Reviewed: Jun. 12, 2008

This was amazing - the compliment I got was "steakhouse worthy". I did use 1% and 2% milk instead of whole, and I left off the crumb topping and instead put a little extra cheese on top (left off the extra butter and added the red pepper to the mac). Towards the end of the baking, I turned on the broiler to get a nice brown/crispy layer. Had great flavor and will DEFINITELY make again!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
2 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

RWLEVINSON

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Living In: Davis, California, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 30, 2008

I was beginning to lose faith in this site until I stumbled upon this recipe. It was GREAT! I did not have any problem with it being too dry as some people did, it was perfect, it even reheats well. I added hamburger meat seasoned with onion, garlic, and chili powders and I really thought it added an extra kick. I also upped the hot sauce and added a dash of cayenne pepper to the cheese sauce. I recommend NOT omitting the chili powder/ bread crumb topping as it made a nice crunchy coating which really is the final touch to this wonderful dish. Thanks so much, will definitely be making this time and time again!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Joy1982

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 11, 2008

Really great mac and cheese in a more "adult" way. We really kicked up the spice, and it was a huge potluck hit.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

chilljill5

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Feb. 18, 2008

This was a really good alternative to the regular mac and cheese recipes. I did as other reviews suggested and added more noodles (about 3 cups) and followed the recipe as stated. I did omitt the bread crumbs. I did follow another reviewers suggestion and added a pound of ground beef cooked with onion, garlic, and seasoning salt. Combined the beef, macaroni, and cheese sauce in a casserole dish, sprinkled the rest of the pepper jack cheese on top and baked for about 20 min. This took me about the same about of time to cook some hambuger helper, and it was much tastier. I will be adding this onto my quick weekdays meal list.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

texascook

Cooking Level: Expert

Living In: Denton, Texas, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 25, 2008

Next time I will use about 1/2 box of pasta, and maybe only 1/2 cup of pepper jack + 1/2 cup of monterey jack. very easy, will definitely do again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Marilyn

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Rowley, Massachusetts, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 16, 2008

I expected a whole lot more from this dish. I used just over 2 c of medium size shell pasta, and there was still not enough pasta to go with the amount of sauce. The sauce was spicy but it got clumpy rather quickly which bummed me out. I left of the breadcrumbs (based on some other reviews) and I don't think it would have made a difference either way. Perhaps if I freshly shredded all of my cheeses (I only shredded the pepperjack... the cheddar and parmesan were pre-shredded) I might not have had clumping issues?

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Leslie

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Ambridge, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Hickory, Pennsylvania, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Dec. 30, 2007

I thought this recipe came out REALLY dry. After second thought, I'm not really sure why the baking time was so long--I think that's what dried out the cheese. Kinda disappointing texture after seeing the great reviews. Next time, I'll add alot more cheese and cook less because I did really love how spicy it was.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
3 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Sara Deckard

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

Living In: Tacoma, Washington, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 15, 2007

This makes an excellent change from basic mac&cheese. I used about 3/4 of a box of elbow macaroni, then cut the hot sauce down to 1 teaspoon and added a can of Rotel tomatoes to compensate...yum! This reheats well with an extra splash of milk. Next time I'll leave off the breadcrumbs since I don't think that really added anything, and throw in some ground beef for a complete meal.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
6 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

yayforsprinkles

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Solon, Iowa, USA

Living In: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 3, 2007

It was a good change to the typical mac n' cheese. Like other reviewers, I found that the sauce could accomodate a full box of pasta. Tasted good warmed up the next day too.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
1 user found this review helpful

Reviewer:

BERLEE

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Oct. 1, 2007

This recipe is awesome!! We all loved it, even my one-year old. (I did cut back on the hot pepper sauce). I put the chili powder (and a little less) into the sauce and used a mix of 2% and 1% milk. I used more pasta too, probably 2.5 cups and I could have used more, but I like an extra cheesey, saucey sauce opposed to a drier sauce. We had broccoli with this and spooned some of the extra sauce over that. I used radiatore pasta in this and it was wonderful. Shredded my own parm, used Tillamook Pepperjack and Tillamook Extra Sharp Reserve White Cheddar cheese. Used a bit extra of all the cheeses. LOVED it!!! I used crushed garlic croutons in place of bread crumbs and butter. We couldn't get enough. I will make this again.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
16 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

What a Dish!

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 7, 2007

Love this! I've made it many times and have found that whichever type/brand of hot sauce you use will really change the final taste. It's been fun to experiment with.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Kendra

Cooking Level: Intermediate

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Sep. 22, 2006

This was OK. I used 2 & 3/4 cups macaroni elbows. (Definitely need to add more pasta than what is suggested.) If I had to do it over, I would omit mixing the chili powder with the breadcrumbs...not because it is too spicy either. Leftovers tasted good.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

Grace

Home Town: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Living In: Boston, Massachusetts, USA

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Mar. 21, 2005

This is awesome mac & cheese! I made it for our group of adult friends and they've requested it again and again. I use 1 box of pasta, thinking the 1 1/2 cups of pasta on the recipe must be a typo.

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

BLOUBIRD

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2005

It was really good!! I added some chopped jalepenos and it was superb....spicy but subtle. Also i felt there was too much cheese to mac ratio, so i added another 1/2 cup of macaroni. Delish!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

SPLATOOEY

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Nov. 4, 2004

Loved it! It's a great spin on one of my favorite comfort foods!!! I substituted cayenne pepper for the hot sauce b/c (surprisingly !!!) I was all out!!!!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
5 users found this review helpful

Reviewer:

RILEY1

My Profile | Cooks I Like | Reviews
Photos | Recipes | Blog

Reviewed: Jan. 9, 2003

This recipe came out really nicely. Next time I make it, I'll probably add a bit more to the spice (I'm a spicy foods kinda guy), and will probably leave out the bread crumbs. Other than that, magnifique!

Was this review helpful? [ YES ]
0 users found this review helpful