Baked Mac & Pimento Cheese

Hello!

So last night we had BBQ Chicken and Mac & Pimento Cheese. I'm just sharing the side dish because Ethan made the chicken. He marinated it in Sweet Baby Rays and EVOO then grilled it (just in case you were wondering). Now, on to the Baked Mac & Pimento Cheese. What is a Pimento, you might ask? According to Wikipedia, a pimento is a large, red, heart-shaped variety of chili pepper. To be honest, I bought a jar of diced pimento, having no idea what it actually was. I recommend finding out what things are before buying them but in this case, it worked out just fine.

Baked Mac & Pimento Cheese

(Brought to you by 7-Day Menu Planner for Dummies)

Prep: 20 min     Cook time: 20-25 min, plus pasta

Yields 12 Servings (I'd say closer to 6 or 8 unless you only eat really small servings)

Ingredients

8 oz. elbow macaroni

3 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups skim milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

8 oz. shredded 50% reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

1 4 oz. jar diced pimentos, drained

1/2 cup fine dry bread crumbs

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Cook macaroni according to directions; drain. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt butter on medium. Gradually whisk in flour until smooth; cook, whisking constantly 1 minute.

3. Gradually whisk in milk, salt, cayenne pepper and garlic powder. Cook, whisking constantly, 3-5 minutes or until thickened (Kara Note: if it isn't thickening, stop whisking for a minute to give it a chance to heat up and continue whisking)

4. Stir in cheddar cheese and pimentos and cook until cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in pasta. Spoon mixture into a 9x13 baking dish coated in cooking spray.

5. Stir together bread crumbs and parmesan cheese in a shallow dish (Kara Note: I did this with my hands in a bowl). Sprinkle over mixture.

6. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

And again I'm reminded I need to clean our oven.

By the time I had mixed everything together and poured it into the 13x9 pan, I was already pretty impressed with it. I'm standing there thinking wow, I just made homemade mac & cheese. Not too shabby.

I am thinking that I might prefer bread crumbs with a little more to them. The fine bread crumbs from the store worked out okay but it's almost too fine. I don't think I would put any effort into changing this though. It was great as is. The cayenne pepper and pimentos add a little kick to heat up the mac & cheese. It's a nice twist on a classic. Two thumbs up from me and Ethan thought it was...

I hope you all enjoy your evening!

Hmm.. I wonder what is on the menu tomorrow...