Cheesey Goodness

I'm VERY impressionable right now when it comes to food. Maybe it's pregnancy, maybe it's my perception that I can eat whatever I want because I'm pregnant. And despite the fact that other people say I look great pregnant, I've of course decided that I'm way too big for where I'm at. Really? How would I know? I just feel big and can't imagine that I have three more months to get bigger.

But I digress...we're on the topic of food. One of the case managers from work had macaroni and cheese for lunch the other day (I feel it only fair to say that she's pregnant also), and I just had to have it. I went online to my favorite recipe site, cooks.com, and perused their offerings for mac n' cheese. I found one that looked delicious, and which may also be written by someone who's British (measurements are in pints and grams. I had my dad convert the pint measurement and used our kitchen scale which measures in both grams and ounces. Many items have grams on the packaging and you just need to estimate - which is fine for something like this). I went to the grocery store on my way home and got all the fixins'. I made it immediately, and I have to tell you, it's some of the best mac n' cheese I've ever had. So good that I felt the need to share the recipe. I'm also adding a couple notes on changes I made. If you make it, good luck (although you won't need it, it's super easy).

Simple Macaroni Cheese
Printed from COOKS.COM

1 pt milk (16 oz, I used 2%)
50 g butter (I used Smart Balance)
50 g plain flour
200 g Macaroni pasta
150 g Cheddar cheese (I shredded it to make it melt easier)
50 g Red Leicester cheese to top (it's an Irish cheese in the "fine" cheese section. You could probably use a sharp cheddar)

Boil water and add pasta when boilt. Meanwhile, melt butter in a saucepan, add flour to stir to a roux (paste). Take the roux off the heat and gradually add milk, stirring all the time so as not to get lumpy. Put pan back on a high heat and stir until sauce has thickened. Remove once again from heat and add Cheddar cheese. Stir until cheese has melted. Drain macaroni and put into casserole dish. Pour the cheese sauce on top and sprinkle with Red Leicester cheese (I stirred the macaroni a bit to make sure the sauce made it to the bottom of the dish). Place under a hot grill (I put it in our oven broiler) and wait until the cheese has turned brown. Remove and eat when slightly cooled.

I highly recommend it with cut up tomatoes on the side, or a leafy salad with tomato, basil and balsamic vinegar/olive oil. I had planned a tomato, basil and mozzarella salad but didn't feel like I needed more cheese. I would have taken a picture if we hadn't eaten it all so quickly.