Mac & Cheese

To quote my mom, this recipe is “restaurant quality”

• Prep time: 30 mins

• Cook time: 30 mins (optional)

• Makes 6 servings

• Contains dairy

Ingredients

• For the pasta

  • 4 cups of pasta noodles (elbow macaroni, shells, fusilli - whatever you like)

  • 1 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil

• For the cheese sauce

  • 1/3 cup of butter

  • 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour

  • 3 cups of 2% milk

  • 1 cup of heavy cream

  • 4 cups of grated cheese (I recommend two different kinds for ultimate flavour)

• For the bread crumb topping (optional)

  • 1/2 cup of breadcrumbs

  • 4 tbsp of melted butter

  • 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese

  • 1/4 tbsp of smoked paprika

Instructions

• If you want to bake your mac & cheese…

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

  • Lightly grease a large baking dish and set aside

• Make the pasta noodles

  • In a large pot, cook pasta according to package directions

  • Remove from heat, drain, and return to the large cooking pot

  • Drizzle the macaroni with olive oil and stir, then set aside while preparing the cheese sauce

• Make the cheese sauce

  • Melt butter in a large saucepan or pot

  • Whisk in flour over medium heat

  • Gradually stir in the milk and heavy cream

  • Slowly add the grated cheese and whisk until smooth

• Combine the pasta noodles and cheese sauce (if you’re not planning on baking your mac and cheese, you can stop here and enjoy your meal)

• Pour mac & cheese into your large baking dish

• Make the breadcrumb topping

  • In a medium-sized bowl, combine panko crumbs, parmesan cheese, melted butter, and paprika

  • Sprinkle over mac & cheese

• Bake for 30 minutes

• Enjoy!

Green Fact

If the world continues to follow current meat consumption trends, the omnivorous diet could cost the global economy up to $1.6 trillion (USD) per year by 2050 due to healthcare and environmental costs.