Usually, the macaroni and cheese at our house is a pretty loose concoction. The pasta is often large macaroni but also shells and various rigati or penne - whatever Barilla is on sale typically. The meat is usually some kind of pork - ham, smoked pork chop (a tip from a chef friend) or very thick cut bacon. For vegetables, the SO likes broccoli but we also use peas.

Recently, I have been testing new cheese combos, and I've settled on a three or four cheese mix that might contain a smoked Gouda, a very sharp cheddar, a bit of hard parm, and some very smooth ricotta. All of these are by preference and depends on what flavors are good together when nibbling on samples at the market. The sauce base is always a basic bechamel with a little bit of dry mustard, white pepper, nutmeg, with bay or sweated minced shallots if I feel like it. Save some cheese for sprinkling in with the pasta and some for mixing with the breadcrumb topping. I find that panko mixed with a little olive oil works well with little fuss.

The below recipe is very inexact, but produces a creamy gooey mac with firmer noodles rather a custard texture. Feel free to change the feel as needed by removing ricotta and playing with the ratio of cheeses and bechamel, or cooking the pasta slightly more than al dente for softer bite.

sauce:

3 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
1 pint warmed whole milk
at least 0.25 tsp nutmeg, 0.5 tsp dry mustard to taste
about 1.5-2 lb soft grating cheeses
0.5 lb of hard grating cheeses
0.5 -1 cup ricotta whipped very smooth. Choose a brand that isn't grainy.
salt and white pepper to taste

Make a basic bechamel, adding cheeses at the end. To regulate consistency if too thick, add a little warmed milk or pasta water.

Toss 1 lb cooked pasta of choice with meat and veg - probably around a 0.5 lb each- as well as some leftover cheese. Pour on the sauce and top with crumbs, cheese and a fine drizzle of olive oil. Avoid a curdled sauce by baking covered at 300-325 degrees till almost, just barely bubbling at the edges - about 25-30 minutes. Uncover and broil for a few minutes to lightly toast the top and serve immediately.