by Shannon Agresta

Created on: March 22, 2009   Last Updated: March 23, 2009

There are very few things I say on a positive note about my mother-in-law, but on the subject of mac-n-cheese, shes is nothing short of an angel for passing her mouthwatering recipe down to me. It may even be possible, however little proof I have, that this dish alone is what keeps us on civil terms. If you've got in-laws you'd like to outlaw, this may be your ticket!

You're going to need to hit the grocery store before you begin. Hey, since when do great things come easy?! While you're there, pick up some flour, butter, noodles to your preference, a block of Vermont sharp cracker barrel (if you like it extra cheesy, grab two, although you'll only be needing half of the second block). Salt, pepper, a can of evaporated milk, and some paprika, although if you ask me, all that does is makes it look fancy. Assuming you have an oven-safe Pyrex bowl or casserole dish and a colander, you're ready to head back to the kitchen on get to the grind.

When you get home you will want to slice your cheese into reasonably thin segments or small cubes and leave it sit on the cutting board while you grab a pot for boiling noodles. While you're getting your water to a boil, you will need to locate a large pan (preferably Teflon) and you will put about 45 tablespoons of flour with 2 tablespoons of butter in the pan. Let that mix together on med-low heat. This is the thickening agent, not for thickening your waistline, no worries!

Head back to your pot of what should now be boiling water and throw those noodles in. They shouldn't take long. If you genuinely do attempt to use this recipe as a means of bonding with family, now would be a good time to tune their rambling out and blame it on boiling water overriding their words!

Once you have mixed the butter and flour creating what looks like a knock-off face mask creme, you will add your can of evaporated milk and cheese bits. Keep it on the med-low heat and pre-heat your oven to 350o.

You're going to be standing at the stove stirring the cheese mixture until it all comes together into what may now look all wrong, but its not! However, you can in fact, if you leave it sit too long on low heat or you have the heat above med-low, it has a chance of curdling. So just keep it slow and steady, constantly stirring.

Now the colander comes into play. Drain those noodles out before they overcook! Plop them into the dish you've chosen to bake in. Grab your pan of cheese mixture and dump that in also. Mix them together until you've got a good semi-soupy mess going on. Sprinkle some of that paprika on top for good measure and toss it in the oven.

Here's a good time to get some of those dishes done, because no good meal is mess-free. you'll have a good 35-45 minutes on your hands while the mac-n-cheese heats up so there's plenty of time to catch up on some tivo or whatnot.

When its finished it should have a golden brown layer on top. Pull it out of the oven when you are satisfied with its color and let it cool off for a while. Once you've got this done, you have accomplished the impossible, you have proven my mother-in-law capable of actually spreading happiness to other. You should feel good!

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