Welcome to Fall: the time for pumpkin spice lattes, spooky scary skeletons, and lots of yummy food.

Now for me, this is usually around the time to lounge around the house in sweatpants when there isn’t school or soccer practice.

And that means trying to avoid going out to dinner.

So when my dad doesn’t want to cook or order in, it’s usually an every-person-for-themselves sort of thing.

But thankfully, I’ve perfected a special dish for those moments when I’m craving just a little bit more than canned soup and dumplings.

Ok, so it’s just homemade mac and cheese.

Homemade Cheese Sauce

Makes: 2 cups (2-3 servings)

Ingredients (all measurements are approximated):

• 2 tbsp. Butter
• 2 heaping tbsp. flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1.5 cups total assorted cheeses (1 cup cheddar, 2 tbsp Parmesan, 1 slice of american, anything you want)

Combine the milk and chicken stock in a measuring cup. Microwave for 2 min.

Make a rue.  Add butter and flour to a small saucepan over medium heat.  Mix with a wire whisk until the butter and flour completely combine. In 2 minutes, the mixture should slowly spread over the bottom of the pan and turn a golden color. Add more butter if mixture does not spread.

Pour heated milk mixture into the saucepan, and whisk until it is fully incorporated.   Turn heat to medium/high. Use a spoon and run it around the bottom edges of the saucepan just to make sure. The mixture should thicken.

Add cheeses to the mixture. And don’t forget a pinch of salt and pepper.

At the end, you should have a thick creamy sauce, ready to be completely devoured.

Good luck, and happy cooking!