Church Supper Macaroni and Cheese

It seems like there are endless recipe variations on macaroni and cheese; however my family is not a big fan of cheese sauce-based macaroni and cheese. It seems to dilute the cheese flavor. This simple but tasty recipe was given to me at a church supper in Terre Haute; it's old, definitely has German or Jewish (kugel?) roots. The secret is to use a good-quality EXTRA-SHARP Cheddar cheese.

• Preparation Time: 20 mins
• Cooking Time: 55 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
• Calories: 710 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 large eggs
• ½ (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons salt
• ¼ cup butter, softened (Optional)
• 2 cups elbow macaroni
• 1 pinch paprika, or to taste
• ¼ cup butter (Optional)
• 1 ½ pounds extra-sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
• ½ cup soft bread crumbs (Optional)

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 2-quart casserole with butter.

Step 2

Dissolve salt in a large pot of water. Bring to a boil and cook macaroni, stirring often, until pasta is tender but still slightly firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Rinse macaroni under cool water, drain, and transfer to a bowl. Stir 1/4 cup softened butter into macaroni and toss a few times to melt butter and coat macaroni.

Step 3

Beat eggs in a bowl; whisk evaporated and condensed milks into eggs.

Step 4

Spread a layer of macaroni into the bottom of the prepared casserole; sprinkle with a layer of Cheddar cheese. Continue layering macaroni and cheese, ending with a layer of cheese on top. Pour egg-milk mixture over the layers. Use a fork to gently dig into the layers, assuring that the egg-milk mixture flows into all the layers. Sprinkle with paprika.

Step 5

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook bread crumbs in the hot butter, stirring constantly, until fragrant and golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle crumb topping over casserole.

Step 6

Bake in the preheated oven until casserole is browned and bubbling, about 45 minutes.