This post appears in the Face Time in the Kitchen challenge.

As a mother of two little girls, and a lover of comfort food, macaroni and cheese has always been a staple recipe in my house. Prior to spending a lot of time in the kitchen, I often settled for the boxed variety. This served its purpose, but once I started to make homemade macaroni and cheese there was no going back.

My homemade macaroni and cheese recipe has evolved over the years. I have experimented with many different recipes and adapted them based on my family’s feedback. Macaroni and cheese is a family favorite so it is important for them to have a say in the way it is made. We have had many macaroni and cheese conversations. Everything from the amount of cheese, type of noodles, and the crunchy topping has all been talked about. Most of these conversations happen in the car as we are driving to school or just going about our lives. Macaroni and cheese is serious business in my house.

So many conversation happen outside the kitchen. In the car, shopping at the mall, or just hanging out watching a movie. You never know when inspiration is going to strike, especially when little kids are talking.

One conversation, on the way to school, we had about macaroni and cheese centered around stirring hamburger into it. My daughter was so excited when she realized that would make “hamburger mac and cheese”. Based on her suggestion I made it and since then this has been the whole grail of macaroni and cheese in my house. My kids love it and are always asking for it.

This recipe has also evolved since the first time I made it. I have used both ground beef and turkey when making this. Both taste great and I lean towards using ground turkey to keep the calories and fat content lower. My kids never know when I make the recipe with turkey but for some reason my husband has a “ground turkey” radar. I think it might be a husband thing. Anyway, sometimes I do use ground beef to make the hubby happy.

I have always used cheddar cheese and Parmesan cheese in my homemade macaroni and cheese recipe. However, any cheese you like will work.

Another change I made over the last year is to substitute some of the milk for chicken broth. This helps keeps calories down and I think contributes more flavor to the recipe.

The most recent evolution of my hamburger macaroni and cheese came as a result of needing easy quick meals for back to school. I was talking, mac and cheese again, with my kids in the car one day and asked them for some make ahead ideas. My oldest suggest making little servings to freeze for later. At first I was not sure how to do that then I remember I made macaroni and cheese one time in muffin tins. Muffin tins are great for creating the perfect portion control food. I have used them for sauces, soups, oatmeal, and now macaroni and cheese.

After you bake the macaroni and cheese, let it sit for about 10 minutes to cool, pop out of muffins tins, let them cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and place in the freezer. When you are ready to eat, unwrap, and warm up in microwave or on stove. You might need to add a little milk or broth to loosen up a bit.

My girls (and me) love having hamburger macaroni and cheese cups available in the freezer. They make dinnertime go very smooth during the busy work week. I am so happy my kids suggested it.

Hamburger Macaroni and Cheese Cups

Makes 24- 28 servings

Ingredients

For the hamburger

1 pound ground turkey (you can use beef)

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

2 tablespoons worcestershire

1 tablespoon ketchup

1 tablespoon mustard

¼ salt

¼ pepper

For the macaroni and cheese mixture

1 (16) ounce package whole wheat elbow macaroni

2 cups 1% milk

3 tablespoons whole wheat flour

2 cups chicken stock

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon dried mustard powder

¼ ground pepper

½ cup grated parmesan

4 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

In a medium pan, season ground turkey with granulated garlic, onion powder, salt, and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. Stir in the worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and mustard. Cook for another minute then remove from heat and set aside.

While turkey is cooking, cook macaroni, in a large pot of boiling water for 5 minutes. The macaroni will still be hard. Set aside.

Using the macaroni pot, whisk together flour and milk over medium heat. Pour in chicken stock and cook until it starts to bubble slightly. Whisk in onion powder, granulated garlic, salt, pepper, and ground mustard. Let it simmer for about 10 -15 minutes, whisking regularly, and then slowly stir in parmesan cheese and shredded cheese. Once the cheese is melted, about 3 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Stir the macaroni and turkey into the cheese mixture until all ingredients are combined. Divide and spoon mixture into muffin cups. Fill to the top of muffin tin. Press down slightly so it is packed in. I usually get about 24 – 28 macaroni and cheese muffins. You might get a few more. If there is a little extra cheese sauce just top the muffin tins off with the sauce.

Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Let the macaroni and cheese muffins sit up to 10 minutes. This time allows them to set into cups. If you try to remove too soon the muffins won’t stay as muffins. They still taste awesome but just an FYI. Please note that if your muffins are having a hard time “setting” place in the refrigerator for 1/2 hour. This always works like a charm for me.

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