Mom’s Baked Tomato & Cheese Macaroni
"This is not your everyday mac & cheese. It always tasted best when Dad would stop in Pinconning MI on his way home from deer hunting each year to pick up a huge round of Pinconning cheese. Mom had 5 hungry kids sitting at the table waiting for this to come out of the oven!"
Ingredients
Nutritional
- Serving Size: 1 (170.5 g)
- Calories 356.1
- Total Fat - 11.5 g
- Saturated Fat - 6.9 g
- Cholesterol - 31.4 mg
- Sodium - 340.3 mg
- Total Carbohydrate - 46.4 g
- Dietary Fiber - 5.5 g
- Sugars - 2 g
- Protein - 20.4 g
- Calcium - 414.5 mg
- Iron - 2.3 mg
- Vitamin C - 7.7 mg
- Thiamin - 0.3 mg
Step by Step Method
Step 1
Note 1: If you can’t find Ready-Cuts, use a small penne pasta or mostaccioli. Elbows don’t have enough substance for this recipe.
Step 2
Note 2: You may use stewed or diced tomatoes.
Step 3
Note 3: I use a combination of Pinconning, Colby, and mild Cheddar cheese. You may use your favorite(s).
Step 4
Boil macaroni in salted water, 3 minutes less than package directions. Drain. It will finish cooking in the oven.
Step 5
Sauté onion in butter until soft and translucent. Add the can of tomatoes to the onions and let simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.
Step 6
Slice cheese into small chunks and set aside.
Step 7
Preheat oven to 350°.
Step 8
Spray a 9X14” glass pan with non-stick cooking spray. Layer half the tomatoes and cheese in the pan. On top of this, layer 1/2 of the cooked, drained macaroni, then the remaining tomatoes, then the remaining macaroni, and top with the remaining cheese.
Step 9
Pour 1/4 cup water over the top. Cover with foil.
Step 10
Bake in the oven for 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
Tips
No special items needed.