This recipe for baked mac and cheese might just be what you're looking for

Hush, now, and I will let you in on a Momma Chef secret - when my kids were little, they ate *gasp* boxed mac and cheese. I mean, a lot of boxed mac and cheese. Sure, I (mostly) bought the all-natural, organic brands to balance my guilt from the unnecessary ingredients they put in their little bodies by the bowl-full.

I became obsessed with finding an easy way to make homemade mac and cheese, the kind of mac and cheese that almost brings you to tears because it is so rich and delish. My quest was to be able to skip the step of boiling the noodles. I wanted to streamline it from a mixing bowl directly to a baking dish. After searching, testing and tweaking, I finally found my holy grail of no-boil baked mac and cheese. This recipe is so unbelievably easy that it actually makes the store-bought directions look difficult. Huzzah! Our boxed mac and cheese days are over. Your kids will love to help make it, but you'll need to be on hand to transfer the heavy dish in and out of the oven.

• Karen Nochimowski is the mom behind MommaChef.com. All Momma Chef recipes are quick, easy and made with 6 ingredients or less and take less than 6 minutes of prep time. Karen also started and runs Momma Chef's Soup Kitchen and Momma Chef's Little Free Pantries in Chicago, which provides food at no cost to those in the Chicago community. Karen's first cookbook, "6-Minute Dinners (& More!)," offers more than 100 simple and delicious recipes with six ingredients or less, including nut-free and allergy-friendly options, to help busy families get dinner on the table with ease. Part of the proceeds will be going toward feeding those with food insecurity around Chicago. Karen includes testimonials in the book from Gloria Estefan, Alex Borstein, Katie Couric, Howie Mandel, Margaret Cho, Barbara Corcoran and many others. You can purchase the cookbook wherever books are sold.

No-Boil Mac and Cheese

2 cups elbow macaroni (regular or gluten-free)

4 cups 2% or whole milk

1 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons salted butter, melted

5 cups shredded Cheddar cheese, divided

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, add the macaroni, milk, salt, butter and 3 cups of the cheese and mix well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish.

Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of cheese over the mixture and cover with foil.

Bake covered for 35 minutes, then remove the foil and bake uncovered 20 minutes more.

Serves 8

This recipe can be gluten-free. It's also nut-free, sesame-free and vegetarian.

Karen Nochimowski