Mozzarella Macaroni and Cheese

Mozzarella macaroni and cheese

  So I've been making a lot of lasagna lately.  I originally made it for co-workers when I subbed at my old job (the Web of Life Field school) at the beginning of this month.  I had leftover materials so that inspired me to make it for my game night with friends on Wednesday last week.  Then I had more leftovers and made it for Game of Thrones night on Sunday.  And then I had more leftovers and... well, I think you get the point.  So, I had leftover mozzarella, leftover basil, and even leftover cooked macaroni from a separate (non-lasagna) meal.  Not wanting to make even more lasagna, I researched macaroni and mozzarella and came across this intriguing recipe.  So I decided to try it out.

Mozzarella macaroni and cheese 

Recipe by Angie McGowan from http://www.bettycrocker.com/recipes/mozzarella-macaroni-and-cheese/beef8d02-171b-4a67-95d5-7869d826ed02

Ingredients:

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon grated or very finely chopped garlic

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 oz)

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

Procedure:

1 Cook and drain macaroni as directed on package.

2 In 10-inch skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Using whisk, stir in flour, salt and garlic. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until mixture smells nutty and is lightly golden, stirring constantly with whisk.

3 Add milk. Continue to beat with whisk, scraping bottom of skillet until mixture heats to boiling. Mixture will thicken. Remove from heat; add cheese and basil. Stir with whisk until smooth. Stir in drained macaroni.

4 Serve with additional basil leaves if desired.

Mozzarella macaroni and cheese served with a caesar salad

It was very yummy; very rich and very creamy.  Definitely redolent of fettuccine alfredo and a completely different taste from your traditional macaroni and cheese.  Imagine fettuccine alfredo with macaroni noodles instead of fettuccine and you'll get the basic taste of this dish.  All in all, this is a recipe that I would make again.  I shall definitely have to experiment around with other cheeses for future macaroni and cheese recipes.....