Recipe: Tasty Mac and Cheese bake (GF and DF options included)

Pasta is a favorite of ours, it's pretty cheap, it's comfort food, it's filling, leftovers are easy and plentiful, and it holds veggies in a way that our tot will try them. When we went gluten free I felt like my pasta options were limited, but not anymore! Here is my "best yet" Baked Mac and Cheese recipe. Fun fact to tuck away for later, you can make the sauce ahead of time and freeze or refrigerate it, saving time and energy. I made 5 recipes of this with different variations when I was pregnant and froze. When baby came, I thawed the bag of sauce all day and at night just had to cook noodles. You can make it with wheat ingredients, GF ingredients, or DF ingredients. I've included the options in italics when they apply!

Ingredients:

• One pound (give or take) of your favorite pasta, uncooked. (GF: I LOVE RP'S Pasta. The texture is unparalleled. DF: Just use your favorite pasta that you know fits your diet. Needn't be macaroni. RP's Fusili is in the photo above)
•  One pound of the cheese of your choice! You can get fancy like me and get a half pound each of complimentary flavors or go all in with one. Just get a pound in total. In the recipe photo above, I used a nice raw milk white mild cheddar for the sauce and a smoked sharp cheddar for the top. (DF: get one bag of Daiya shreds. They're the best for melting into a sauce. get more if you like a topper, but I think when making it DF the shreds' flavor is so strong I don't like more on top. Up to you!)
• 3 cups of milk, whole milk is preferred, but the milk of your choice will do. If you're using a smaller casserole dish, take the milk down to 2 cups, or save the rest of the sauce for putting on other things. It's good on just about ANYTHING. :) (DF: unsweetened coconut, rice, almond, or hemp milk)
• Salt to taste
• 3 Tablespoons Butter (or oil of your choice will do!) 
• 3 Tablespoons Flour (GF: Any all purpose GF flour blend will do. I used Pamela's in the photo above and have used King Arthur successfully as well)
•  Optional add-ins: Mix and match to customize, or enjoy it plain, it's just as good. We've loved each of these, the recipe photographed above has fresh parsley, black pepper, and garlic powder. Diced cooked bacon, chopped steamed broccoli florets, frozen veggies, peas, chopped fresh or dried herbs (parsley, thyme, sage, basil), garlic powder, sauteed onions, squash, cooked spinach, puree'd spinach mixed with your milk, cracked pepper, green chiles, tuna fish, hot dogs, sausage, pepperoni, capers. I could go on and on but you get it. Anything goes! Keeps this dish fresh week after week. :)

 Cook your pasta according to the package directions, but take it out before it's totally ready, a little too undercooked, about 2 minutes short. It'll continue cooking in the oven. While the pasta cooks, preheat your oven to 350° F. 

Grate your cheese, and separate out half a pound to go on top of the pasta, half a pound to go in the sauce. Get your milk ready and next to the stove. In a large saucepan or medium size pot, melt the butter over medium to medium high heat. When the butter is totally melted, add your flour and wisk constantly and let it cook. Just as the mixture is starting to brown, add approximately half a cup of milk. Wisk til smooth, add another half cup, repeat. It may seem lumpy every time you add milk, but I guarantee you can get it smooth again, just don't add more milk until you do. It's a lot of wisking. so worth it.   (DF note: you may need more or less milk or a bit of added water, depending on the starchiness of your milk substitute. just be sure your final product is the texture you want, roughly. the daiya shreds won't change it much)

Now you have a thickened hot milk! Look at you!  Almost there. Now is a good time to wisk in salt and any mix ins you've decided on. Once the mixture (still on medium high ish  heat) starts to bubble, you can add in your cheese one little bit at a time, and wisk to smooth it into your sauce.When the whole thing is incorporated fully and smooth in texture, you're ready for phase two! Turn it off and let it set while you...

Pour your strained and undercooked noodles into a casserole, I use a pyrex 9 by 15. Any casserole will do. Pour your cheesey deliciously good sauce over them. Top evenly with your fantastic remaining cheese. You could also add breadcrumbs here if you wanted. I don't. Pop that whole thing in the oven you already preheated and let it bake for about 20 minutes or until it's bubbling and starting to brown. That's important. Bubbles are important. Leave it alone and do something else so it can get bubbly. Like write a blog post.

Once you see bubbles, take it out and let it cool for 10 or 15 minutes. Pat  yourself on the back, you're so cool and made epic mac and cheese! Serve it up warm and with salad or veggies unless you added some in it. Sometimes we make it with pureed spinach, broccoli, and peas. Then we don't serve a side. Enjoy it! Store your leftovers in glass or anything that is oven ready. It re-heats much better in an oven or toaster oven, the texture is kinda killed in a microwave. :) 

Did you try this recipe? How did it turn out for you?