Bake with Patsitivity: Filipino Style Baked Mac & Cheese

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This is another simple recipe that anybody who haven’t cooked before can magically cook at home. We, Filipinos, have a lot of influence from other cultures in terms of how we cook. But when I made this baked mac and cheese, I realized that the Filipino style is at times the best way to go. I was browsing through a couple of foreign recipes of mac and cheese and concluded *My customers, niece and nephew, won’t be happy not seeing red spaghetti sauce in that hot mac and cheese. That’s when I decided I’ll make this into a Filipino style baked mac and cheese.
So if you’re not from the Philippines, the recipe below might blow your mind; this isn’t your ordinary baked mac and cheese

Ingredients:

1. Elbow macaroni – 750 grams
2. Spaghetti sauce Italian Style - 500g
3. Spaghetti sauce with Sausage – 500g (1 can)
4. Ground lean pork – 500g
5. Minced garlic and onion
6. Grated easy melt cheddar and mozarella cheese – 300g (add more as desired)
7. Butter – 50grams
8. All purpose cream – 250 ml
9. Evaporated Milk – 250 ml
10. Salt and Pepper
11. Oil - 3 tablespoons

Elbow Mac	Evaporated Milk
Spaghetti Sauce	All purpose flour
Onion	Garlic
Grated cheddar and mozarella cheese	Butter

Cooking instructions:

• Cooked the elbow macaroni based on the cooking instructions of its packaging. Make sure NOT to overcook it! Al dente all the way! Once cook, set aside.

• In a medium size pan, add oil, minced garlic and onion. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.

• Add the ground pork. Continue mixing until the meat’s cooked. Do not overcooked.

• Gradually add the spaghetti sauce (Italian style) and spaghetti sauce with sausage. Mixed everything together.

• Season with salt, pepper and spanish paprika. Bring to boil and then add the cooked elbow macaroni inside the pan. Mix and set aside once again.

• Now, it’s time to make the creamy and cheesy white sauce that will be on the topmost layer of the mac and cheese before it goes inside the oven. Grab another clean pan. In a medium high flame, melt the butter.

• Once completely melted, add the all-purpose cream. Let it simmer while continually mixing the mixture. Add the evaporated milk. Mix again.

• Slowly add the grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese, making sure that before adding another batch, the first are fully melted ending up with a smooth and milky mixture. Ensure there are no lumps leftover from the cheese.

• Add the white creamy sauce on top of the cooked elbow mac

• Then add cheese, the more cheese the better! Other recipes will only need mozarella cheese but this one, I bought a mixed of cheddar and mozzarella grated cheese.

• Last step: Oven time! Baked for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese have fully melted.

And that's it! This dish is best served when it's hot! Enjoy with friends and family.

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