Throw It Together Thursday: No Boil Mac And Cheese Please
We love mac and cheese around our house. Sure, it’s one of the four choices on every kids’ menu out at a restaurant so we eat it often enough, but…
We love mac and cheese around our house. Sure, it's one of the four choices on every kids' menu out at a restaurant so we eat it often enough, but we wanted to make our own version. We went with a "no boil" recipe. Makes it that much easier, and this way the pasta is cooked perfectly when you bake it rather than boil. We got this recipe from Cabot Cheese. Here's what you need to serve 8:
16 ounces dry penne
8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
¼ cup unbleached all-purpose flour
4 cups warm whole milk
1 pound Cabot Seriously Sharp Cheddar, or your favorite Cabot Cheddar grated (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or ½ teaspoon dried basil
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme or ½ teaspoon dried thyme
(We also added mushrooms to get some veggies in there.)
For another #ThrowItTogether recipe (Pasta Salad with Broc & Sundried Tomatoes), click here.
Let's talk a minute about Cabot Cheese
It's so hard to pick a favorite, but if I had to...it's the Alpine Cheddar. But in this recipe we went with the Seriously Sharp.
In fact, we love Cabot Cheese so much...
We can't help but sing when we eat it.
Preheat the oven to 375.
Put the dry pasta in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Add one cup of the shredded cheddar and mix. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour a little at a time until well blended. Then stir for a minute or two longer. Whisk in milk gradually and continue stirring until the sauce has thickened a little. The key is to make a thin sauce that will continue to thicken when it's baked with the pasta.
Yes, I let my two-year old use a cheese grater.
(I also let her juggle knives. Ahhh! Bad mom alert! No. Just kidding!) Add the remaining shredded cheese, stirring until melted and blended. Reduce the heat to low. Add basil and thyme and cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 more minutes. Take the sauce off the heat and pour over the dry pasta and cheddar. Stir to mix well. Cover with foil and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the foil and if you'd like... add breadcrumbs, BBQ sauce or hot sauce, sautéed vegetables. Get creative.
Then bake for another 10 to 15 minutes or until top starts to brown a little.
This is a creamy, filling meal that will be equally as good when it's re-heated as leftovers.
Yes, we do love everything about Cabot Cheese...
We love their mascot.
It's your go-to cheese to serve with crackers on a platter or to use for cooking.
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