Mushroom Herb Mac and Cheese

Mushroom Herb Mac and Cheese*NoDayButToday* via Annie's Eats
Ingredients:
1 lb. pasta shapes
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, divided
1 lb. cremini (baby bella mushrooms), roughly chopped
1 shallot, minced
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
2 tsp. fresh basil, minced
2 tsp. fresh rosemary, minced
2 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
2 cups whole milk
6 oz. (1½ cups) shredded Gruyere cheese, divided
6 oz. (1½ cups) shredded white cheddar cheese, divided
½ cup panko breadcrumbs
Directions:
Grease a 9 x 13" baking dish.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Cook the pasta according to the package directions, just until al dente.  Drain the pasta, return to the pot, and set aside.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add the chopped mushrooms and shallots to the pan and sauté until the mushrooms are tender and almost all of the liquid has evaporated from the pan, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in the garlic and sauté about 1 minute more, just until fragrant.  Remove the pan from the heat, season the mixture with salt and pepper, and mix in the white wine vinegar.  Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium-high heat.  Once the butter is completely melted, whisk in the flour to form a paste.  Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly, until golden.  Stir in the fresh herbs and cook for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.  Whisk in the milk and cook the mixture, stirring frequently, until the mixture simmers and begins to thicken.  Once the mixture has thickened, remove from the heat.  Whisk in the shredded Gruyere and cheddar cheeses until completely melted and smooth.
Pour the cheese sauce over the cooked pasta.  Add the mushroom and shallot mixture to the pot as well.  Toss well to thoroughly combine.  Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.  In a small bowl combine the panko breadcrumbs with the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter, melted.  Toss with fork to coat the crumbs evenly.  Sprinkle the breadcrumbs evenly over the pasta in the baking dish.

Bake for 15-20 minutes, until browned and bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
The carrot cake was phenomenal.  It's the best carrot cake I ever had and is likely going to be my go-to cake for potlucks and family dinners for a while.  It was very moist and the cream of coconut in the cake added a subtle element that I really liked.  It was a bit greasy for me and I think next time I'll try subbing applesauce for half of the oil.

Rocco's Mac and Cheese Lite

Mac and Cheese Lite
Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray
Salt
4 ounces whole wheat macaroni
1/2 cup onion-garlic puree (see "Rocco's Secret Weapon," below)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
Pinch cayenne pepper
1 cup shredded 50 percent reduced-fat cheddar
1/3 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Mist an 8-by-8-inch baking dish with cooking spray; set it aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions, drain.

Meanwhile, bring onion-garlic puree, mustard, and cayenne to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring often. Whisk in cheddar until melted. Remove from heat and whisk in yogurt.

In a medium bowl, toss the macaroni with the cheese sauce. Season with salt to taste. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle panko over the top. Top with Parmesan.

Bake until Parmesan is melted and macaroni is hot throughout, about 10 minutes.

From here.

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon, Leeks, and Thyme

Macaroni and Cheese with Bacon, Leeks, and Thyme
Serves 8


1 pound medium pasta shells (or elbow macaroni)
1/2 pound thick-sliced bacon
2 leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced crosswise (white and light green parts only)
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
3 cups half and half
8 ounces sharp Cheddar, shredded
6 ounces Havarti, shredded
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter a 9″x13″ baking dish and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Meanwhile, cook bacon until crisp then chop into small pieces.  Drain all but 2 tablespoons of bacon drippings from pan then return to medium-low heat and add chopped leeks.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until leeks are softened and just starting to brown, about ten minutes.  Stir in chopped thyme and chopped bacon and remove pan from heat.  Cook pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente, then drain and set aside.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and stir in flour.  Cook, stirring, for about two minutes, until flour mixture has darkened slightly, then whisk in half and half.  Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then turn heat down and let simmer, stirring, until thickened.  Stir in shredded cheeses, reserving one cup of shredded cheddar for the top of the casserole.  Stir in salt and pepper then remove sauce from heat.  Stir in pasta and the bacon-leek mixture.  Pour pasta into the greased baking dish and sprinkle with reserved cheddar cheese.

Bake at 375 for 25 minutes.  Serve warm.

From here.

Greek Style Mac and Cheese

1 pound elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
One 10 ounce bag fresh bagged spinach, roughly chopped
generous pinch of salt
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups milk
freshly ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 cups grated Havarti cheese with dill , or regular Havarti plus 1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dried dill
One 8 ounce package feta cheese, crumbled
1 - 12 ounce jar Kalamata olives, chopped
1 tablespoon capers
2 tablespoon sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs or panko crumbs

1. Preheat oven broiler to low. In a large pot, cook the macaroni pasta in salted water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. While the pasta is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl in 1 tablespoon olive oil and add onions. Saute until softened, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for an additional 2 - 3 minutes. Add spinach and salt. Continue to saute until spinach is wilted. Remove spinach mixture from pan and set aside.
3. Wipe the skillet dry and return to the stove over medium heat. Swirl in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil to skillet. When the oil is hot, whisk in the flour. Continue to whisk while adding a generous pinch of salt, pepper and nutmeg. Whisk over medium heat until flour smells nutty and is a light golden color. Whisk in milk and bring mixture to a boil while stirring frequently. This mixture will thicken. Simmer for about 5 minutes then remove from burner and stir in the Havarti cheese until the cheese is melted. Add feta and whisk, feta will get melty, but will stay in chunks.
3. Spoon in the sauteed spinach mixture, chopped olives, capers and sun-dried tomatoes. In a casserole dish, combine all of the ingredients with the macaroni. Mix well and top with bread crumbs. Brown under broiler for about 5 minutes before serving.

From here.

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese

Spinach and Artichoke Mac and Cheese
CindyJ courtesy of Rachael Ray

Salt
1 pound semolina or whole wheat penne
2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup white wine
2 cups milk
Freshly grated nutmeg, about 1/4 teaspoon or to taste
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
1 10-ounce box frozen chopped artichokes, defrosted and wrung dry in a kitchen towel
Black pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded Italian Fontina cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top
1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, plus additional for sprinkling on top

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for pasta, salt water and cook pasta to al dente.
While the pasta water comes to a boil, place a medium pot over medium-low heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons, and the butter. Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook the veggies until very soft, about 10 minutes. Then heat the broiler and position rack in the middle of the oven.
Turn the heat up to medium-high and sprinkle the flour into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute then whisk the wine into the pan, cooking for another minute to burn off the alcohol. Whisk the milk into the pan and bring up to a bubble. Add the nutmeg, spinach, artichokes, salt and pepper to the sauce and simmer until thickened and vegetables are warmed through, 2-3 minutes more. Add 1 cup of each of the cheeses to the sauce and stir until melted.
Toss the prepared sauce with the cooked pasta and transfer to a casserole dish. Sprinkle some more Fontina and Parmigiano over the top and bake until the cheese has melted and the top is golden brown, about 30 minutes.

Cindy's notes: I used tri-colored fusili, instead of WW pasta. I also used a mixture of fontina and mozzarella cheese, since fontina was so expensive. I used 2 cans of artichokes in water, rather than frozen, since I couldn't find any.

Four Cheese Macaroni Casserole

Four Cheese Macaroni Casserole

Ingredients:

3 cups uncooked macaroni

1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes,

drained and chopped

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil over high heat. Add macaroni, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and pour hot pasta into a casserole dish.Meanwhile, in a large bowl, stir together tomatoes, italian seasoning, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper.Stir into the hot pasta 1 cup of Cheddar, 1 cup of mozzarella, and 1/2 cup of Parmesan. Continue to stir until the cheeses have melted. Then stir in tomato and herb mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 cup Cheddar, 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and 1/4 cup feta over the top of the casserole.Bake in preheated oven for 15 to 25 minutes.

From here.