BUGS & CHEESE {Recipe}

I wish I had more and better pictures of this dish.  Most of the kids wouldn’t eat it because it looked like bugs.  It is just a baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe.

You can use your favorite mac and cheese recipe.  I topped this one with buttered bread crumbs for dirt, but I think my kids disliked that especially.  I thought it was delicious!

For the pasta, I used several different shapes.  I just tried to get ones that I thought would resemble bugs.  I used some penne, some small shells, some really tiny pasta that looked like fat, flat grains of rice, some pieces of fettuccine broken into shorter pieces, and I think some corkscrews.  I boiled each type separately and added food coloring to the cooking water to change the color of the pasta.  Once I had all the pasta cooked in different colored water, I proceeded to make my mac and cheese.

Here is the recipe I used:

Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 pound pasta (I like medium shells)
• 3 c. whole milk
• 1 c. cream
• ½ c. butter
• ½ c. flour
• 3 cups shredded Swiss cheese (preferably Gruyere or Jarlsberg) (about 10 ozs)
• 3 cups shredded sharp or extra sharp cheddar cheese (about 10 ozs)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar for topping
• ½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
• ¼ tsp dry mustard
• ¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 tsp. course Kosher salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 375.

Put a pot of water on to boil. While you are waiting make a roux by melting the butter in a heavy bottomed saucepan, then add the flour. Stir well and cook on medium for about 3 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cream. Continue to cook and stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens. Cook pasta in salted water according to box directions. While it is cooking, grate your cheese and add it to the white sauce (butter, flour, milk). Stir till cheese is melted. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and mustard. Drain pasta and return it to the pot. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and stir well to combine. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with shredded cheddar cheese. (Add buttered bread crumbs if desired) Bake at 375 for about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned. If it is taking too long to brown the cheese put it under the broiler for a few minutes, watching carefully so it doesn’t burn.

Flickr Tags: macaroni and cheese,pasta,Halloween