Mozzarella Mac and Cheese

Believe it or not, I used to hate macaroni and cheese. It wasn't until my freshman year of college when my friend Nathan introduced me to Easy Mac that I started liking it then. Since then, I've had many different kinds, 99% of them better than Easy Mac (although I do love a good Easy Mac once in awhile, who can resist a meal thats ready in less than 3 minutes? I can't). I'm not a huge fan of yellow cheeses- don't ask me why, I just love white cheeses more- so when I saw this recipe for mozzarella mac and cheese I ran out to the store to get some fresh mozzarella. I had some processed shredded cheese in my refrigerator which I'm sure would have worked fine but I wanted the good stuff. And boy am I glad I got it. This mac and cheese is so good I've made it 3 times in the past few weeks. The first few times I added some fresh basil from my basil plant in my "garden" (aka 2 plants on my balcony). I also made it a different time with some steamed broccoli and added some cayenne pepper and that was really good as well. It's fun to play with vegetables and spices with this recipe so I hope you all give it a try!

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup milk

2 tbsp flour

2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/4 tsp cracked pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated or cut into small cubes

1/2 lb macaroni pasta

Directions:

Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. In the meantime, melt butter in a large skillet. Then add heavy cream, milk, flour, salt, ground mustard, cracked pepper and onion powder, whisking constantly. After those ingredients have combined, whisk in the mozzarella cheese. The sauce will get thicker and will coat the back of a spoon when it is the right consistency. When the pasta has finished cooking, drain it. Then, stir in the pasta until the cheese sauce coats the noodles. 

Source: Recipe from Meatless Meals for Meat Eaters