccaroni and Cheese casserole. Top mac and cheese with all of your topping and bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes. Add about half of the pasta mixture to the baking dish and top with about ¼ cup of cheese, then add remaining pasta mixture and top with an additional ¼ cup of cheese.Īdd ¼ cup of assorted cheeses and flakey salt (if using) to the topping mixture and toss with your hands to combine. Prepare an 8圆 baking dish (about 6 cups or 1.5L volume) by greasing the insides of the baking dish with butter until all sides are coated (or don’t, I forgot to and I had no problems with stickage). Drain your pasta.Ĭombine your cheese sauce, cooked pasta and about ¼ cup of cheese in a large bowl. Cook for about 2 minutes less than package instructions since the pasta will continue cooking in the oven. Add your pasta to the boiling water and stir to avoid any pasta from sticking to the bottom. When the water is boiling, add your salt so the water is salty like the sea (I use about two small handfuls of Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and that may seem absurd, but I promise you it is not). Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
#Mac and cheese ritz cracker topping skin
Set aside (you can put a piece of parchment directly against the surface of the sauce if you don’t want a skin to form, but I don’t care about the skin, just whisk the sauce together before using it). Whisk the added cheeses into the sauce until the cheese is mostly melted and the sauce is smooth. Take the bechamel off the heat and add ½ of your array of grated cheeses (about 1 cup) and all of the cream cheese to the sauce. Whisk together and let your bechamel simmer for about 2 or 3 minutes until thickened. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg (if using). Working in batches, continually whisk a mixture of the milk and heavy cream into your roux to make a bechamel sauce (you want to whisk the mixture in gradually to avoid a lumpy sauce). Let your roux begin to bubble until you can smell the nuttiness of the flour beginning to toast, maybe 2 minutes or so. Add 4 tbsp of flour and whisk constantly so no lumps remain, making a roux. In a small saucepan, melt 4 tbsp of butter. Toss everything to combine and set aside in a bowl.
Right before your bread crumb topping is golden and delicious, use a microplane to grate about ¼ cup of parmigiano reggiano directly into the pan (doing this will allow some of the parm to melt and get crispy thus adhering to individual crumbs before even going into the oven).
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Add chopped bacon and parsley, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. When the butter is melted and foamy, add crushed Ritz crackers and panko bread crumbs to the pan, toast lightly until most of the fat in the pan is absorbed. While the butter is melting, coarsely chop your bacon. Melt 1 tbsp of butter in the skillet with the bacon fat until the butter starts to foam. When the bacon is browned, remove bacon from the pan and let drain on a paper towel. Remove the leaves of parsley from the stem and finely chop the leaves, set aside. When you’re satisfied with your varying sizes of crumb, you may stop hitting the crackers with the rolling pin. Pound the crackers repeatedly with a rolling pin- you’re going to want larger shards and smaller bits and bobs for a mix of textures.
#Mac and cheese ritz cracker topping zip
Meanwhile, put your Ritz crackers in a zip top bag. Warm the skillet over medium-high heat, occasionally flipping until bacon is browned and most of the fat is rendered. Place strips of bacon in a small, cold, nonstick skillet. Grate all of your cheese, except the parmigiano, using the large holes on a box grater (this is a lot of work and you want to do this early, do NOT use pre-grated cheese because there are anti-caking agents that will mess up your sauce). 9 Ritz crackers (or similarly buttery cracker)Ĥ-5 fronds (stalks? Stems with leaves?) of parsleyĨ oz of dried elbow macaroni noodles (I like Barilla, they have lots of nice edges and ridges)