My Southern Living Challenge! Recipe #3

Southern Living's Best of 2011
January

With just a few days left before the end of the month I had one last recipe to try for January. For as long as I can remember Sundays have been marked the day of comfort foods, especially in the winter. So I couldn't wait to make my next recipe Baked Smokin' Macaroni and Cheese, a blend of smoked gouda and smoked ham. This delicious recipe is light on the butter and cheese but still melts in your mouth! 

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/baked-smokin-macaroni-cheese-50400000109452/

This is not a complicated recipe but here are a few of the tweaks I made:

Have your ingredients ready to go before starting the recipe, as you start the process you will not be able to walk away. I also cooked the pasta and drained well beforehand so the process would go quickly and smoothly.

Slowly add the flour to the melted butter while constantly whisking, it will combine to a light roux texture but look like a paste.

Be ready to slowly add the milk and constantly whisk for 8-10 minutes. You want a creamy sauce texture, I had to add another tbsp. of flour and cook about 3-5 mins longer to get the consistency I wanted. If you have to add more flour, mix the flour with some of the liquid from the pot in a separate bowl and then slowly add back in.

 Once the sauce came together, I added the cooked pasta and chopped ham. 

Add the mixture to a pan sprayed with cooking spray. 

 I didn't want to use corn flakes for the topping, so I opted to use Panko breadcrumbs.

Creamy and light with a slight smoke flavor, really delicious.

Enjoy!

Gratefully,

Deborah...xo!