Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Jalapeno Mac n Cheese



Macaroni and cheese. Ahhh. Whether it's made entirely from scratch or opening up a box of Kraft, I love macaroni and cheese.

I've conquered bacon mac n'cheese, and traditional mac n cheese. No problem. The great thing about this dish is you can pretty much add whatever you want, and it will only make it all that much better.

::Gathering my raw materials::

Ingredients:

2 cups shells, rotini, rigatoni, elbow mac uncooked (whole wheat if you prefer)
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon flour
1.5 cups milk
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
1 large jalapeno, diced (and seeded if you prefer less of a spice)
1.5 cups shredded cheese of your choice (the sharper, the better)

Directions:

In a large pot bring about a quart of water to boil then dash in some salt. Add your pasta and let cook until al dente



While that's going, it's jalapeno and roux prep. Chop up your jalapeno (de-seed if you like) and set aside.



Not shown is the cheese grating. Not very exciting, but we all know how to do that.

After your cheese and jalapenos are prepped, set aside and start on the roux. Melt the 1 tbsp of butter with flour in a medium saucepan at medium to high heat, and use a whisk to keep stirring. You don't want any lumps.

Then add your milk immediately and keep whisking. You should have a nice thick "gravy" like base for your cheese sauce.


Add salt, pepper, garlic powder, your jalapeno chunks, and finally the cheese. Continue to whisk it all together until smooth and let simmer on low.





As it simmers on low, drain your pasta (don't rinse), and return to the large pot. Pour the cheese mixture on the drained pasta and incorporate the cheese everywhere.



Do I need to tell you the next step? ENJOY! =)