C’mon. You know you want it. As much as we know this is an indulgent, calorie-laden carbfest, who can resist the appeal of a creamy bowl of macaroni and cheese? I certainly can’t and neither can my family. That’s why when we gave up blue box macaroni and cheese, I had to come up with another one that satisfied everyone just as much, if not more. And, it had to be nearly as quick to make.
I’ve been making some version of this stovetop dish for years now although I’ll admit that this is the first time I’ve been forced to write down measurements and stick to a plan. I honestly love that about blogging. This little venture of mine has become a repository for all the recipes my children are going to want when they move out. Which will be soon.
Soon … I’m pretty sure …
So, a couple things about this recipe:
1) You can make this gluten-free or gluten-full. Your choice. If you’re making the gluten-full version, just cook your pasta according to directions on the package. You’ll still want to stick with one pound of pasta. Any shape will work.
2) About gluten-free pasta … it’s a tricky bird. I try to stick with rice pasta. No fancy additions of quinoa or corn for me. I like to keep my ingredients simple unless there’s a reason to add something else. My favorite brand of rice pasta is Tinkyada. The quality is incomparable to others I’ve tried over the last many years. Their website. Ugh. If you visit it, trying to find their pasta, you’ll be shocked.
I don’t ever send negative feedback on things like that but good grief. For as great as their products are … the website … it’s just sad. So sad. Anyway … Rice pasta has a very small window to the land of al dente. This means that when it’s done, it’s done. If you wait another 15-30 seconds, it will be overdone. So, when you make this recipe, know your pasta and cook it only until done, not a second longer because it will likely fall apart when you are stirring in the sauce. For Tinkyada rice elbows, the package says 15 minutes. I cook it for 9 minutes and it’s perfect. My stove is slow to bring it back to a boil so if you have a stovetop that rocks a boil quickly, then it will be less time for your pasta to be done. Check it often by eating a piece. If it has no crunch but still has some elasticity, then it’s done.
3) When the pasta has been drained, keep it warm and moist until the sauce is ready. I usually do this by putting it into a container with a lid.
4) I use the warm pasta pot to mix up the sauce. Then, when it’s melted and smooth, I pour the pasta back into the pot and stir thoroughly.
- 16 oz. rice pasta, cooked and kept warm
- 4 Tbls. butter
- 4 oz. cream cheese
- 1 cup milk
- 3 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ½ tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
- In a sauce pan or the pot that you boiled the pasta, combine butter, cream cheese and milk.
- Stir over low heat until melted and smooth.
- Add shredded cheese in three batches, stirring until melted after each addition.
- Add onion powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Stir.
- Combine sauce and macaroni and stir to coat.
- Serve immediately.
