Baked Smokey Macaroni and Cheese

This is a smokey and delicious baked macaroni and cheese.  You simply start by making a cheese sauce with a nice Smoke Gouda at it's base, toss it with the cooked elbow macaroni, top it with bread crumbs and bake.  This recipe can be made with any variety of cheese, but I always like to include some mozzarella, as mozzarella melts so well and it seems to help keep the other cheese from getting that grainy texture as they melt.

 The Ingredients
12 ounces elbow macaroni, cooked al dente
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 cups, shredded smoked Gouda
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups 1% milk
1 teaspoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
several dashes of liquid smoke
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

The Tools
Large stock pot
Large sauce pan
2 qt baking dish
cheese grater (if you didn't purchase pre-grated cheese)

The Cooking

 

 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and have your 2 qt baking dish ready, spray your dish with a cooking spray if you feel your dish needs to be prepared in this fashion.  Over medium heat melt the butter and add the flour, stirring constantly until a paste is formed.

Slowly begin to add the milk, stirring constantly.  Add a little, stir a lot and then add some more.  Take your time of this part of the process.  As I have you using milk you will need to be careful that the mixture not come of a boil. 

Once all the milk is added you will have a nice white sauce 

In batches slowly add the cheese, stirring and allowing each batch to melt before adding the next.

Once all the cheese is added you will have a cheese sauce to which you can add the addition of Worcestershire sauce

Then add some liquid smoke to enhance the smokey flavor of the smoked gouda.  

Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked macaroni. The brown flecks you see in the cheese sauce are from the outside of the smoked Gouda. Mix the cheese sauce and macaroni together.  

  Place the macaroni and cheese into a prepared 2 qt baking dish and top it with the breadcrumbs.  Somehow I failed to photograph the breadcrumbs on top, but you can see them in the finished product at the beginning of this post.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.  

Or until the top is nice and golden brown

The recipe source: My Brain

This recipe serves 12 1-cup servings

Calories: 307

Protein: 15 grams

Fat: 14 grams

Sodium: 443 mg

Fiber: 1 gram

Potassium: 3 mg