I bet that I have baked a variation of, this Mac and cheese at least a hundred times! The type of cheese or pasta may change, depending on my mood and what I have on hand. But as long as there is cheese, and I mean a lot of cheese, then it always seems to turn out amazing! My brother and his wife just had a baby on Thursday May 19th. Congratulations!!! If I lived in Washington I would bake them a dish of this Mac and cheese! I guess I will just have to settle on sending them a gift card and my love!
Ingredients:
-Rigatoni noodles (usually) (cooked according to package directions minus two minutes, drained and set aside)
-two to three heads brocilli (floretted, rinced, and pre-cooked in the microwave for 5-6 minutes)
-12 oz. ham steak (cut into a one inch dice)
-4 c. shreaded cheese (this time I used kraft tripple cheddar with powdered cream cheese)
-2 c. whole milk (warmed)
-4 Tbsp. butter
-1/4 c. flour
-1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
-1 tsp. white pepper
-pinch salt
-a few dashes hot sauce
-1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
-3 med. tomatoes (sliced)
-1 Tbsp. butter
-1/2 c. panko
-1/4 c. grated parmesan
Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a ~9×13 casserole dish. Toss together the rigatoni noodles, broccoli, and ham steak in the greased casserole dish. Set aside.
On medium heat melt butter in a medium sauce pan. Add flour to butter, whisk over medium heat for a couple of minutes. Slowly add whole milk, whisking constantly until milk is thick and bubbly, but not boiling. You do not want the sauce to break. Remove sauce pan from heat. Add shredded cheese a handful at a time, stirring and letting the cheese melt between each addition. After all cheddar cheese has been added and melted add red pepper flakes, white pepper, pinch salt, hot sauce, and mustard. Taste to make sure the seasoning is right. Pour sauce evenly over noodles, broccoli, and ham.
Top casserole evenly with sliced tomatoes. Melt butter and toss with panko, sprinkle panko and grated parmesan evenly over casserole.
Pop the casserole into the oven. Bake, uncovered, for ~40 minutes until hot, bubbly, and golden brown. Remove from oven and let rest for 20 minutes. Then EAT IT!!!