Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Hello,
 I haven't blogged much since 2013 started. All for good reasons though, mostly spending lots of time with my daughter and husband. We are loving that Will is on the day shift now and we are having the best of times.
 I am almost finished with my Patchwork Blanket. I finished joining all 621 squares and just need to get the yarn for the border. I will show it after I have put a border on it. That project consumed me. I didn't work on anything else while I was making and joining those squares, that is unusual for me. I usually have a couple of small projects and a couple of big projects on the go at the same time. It was kind of nice to concentrate on one thing only.
 Autumn also finished swim lessons in the middle of April and we also had some major flooding two weeks ago. Our basement, my room at work and almost every other building in Solon took on lots of water. So, we have been busy this month.
 I always make a big Sunday dinner and this week I made baked Macaroni and Cheese. I don't like the boxed stuff that kids like. My mom always made it from scratch and this is how we like it.
You will need,
16 oz. sharp cheddar (cubed)
4 oz. swiss (sliced)
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
1 bag or box of croutons
1 lb. of macaroni
1 1/2 cups milk

I start by boiling a pound of macaroni. I take it off the burner before it is cooked all the way through, it is going in the oven for at least a half hour and I don't like the noodles to get mushy.
Next I chop up 16 oz. of sharp cheddar cheese and set it aside.

The next step is a white sauce. Melt 1/4 cup of butter then add 1/4 cup of flour. Stir until there are no lumps and then I add about 1 1/2 cups of milk (I used skim). Simmer over low heat until thickened, not too thick, kind of like a cream soup. Then add the cheese and stir until it melts.

You can use shredded cheese too, I think small cubes melts faster. Once I have the cheese sauce, I turn off the heat and add the drained noodles.

Next I pour half of it into a greased 9 x 13 glass pan. Then I layer it with about 4 oz. of sliced swiss cheese.

 Top with the rest of the pasta mixture. The last step before baking is too add the crunchy top. I use a bag of croutons and flatten them with my rolling pin and then pour it on top.

Bake at 375 F for about 30 to 40 minutes. Until browned and bubbly.

We all really like this, I serve it with veggies and the leftovers never last very long. I hope you enjoy this if you make it. Talk to everyone soon. :)