Macaroni & Cheese (Kraft Knockoff)

I will admit that I kind of love Kraft mac & cheese (the best is the 3 cheese shells, ohh). Sometimes you just need some comfort food and it hits the spot. The other day while Zak was at work, I had a craving for it, but seeing as how I was stranded at home and it was cold and rainy outside, I opted not to walk to the store to get a box of it. So I looked online and found a good 'taste-a-like' of it. It was super easy, and pretty tasty!

2 quarts water

1 Tbl. salt

2 c. uncooked elbow (or shell, whatever) macaroni

2 Tbl. butter

1/2 lb. cheese, grated (about 2 cups)

1 tsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. flour

1 c. milk

1/2 tsp. lemon juice

1/4 c. ham, chopped into 1/4 inc. cubes (I didn't have ham when I made this, so I opted it out, but I'm sure it's good in it)

black pepper

onion salt

1. In a medium bowl, mix corn starch in with cheese, so that it's coated (this helps cheese from getting too stringy).

2. Bring water and salt to a boil, add pasta and cook 7 or so minutes, drain when finished.

3. While pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce by melting butter in a large saucepan on medium heat.

4. Whisk in the flour; slowly dribble in the milk and continue to whisk until the sauce is smooth.

5. Slowly add in the cheese and whisk until smooth. Stir in the lemon juice.

6. Add in the cooked, drained macaroni and ham. Sprinkle in pepper and onion salt.