I Am Cheesy

Mac and Cheese, minus the gluten, Oh My!

Let me get all "cheesy" about this gluten-free Mac and Cheese recipe! It is so delicious.  I tried this because my sister and I love Mac and Cheese but wanted to make it home made.  Many children love Mac and Cheese also!  When nannying I was able to tell my kids about it and they have been begging me to make it again.  The only downfall to Mac and Cheese is that it isn't as simple as Kraft Mac and Cheese.  As I was grocery shopping while nannying I noticed that in the Health foods isle at Hy-Vee, they have an Annie's brand that has about 4 different choices of gluten-free boxed Mac and Cheese.  I tried that, as well as this homemade recipe and while the homemade was amazing, the boxed Annie's brand was also pretty good!  Annie's is made with real cheese and real organic ingredients.  Although I do not know the nutrition facts of this homemade Mac and Cheese, Annie's has 280 calories in 1 cup of mac and cheese, with 8% of your daily fiber.

For this Martha Stewart homemade Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese you will need:

-Unsalted butter

-Parmesan Cheese

-Yellow Onion

-Potato Starch

-Milk

-Cheddar Cheese

-Dijon Mustard

-Gluten-free Penne (Or any Gluten-free Pasta)

*I recommend Heartland Gluten-Free Penne, it is on the cheaper side of the gluten free pastas

You will begin by preheating your oven at 350 degrees and use a 2 quart bowl and warm up 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter in the microwave.  You then will add 1/4 cup of grated cheese with the melted butter.  

In a saucepan on the stovetop you will melt 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter.  To that melted butter you will add one small yellow onion, diced.  After cooking that for about 4 minutes, or until soft, you want to add 2 tablespoons of potato starch and cook for about one minutes. You're going to add 2 cups of milk to this also, although warm the milk before adding.  When you add it, you want to continuously be stirring.  After about 3 minutes it should become a think consistency.  Once thick, remove it from the heat and add 3 cups of shredded cheddar and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard until it is smooth.  I do not like Dijon mustard so I did not add it and it was perfectly delicious without it :)

Add your about 3/4 cup of gluten-free pasta to this mix.  You want to move it to a pan then pop in the oven for about 15-20 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling.  If you want to add a crunch to it you can add gluten-free crisp puffed-rice cereal, slightly crushed and bake it in with it!

My own testimony to this mac and cheese, even at 21 years old I know I'm not a child anymore, it was amazing! I also am a huge fan of any type of mac and cheese but it was so good!