I'm having some young cousins over, and they've only ever been fed kraft mac n cheese...

I'm having some young cousins over, and they've only ever been fed kraft mac n cheese. Anyone have any good recipies for oven baked mac?

>Expecting to actually have an insightful and helpful culinary discussion about food on Veeky Forums

how about you treat them to something actually decent instead of giving them the same garbage they've been forced to eat their entire lives

It's what they're asking for, and i don't really want to argue with them about it.

Honestly don't waste your time and just make some garbage they always eat. They're not going to want to eat what what you make and it would be a waste to make some homemade mac and cheese that they're going to tell you tastes funny.

This. I've made amazing mac and cheese from scratch plenty times, but you just can't compete when your guest's taste buds are already shot.

They're only 9 and 5. I just want to give it a shot, and if they hate it, I can always have it later

buy-
16oz box of medium shell pasta
8oz of cheddar
8oz of gruyere
small 8oz thing of light cream
butter
flour

boil the shells till they're al dente and set aside
make a roux with 4oz butter and 4oz flour, let it turn caramel color. at this point, mix in the light cream and the shredded cheeses. add salt, pepper, cayenne, and nutmeg to taste. If your pot is big enough, mix in the pasta into your cheese mix and put in the oven at 400f covered for 40 min or so then another 20 min with no cover to build a crust. use a casserole dish otherwise

this is all off the top of my head so you might have to adjust down the amount of cream and cheese you add depending on your taste. It's all pretty much cooked before it goes in the oven so it might need less time in there also

This is a great start.
Try adding hot dogs or something else kids like to make it more "special" maybe?

Can confirm heart has been broken by smol child. Box mac is 33c a piece.