Homemade Mac n Cheese

I love love love homemade mac-n-cheese. Who dosen't? I was feeling like some good ole' comfort food today, being that it's raining outside (where is Spring?) and this is the first thing that came to my mind. I found this recipe on the-girl-who-ate-everything.com and couldn't resist. But then again who can resist mac-n-cheese? Not me, that's for sure!

HOMEMADE MACARONI AND CHEESE
1/2 pound elbow macaroni (about 2 cups)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/3 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 large egg
12 ounces (about 3 cups) sharp cheddar, shredded
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Fresh black pepper
Bread Crumbs

Recipe Notes: 1) When making dishes like this it's better if you shred your own cheese. The pre-shredded cheeses have added ingredients to make the cheese not clump together and makes them not melt as well. I actually used pre-shredded cheese here and it was fine but if you want it extra creamy shred your own.
2) People that did not have success with this recipe did not salt their pasta water correctly. You want to salt it so much that if you tasted the water it would taste like the ocean.
3) You need SHARP cheddar cheese. That's what gives it flavor. Don't use mild.

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, extremely salted water cook the pasta to al dente. Do not overcook it!

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes and remove the bay leaf. It will thicken, trust me.

Temper in the egg which means to just bring the temperature of the egg up a little so that when you add it to the cheese sauce it doesn't scramble. Just throw a couple of Tablespoons of the warm cheese mixture into a small bowl with the egg and mix. Then throw the egg mixture into the cheese mixture.

Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
 Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five to ten minutes before serving

Here We Go!

Well here goes nothing I guess. I have wanted to start a recipe blog for quite some time now, but just never got around to it. I love to cook/bake, and love when I find a great recipe. Who doesn't right?  The problem is I am terrible at keeping track of my recipes. I will make something and love it, but never write down the recipe. I am always calling my mom asking for her recpies, end up writing it on a piece of scrap paper and it gets thrown away. Or, I find a recipe on a blog and never write it down and then end up searching through the millions of blogs I look at trying to find it. So I give you Spaghetti and Cookies. My recipe blog! All the names I wanted were already taken, so I just thought of two random things that people like to eat. I figured everybody likes spaghetti and cookies so that was that. Enjoy!