Cheesy Mac & Cheese
Ingredients
1 Stick, Butter, unsalted
2 Teaspoons, Dijon mustard
4 Tablespoons, All-Purpose Flour
1 Teaspoon, Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon, Onion Powder
1 Teaspoon, dried Parsley
1 Teaspoon, Italian Seasoning
1 Teaspoon, Salt
1 Teaspoon, Black Pepper
4 Cups, Milk
3 Tablespoons, Garlic & Herb Cheese Spread
3-4 Cups, Shredded Cheese (Colby Jack, Sharp White Cheddar)
2 Boxes (1 lb. ea), Large Elbow Macaroni
3/4 Cup, Seasoned Italian Breadcrumbs
6 slices, Tomato
Instructions
Heat oven to 375 degrees.
In a small bowl combine flour, and all seasonings, set aside. Cook your noodles according to the package. Spray a casserole dish and set aside.
On stove, melt butter on Medium heat. add Dijon mustard and mix well. Slowly add flour mixture to butter and stir well, using a whisk. Cook on medium-low for about 5 minutes. Your mixture will start to really thicken up and that is OK; that is what you want. But you want to make sure you cook off the flour. Start to slowly add milk (about 1/2 cup at a time) and mix really well each time you add it and until you have added all 4 cups. Turn heat to low and simmer for about another 5 minutes or so, stirring with a whisk occasionally. Add about 2 cups of your shredded cheese to the mixture and stir until it melts; this will make a nice cheese sauce for your noodles.
Cheese Sauce
In a large mixing bowl, add your noodles and the cheese sauce and toss lightly until all covered. Pour into your casserole dish, sprinkle the extra cheese on top. Add the 6 slices of tomato on top and cover entire casserole with the breadcrumbs.
Cover dish with tin foil & bake in oven for approx 20 minutes. Remove foil and continue cooking for about another 10-15 minutes or until nice and hot/bubbly. Remove and serve.
Mangia! Enjoy!
Tips/Suggestions
You can add any combination of cheeses that you like. I mixed a Colby Jack and a Sharp White Cheddar as well as the garlic & herb cheese spread. There are so many types of cheese that you can try in this dish.
Add Salt/Oil to your water when cooking your pasta. Do not rinse your pasta! Just drain and add the noodles to your bowl to toss in with the cheese sauce.
The sauce may look like a lot but trust me, those noodles are going to soak it all up.