Sun Dried Tomato Macaroni & Cheese with Bacon - Your Cup of Cake (2024)

FAQs

How do you make dry mac and cheese better? ›

Add Cream Cheese

Most boxes will instruct you to boil the pasta, then drain and add butter, milk, and cheese powder to the pot, mixing well to form a sauce. To make your mac extra creamy and rich, stir in a tablespoon or two of cream cheese into your cheese sauce. You'll thank us later.

Tomato paste, like sun dried tomatoes, is a very popular ingredient in Italian cuisine, so it can be used as a substitute in pretty much any Italian dish. Swap in 1 tablespoon of tomato paste for every 4-5 sun-dried tomatoes.

However, if you do need them soft you can rehydrate by soaking in either warm water or good quality oil (olive oil is most common) for about 10 minutes. Salads and Sandwiches: Rehydrate the tomatoes by marinating in a bit of salad dressing then enjoy tomatoes in your salad in the winter or on a sandwich.

For dehydrated tomatoes, the tomatoes are washed, then passed through long tunnels in which they are exposed to a current of warm air. It is a speedier alternative to the sun dried variety, and allows for greater variation in the product.

Who knew that allowing juicy ripe tomatoes to dry in the heat of sunlight would turn them into such a stunning antipasto and ingredient? The Southern Italians did— that's who!

Pour about a tablespoon of milk per cup of mac and cheese into the dish and mix well. Cover the dish with aluminum foil and place it in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until it's heated through.

Add more sauce

When it comes to macaroni and cheese there is a fine balance between soupy and dry. It all comes down to the sauce. Remember that the noodles for macaroni and cheese are not entirely cooked when they hit the baking dish, so they will continue to cook and absorb sauce while baking.

Use less thickener

You want equal amounts of butter and flour by weight. This is key. Throw in too much flour, and sure the sauce might get thick, but it also might taste floury and be lumpy. Even if you get the roux right, use too much or reduce your sauce down too far, and the macaroni and cheese will turn out dry.