Saturday, May 23, 2020

Gluten Free Macaroni and Cheese

As promised, a whole-grain gluten-free macaroni and cheese that legit tastes the same as the macaroni and cheese my parents made when I was growing up!

And <I> do not say that lightly. *nods head emphatically* There are a whole HOST of foods (bread and baked goods top the list) that I simply do not eat anymore, because I so dislike the differences in the gluten free versions I’d rather just do without them. 

But I am a devotee of macaroni and cheese - pasta and cheese in any variety, really - so I WAS going to get <this one> mastered!
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1SyOSRYmWL8m-QlbwU4EHNrqLnB5iCgO3

Tinkanyada pasta is my secret. Made in a dedicated facility, it’s gluten free, whole grain, and certified kosher for my Jewish friends. It boils up still a little different than wheat pasta, but I really can hardly tell the difference at ALL once it is baked. Truth. 

Tinkanyada comes in elbows, which I am using here as more traditional “macaroni,” but it also comes in shells, which work well for mac-and-cheese too.

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1RGc2NWGv4d6_msTvF-nxnxpEakjDIqnU
I use the Basic White Sauce for macaroni and cheese, layering elbows, white sauce, and shredded sharp cheddar. Some people prefer using a cheese sauce. How to turn your white sauce into a cheese sauce is included at the bottom of the Basic White Sauce link 😊 Even if you use a cheese sauce, I still like it layered with a shredded cheese!

I use shredded sharp cheddar here. You get more taste with fewer calories with the sharp! I really don’t recommend using part-skim or reduced-fat cheese or whatever your brand of cheese calls that. It doesn’t melt well, and everybody wants a macaroni and cheese that’s melt-y and gooey, no?

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=19dImy6FAxpR6A9WOCnKQSC6ETw-z_lw0

Ready to go in the oven!!


I also cut the calories by serving it topped with fresh steamed broccoli. I love broccoli on my macaroni on cheese, I’ll admit! Broccoli is best with cheese sauce, in my world; my favorite pastas are topped with cheese sauces too: not a huge leap to put the two together, you see?
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1KN-K-vYJNiSEnZW94uebXp5YJcL7k_RO
Item: this also freezes well (minus the fresh broccoli, of course). Since we celiacs can’t buy frozen dinners for the most part (plus I’ve always thought most frozen dinners were kind of icky), I portion out and freeze my own. Always nice to have some ‘comfort’ food ready to pull out for dinner on a moment’s notice, hmmm?

https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1am707VzSP9Tr8YCP11c42pVVC82PAjeK
MACARONI AND CHEESE 

1 lb Tinkanyada elbows or shells
1 recipe Basic White Sauce or Cheese Sauce
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar
Fresh steamed broccoli (optional)


1. Cook pasta a minute or two LESS than package directions. You want it still pretty al dente, since it’s going to bake. 


2. Preheat oven to 350 while pasta is boiling.


3. Make white sauce from above link. Drain pasta.


4. Pan spray a large baking pan (mine is a 10x14). Layer pasta, white sauce, and shredded cheese twice, finishing with a top layer of cheese.

5. Bake at 350 for thirty minutes, checking periodically to make sure it doesn’t need covered. (I covered mine at twenty minutes, when it was bubbly and browning around the edges but not melted in the middle yet.)

Servings: 9
Calories per serving: 400





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