What’s On the Menu?
Thanksgiving 2013. Let’s do this.
Gooey Mac and Cheese (Alright, alright, penne and cheese)
When planning our UK Thanksgiving, we wanted to make it as health conscious as possible… so prepare yourselves for whole wheat goodness.
What you’ll need:
Whole Wheat Penne Pasta – 500g
Medium Grated Cheddar Cheese – 250g
Unsalted Butter – 3-4 spoonfuls
Wholemeal Flour – 3-4 spoonfuls
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Salt
Pepper
First up, start by boiling a pot of water. Shake in some coarse sea salt while you’re at it.
Once the water has boiled, add the pasta and turn down the heat to a simmer.
While the pasta cooks, add a smaller pot to stovetop for the cheese.
Add about 3-4 generous spoonfuls of unsalted butter (Hey, it’s healthy because of the whole wheat… right?)
Then add in 3-4 large spoonfuls of wholemeal flour for thickening (and health).
And now add in the bag – yes the whole bag – of the medium grated cheese. Remember to keep the burner on low, and to keep stirring.
Shake in some salt and pepper while you’re at it. Now you’ve got a gooey pot of deliciousness.
When the cheese looks like this, it’s time for the pasta!
I hope you didn’t forget about it cooking over there.
But we all know how to make pasta, so once cooked and drained, it is completely ready for it’s life purpose – to become the mac (penne, whatever) to the cheese.
Toss it into a baking dish, and heat the oven to 180°C (350°F). Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on top for added goodness.
And… bake it for about a half hour or so until the top and edges look crispy. Make sure it is piping hot when you take it out of the oven.
Now, up close and personal. Look at this gooey masterpiece.
Now I can’t take credit for this recipe, Sara was head chef for this one. She definitely knows mac and cheese.
We pretty much winged this recipe. But it turned out great. So play with the portions to get a feel of what you want. Also, I’m sure it would be great with any type of pasta, so get creative.
We may have had to eat this for Thanksgiving lunch. Don’t worry, we made plenty for the feast!
xx Kelly
[…] Gooey Mac and Cheese: […]