Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

Cheese. I love cheese. :)
And I love Gouda cheese probably the most.  And who doesn't love mac & cheese? So I decided to put my two favorite things together and make Gouda Mac & Cheese. Yum!

So I started off with a simple white sauce recipe of milk, flour, and butter.

Then I added a bunch of yummy Gouda cheese.

Then added cooked macaroni to the sauce and put it into a casserole dish.

Doesn't that just look yummy! 

I cooked this in the oven for about 30 minutes then topped it off with the rind of the cheese and put it in the oven for a few extra minutes.

Yummy!!!! :D

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese

2 Tbsp flour (if using skim milk you may have to add an extra 1/2 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp butter
2 cups milk (I tend to use skim to cut back on the fat from all the cheese)
2 cups shredded Smoked Gouda (you can use any cheese you would like for this part)
3-4 cups cooked pasta
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Cook macaroni if you have not already done so.
3. Melt butter in saucepan until melted then add flour stirring constantly until well blended and smooth. (I usually do this step on medium heat.)
4. Add milk to flour/butter mixture and stir constantly until blended and thickened. (I do want to say this step may take a while, it will thicken, it just may take a lot longer than you think.)
5. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the cheese mixing until smooth.  If it seems like it's not smoothing out, put back on stove on medium heat and stir constantly until smooth.
6. Mix macaroni into sauce and pour into an 8 x 8 saucepan.  Place in oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling.
7. Add extra cheese to top along with whatever else you would like.  I used the rind of the Smoked Gouda cheese wheel, you could add breadcrumbs, panko, whatever you like.  :)

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my family and I did. :)

Have a wonderful day!

Veronica :)