Macaroni and cheese. One of the most basic meals around, it’s also one of the most popular — indeed, it’s a staple of American cuisine — the darling of everyone from your 7-year-old niece to some of the top chefs at the finest restaurants. And what’s not to love? Tender pasta tossed with no shortage of melted, ooey-gooey cheese. There’s no wonder it’s a quintessential comfort food, any time of the year.

Best of all? You don’t need to make it from a box.

I must confess. I’ve never had success with boxed mac ’n’ cheese, even when I tried to make it growing up. It always came out lumpy. Looking back, I think this was probably due to youthful impatience (who has time to patiently whisk in the cheese packet?!?!). But, even now, I still can’t seem to get it to turn out right. (My 7-year-old niece used to laugh at me — even she could do it.)

I actually started trying to make it from scratch because I was — and still am — such a boxed-mix failure. And I realized very quickly how easy homemade mac ’n’ cheese can be. Continue reading for tips, tricks and recipes

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