Meatless Monday--1/24

MINI MAC'N'CHEESE 

One of my goals for the New Year is to have 2 meatless meals a week.  We're not huge meat eaters, but I realized we still eat meat with practically every dinner!  Every Monday, I'll now be featuring a meatless meal.  This week it happened to be something quick and easy, that I could make while running back and forth taking care of the two kidlets.

A little while ago, I won a giveaway from Seaside Simplicity for a giftcard to CSN.com.  And I went crazy!!  It was so hard to stay within the budget--I actually went over a little.  I picked out these beautiful ramkins from Rachel Ray, and a 10 cup food processor that shreds, chops, slices, the whole 9 yards.  I'm thrilled to have both of these, and I instantly had to put these ramkins to use. 

MINI MAC'N'CHEESE
Posted at: http://recipesofacheapskate.blogspot.com

• 1 lb macaroni
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 2 Tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk
• 1 lb grated cheddar cheese
• 1/2 lb grated smoked gouda cheese
• 1/2 lb grated mozzarella cheese
• 1- 1 1/2 cups chopped mushrooms
• salt and pepper
• parmesan cheese
• italian flavored breadcrumbs
• olive oil

Preheat your oven to 350degs.  Boil water for pasta.  While the pasta is cooking, melt the butter in a large sauce pan.  Add the flour, and whisk for a minute or two.  Slowly add the milk, and whisk it all together.  Keeping the heat at about medium, whisk every minute or so, making sure the roux doesn't start getting stuck to the bottom as it thickens.  When it's thickened up, add the cheeses, and mix until they're all melted.  add the mushrooms and the pasta.  Spoon the mixture into greased ramkins, or a greased 9x13 pan.  I used 3 ramkins, and a 9x9 pan.  Mix together about 1 cup of bread crumbs, a few tablespoons of parmesan cheese, and about 1-2 Tbsp oil.  Sprinkle over the mac'n'cheese, and bake for about 15 minutes, until it's bubbly.  The ramkins will keep this pasta hot, so handle and serve carefully!