3cupsshredded cheese: old cheddarmarble, gruyere, ementhal, mozzarella, monterey jack or any combination
Sneaky Part:
Adding this veg is tototally optional. But it's an easy way to get a bit of fibre and veg. Cauliflower floretsabout half a cauliflower
Topping:
1cupshredded cheese
1cups½bread crumbs/panko crumbs
cup¼butter melted
Instructions
Fill a large pot with cold water and add a good toss of salt. Bring to boil and cook elbow noodles until al dente (that means when you bite it, you see a little white dot in the centre of the pasta). It takes about 8 minutes. Drain and and set aside.
While the pasta is boiling, prepare the cauliflower florets. Place florets in a blender. Cover with water. Pulse until the florets look like rice grains. Drain through a fine mesh sieve. Push the cauliflower rice with a spatula to get all of the water out. Set aside.
Grate cheese and set aside.
Make sauce:
Remember you are using 3 of the four cups of cheese for the sauce!
Melt butter in medium sauce pan. Add flour and whisk until smooth. Slowly add milk and keep whisking so there are no lumps. Add Dijon, salt and pepper. Add the cheese handfuls at a time and stir with a spatula or wooden spoon. Don't stir with a whisk because all the cheese will get trapped in the whisk and you'll be sad.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Grease Dutch oven with oil or butter. Put drained pasta, in Dutch oven. Add cauliflower rice, stir. Pour cheese sauce over and stir thoroughly so all the noodles are fully coated.
Topping: Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese on top of noodles. In a small pan, melt butter. Sitr in bread crumbs/panko. Sprinkle on top of Mac 'N Cheese.
Bake covered for 20 minutes and remove cover and bake for another 10 minutes.
Notes
Tools:
large pot
fine mesh sieve
blender
grater
medium sauce pan
whisk
Dutch oven (deep caserole with lid – can't have plastic handles!!.