Attention Mac’ and Cheese Lovers!

Southern Living published a killer Smokin’ Macaroni and Cheese recipe in their January issue! I’ve never made my own from scratch. But I did this evening and I’ll be doing it again real soon!

If you too would like to partake in the cheesy goodness, here’s the recipe:

Smokin’ Macaroni and Cheese

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked cellentani pasta
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded smoked Gouda cheese
1 (3-oz.) package cream cheese, softened
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper, divided
1 (8-oz.) package chopped cooked, smoked ham
2 cups cornflakes cereal, crushed
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare cellentani pasta according to package directions. Transfer hot pasta to a large bowl.2. Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Gradually whisk in flour until smooth; cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk and evaporated milk; cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 5 minutes or until thickened. Whisk in Gouda, cream cheese, salt, and 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper until smooth. Remove from heat, and stir in chopped ham.

3. Combine pasta and Gouda cheese mixture, and pour into a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Stir together 2 cups crushed cereal, 2 Tbsp. melted butter, and remaining 1/4 tsp. ground red pepper; sprinkle over pasta mixture.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Barilla Cellentani Pasta.

Yield

Makes 8 servings

Heather Markowski, Rochester, New York , Southern Living, JANUARY 2008

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