bright side of the road: 3 Cheese Mac

I. AM. SORRY.

I have not properly blogged since starting work again. It's amazing how much more 'creativity time' you have when you are out of work!!! But I have noticed and I will make a concerted effort to be better!

So, my first effort back into the blogosphere is homemade mac & cheese which admittedly I've not ever made before. I fell into the North America KD trap many times for the sake of ease and now not living in the N.A. anymore it's not as readily available. Also, as I get older and realise just how utterly unhealthy boxed KD is I've decided to make a concerted effort to make REAL mac and cheese. So VOILA!

I found this recipe from Spark, which provides healthy recipes. We didn't have the bacon as suggested because as I eagerly opened the tupperware container of bacon from last weeks' caesar salad dinner, it looked noticeably discoloured and although I was a bit down, I did think, 'Hey well this just makes it healthier right....? Without the bacon? And maybe it means I can just add a bit more cheese for extra flavour...right?'

Awesome logic I know!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp light butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups skim milk
1 bay leaf
1⁄8 onion, cut in a wedge
2 cloves (note this is actual cloves, not garlic cloves as I thought until I read the method!)
1⁄4 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss
cheese
1⁄4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1⁄4 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne
8 ounces whole-wheat pasta, dry
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
1 slice whole-wheat bread, processed into
crumbs
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C. Prepare a 9" x 13" casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Place the butter in a medium saucepan, melt over medium-low heat, and cook until foaming. Add the flour and stir well with a wooden spoon for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to incorporate.

3. Attach the bay leaf to the onion wedge using the cloves. Drop the studded onion into the milk mixture with the clove/bay leaf side down. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture thickens, about 15 minutes

saucey

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions, but don't salt the cooking water.

5. Remove the studded onion from the sauce and discard. Add the Swiss and cheddar cheeses. Stir to combine and heat the sauce until the cheese is just melted. Season with salt and cayenne.

6. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sauce, bacon, and cooked macaroni; toss to coat. Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a small bowl.

pour the creamy sauce

Mix that yumminess up!

7. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs and Parmesan. Bake uncovered until bubbly and golden, about 15 minutes.