Yes, you can make scratch mac and cheese with only three ingredients

First, a mac and cheese story.

Fourteen years ago, when my partner, Nan, first walked into my kitchen, she opened my pantry door and spotted two items that surprised her: Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and a box of Velveeta.

Incredulously, she said, “How can a food columnist and chef have those two items in their pantry?”

I explained that many executive chefs I knew did not go home and make gourmet cuisine for dinner. No. They had easy-to-make guilty pleasures, and those two items were mine. Boxed mac and cheese was easy to make, and I used the Velveeta to make scratch mac and cheese.

At that time, if I were being decadent, I made a five-cheese mac and cheese; Velveeta being one of the five. The reason: Velveeta is made with sodium citrate (which is why it’s a cheese product, and NOT cheese). Sodium citrate is what makes Velveeta easily melt, and makes the other four cheeses melt well, too.

Ever since I tried to reduce gluten in my food plan, I waved a sad goodbye to the blue box, since it is made with wheat pasta.

This began my search for a decent, gluten-free pasta. That quest ended with Jovial brand brown rice organic pasta. Jovial uses bronze dies and slow drying to make their pasta, producing a rough (nearly invisible) texture to their extruded pasta, making sauces stick to it, instead of sliding off.

It may be that I have an older palate, but I can’t tell the difference between the texture and flavor of rice and wheat pastas. A win.

Recently, I came across a 3-ingredient recipe for scratch-made mac and cheese. That’s right, just three ingredients, not including salt and pepper.

This version’s preparation really got my attention — cooking the macaroni in milk, not water. I had known about spaghetti being cooked in tomato sauce instead of water (it comes out v-e-r-y red).

I immediately wanted to test this shortcut method using rice macaroni. To enhance the flavor, I went with whole milk. For me, that also meant organic milk produced from grass-fed cows.

The recipe called for cheddar cheese. I tried a new product: Organic Valley brand Original American Cheese Block. Checking the ingredient list, I saw sodium citrate. That meant this cheese would melt beautifully and produce a smooth, creamy result, like Velveeta.

I added 4 cups of whole milk to my saucepan and, over medium heat, brought it to a “gentle” boil. Next, I added 12 ounces of rice elbows and, stirring frequently to avoid sticking, simmered it for 14 minutes.

While the elbows simmered, I shredded 8 ounces of cheese. I sampled an elbow, and when it was cooked, I added the cheese handful by handful. Once the cheese was completely melted, this looked incredible. It tasted great, too. There’s no way anyone would guess how this was made.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.

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Easy Peasy Mac and Cheese

4 cups whole milk*

12 ounces brown rice elbow macaroni*

8-ounce block of American cheese*

Salt and pepper, to taste

In a 5- or 6-quart heavy-bottom saucepan, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring often.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the macaroni; cooking uncovered and stirring frequently until pasta is tender, about 14 minutes.

While the pasta is cooking, shred the cheese.

Remove the macaroni from heat. Handful by handful, stir shredded cheddar into the pasta and milk until the cheese is melted and combined. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper, if needed.

Serves 6.

*Organic, preferred

Note: Do not use already-shredded cheese, since it will not melt well.

Nutrition values per serving: 442 calories (35.2% from fat), 17.3 g fat (9.6 g saturated fat), 53 g carbohydrates (51 net carbs), 8.5 g sugars, 2 g fiber, 18.2 g protein, 50 mg cholesterol, 537 mg sodium.

Based on a recipe from thecookingfoodie.com.