I make mine with a high quality American (like Land O’ Lakes) in the sauce, then mix shredded extra sharp cheddar with the macaroni (I prefer cavatappi) before adding the cheese sauce. Top with bread crumbs browned in butter and shredded cheddar. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes covered with foil, the uncover for 15 minutes. Creamy melty cheesy goodness.
I think it might be a bit more runny than you’d like, sir.
Colby jack, to me at least, is milder than cheddar. Not that I don’t enjoy it – I have straight-up colby (which is basically Monterey Jack with annatto for coloring in it) in my fridge right now – but it’s one of the mildest flavored cheeses I can think of. Cheddar can get quite interesting, depending on what kind you got.
The easiest way to punch it up is, as suggested above, throwing in some sharp cheese like a good parmesan, grano padano, sharp provolone, etc. I’m not a big fan of messing much with classic mac & cheese. I love onions, but they don’t belong (in my opinion) in mac & cheese. My basic recipe is for the cheese sauce to have a Velveeta base (sorry, I’ve done the mornay sauce/bechamel with cheese approach, and I have to admit I far prefer Velveeta in this application), along with a “real” cheese for flavoring (usually sharp cheddar), and a bit of mustard powder and/or Louisiana hot sauce (along with milk/cream/egg/whatever).
A can of Rotelle tomatoes, a habanero pepper, a teaspoon of dry mustard, a couple of heavy dashes of cayenne and some freshly ground pepper. YUM!
While this is extremely taste, I hesitate to call it Mac & Cheese at that point. 
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[quote=“NDP, post:11, topic:774563”]
that was my thought …heck sine some people like it … use some of that Heinz ketchup with tabasco that’s how I used to spice up the boxed stuff …
its chili mac and queso if you just add ground beef 
I’ve never had Mac and Cheese, but isn’t it essentially the same as pizza? Do what you would do to pizza. Mushroom and spicy sausage should do the trick!
Can’t argue with that, but it could still be considered a tasty dish.
When our son was little, he was the only American kid on the planet who did not like regular macaroni and cheese. So we would adulterate it and call it “grown-up macaroni and cheese” - then he would eat it. Though he still isn’t a big fan of any Western-style pasta dish. He likes his noodles Asian style only. Weird kid.
Enough with the digression. In addition to the suggestions above, good “grown-up” additions to mac-n-cheese include:
Generous spoonfuls of pesto
A can of chopped tomatoes, drained
Diced ham
Does not compute.
My mom’s recipe for macaroni and cheese includes:
salad macaroni
sharp cheddar cheese
milk
salt
pepper
dry mustard
Since it is perfect, there is no need for any other ingredients in macaroni and cheese.
Here’s my recipe - warning it’s a heart attack on a plate but it elevates M&C to a new level
500gr cavatappi
1ltr full fat milk and nothing less then full fat
125gr butter (no substitutes)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
400gr cheddar (proper cheddar hand-grated - not the cheap supermarket crap)
250gr grated gruyere
100gr roquefort
100gr parmesan (hand grated not the pre-grated sawdust)
salt, pepper, nutmeg and paprika/cayenne
heat the oven to 180C (fan)
Cook the pasta al-dente (6mins), drain and rinse with cold water.
Heat the milk in a pan - DO NOT BOIL
Melt butter in a casserole pan over medium heat, once the foaming subsides add the flour and cook for 2-3mins whisking frequently (you want to cook out the flour taste). Add salt, pepper, grated nutmed and the paprike/cayenne. Add the hot milk a ladle at a time whisking constantly. Let the bechamel come to a bubble and cook for 5mins, stirring frequently.
Take the bechamel offf the heat and stir all the cheese except for the parmesan. Once the cheese has melted in, add the cavatappi and stir to mix. Sprinkle with the parmesan and bake for 35mins.
For a meatier version
The day before - brown some beef short ribs in a casserole dish, add two chopped carrots, two chopped celery sticks, two chopped onions, a bouquet garni, a bottle of wine and 500ml of good beef stock. Bring to a boil and transfer to 140C (fan) oven and slow cook for 7hours.
Take out meat, remove from the bones and shred using forks.
make the mac&cheese and add the beef when adding the pasta to the cheese sauce
Whu? Not like pizza. Well, it has cheese. Typically there is no tomato whatsoever. If you like cheddar cheese and macaroni noodles, you should try some. I would even recommend the blue box with the powdered cheese to someone who has never tried it. (I also recommend cutting the milk in about half on that one, but that’s me.)
“America’s Comfort Food” I prefer it with no milk and use all butter for a creamier taste and texture, 1 stick of unsalted butter. Wife prefers it that way and the child has never had it any other way.
And if you use margarine instead of butter, you’re doing it wrong.
I had to mop my chin after watching that video. I am so making this.
mmm
As has already been suggested, try a blend of cheeses.
And about 6-10 habanero peppers. That’ll make it really exciting 
I dislike baked mac & cheese, in part because the noodles get too squishy for my taste. This stovetop mac and cheese is our standby, and while it’s not exciting, the texture of the noodles is better IMO. I add Tabasco to my bowl and all is good.
Macaroni and cheese? Can’t pass this thread by.
First, tomatoes, onions, or meat don’t belong in it. If any of these are present, it’s now something else.
Second, baked is the way to go. Some people complain about the elbow macaroni getting too soft. Just avoid cooking it all the way before baking. I use a covered Pyrex casserole dish to help keep the top from over-browning.
Finally, I suggest you try spaghetti in place of elbow macaroni. The pasta is just there to give everything a base and spaghetti gives you a denser consistency that holds more cheesy goodness when baked.
In making my mac and cheese, the last step after dumping the pasta and cheese(s) blob into the casserole dish is to fill the dish with a half-and-half and egg mixture. The pasta will absorb the half-and-half and the egg will help it set up. Then I add the toppings (crumbs, sliced cheese, or whatever). Bake just long enough so it doesn’t turn into a casserole that has to be sliced.
Mac and Cheese is a national treasure and is perfect the way it is.
Only in the most abstract sense in that it has a starch and cheese. It’s about as close as spaghetti and meatballs is to pizza (and I’d argue less close.)
Anyhow, it’s no longer “mac and cheese,” but growing up, the standard was to dump some tuna and peas into it. (I still love this from time to time. Here’s a recipe.) But that makes it a type of tuna casserole. Or add chili and get a chili mac & cheese. Or hamburger and hamburger mac and cheese. But these are going beyond the idea of mac & cheese into something else.
A bit off topic: One of the best dishes of this sort I’ve had was in Portugal. There is a sheep’s milk cheese made in the mountains there called Serra de Estrella. When it’s young, it’s so creamy it can be spooned out of the rind and is wonderfully flavored. Outside of Portugal, it’s also ruinously expensive. Anyway, after the cheese has been consumed, you’re left with the rind. Spaghetti is cooked up, placed inside the rind and baked until the remaining bits of cheese infuse the pasta. Good stuff.