Grandma's Macaroni and Cheese

1 pound box macaroni noodles
1 ¾ cup of cubed Velveeta cheese (about ¾ of a 8oz pound box)
2 ½ cups of milk
¾ cup all-purpose flour
½ stick unsalted butter (for cheese roué)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter (for noodles)
6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil (for noodles)
4-6 tsp. unsalted soft butter (to butter dish or you can use cooking spray)
¾ stick melted unsalted butter (for crispy topping)
¾ cup finely crushed butter & garlic croutons
½ cup shredded Colby and Monterey Jack Cheese (you can use cheddar instead to add sharpness)
Sea salt (to taste)
Ground pepper (to taste)
Granulated garlic (to taste)
Old Bay seasoning (to taste)

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400F.
2. Cool macaroni noodles per back of box instructions
3. Drain water from noodles and add to a bowl to be seasoned
4. Season noodles with 4 tbsp. unsalted unsalted butter, 6 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, ground pepper, granulated garlic and old bay and mix gently then set aside
5. Time to make the cheese roué
6. Using the same large sauce pan you cooked the noodles in, turn the heat to high for 10-20 seconds, then turn down to low (so you do not burn your cheese roué)
7. Add ½ stick of unsalted unsalted butter to the pan and allow unsalted butter to melt
8. Add flour to unsalted butter and begin to whisk constantly
9. Once flour and unsalted butter have incorporated and mixture looks like crumbles (if it looks dry add a little more unsalted butter), add the milk in slowly always whisking
10. Once the flour, unsatled butter and milk are incorporated, start adding the cubed Velveeta cheese little by little always whisking until roué has a nice yellow color and is creamy, it shouldn’t be too thick or too runny (if it’s too thick add a little more milk, if it’s too runny add a little more flour and continue to whisk until you get your desired consistency), season with a little sea salt & ground pepper and give a final whisk
11. Once cheese roué is ready, turn heat off and add noodles to the cheese roué
12. Fold the cheese roué and the noodles together until every noodle has some cheese roué
13. Butter a baking dish (you can use cooking spray instead if you like)
14. Add the noodles that have been folded into the cheese roué to the baking dish and set aside
15. Let’s Make our Crispy Topping (YUMMY)
16. Mix the finely crushed butter & garlic croutons, ¾ stick melted unsalted butter and shredded Colby and Monterey jack cheese together
17. Sprinkle topping all over macaroni in the baking dish
18. Bake on 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until cheese in topping is melted and top has a nice light brown color (remember your macaroni noodles and cheese roué are already cooked so you are not re-cooking just allowing the inside to bind and the cheese in the topping to melt and the croutons to get crisp
19. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 2-5 minutes before serving.