[Meatless Monday] Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Macaroni 'n' Cheese | Step by Step Recipe

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Learn the perfect way to make mac n cheese recipe. It is go-ey. It is creamy. It is as easy as whipping up any other pasta dish. Today's version is loaded with good stuff like spinach and has got nice tangyness from chopped sun dried tomatoes. Add anything from roasted veggies to thai curry paste as flavoring and trust me, you have got THE best comfort food ever known to mankind! :-)

So, has it ever happened that you dream about a recipe and the reminisces of it stay till you are wide awake in the morning? I dreamt about mac 'n' cheese last night - the goo-ey, creamy and smooth type with the right about of milk and cheese sauce to coat the pasta and then baked for a golden brown breadcrumb topping! 

Clearly it was an indication from the universe that I indulged myself with it and share with you all. One thing was clear in my mind. It will be no ordinary version and it has to be tangy and sweet. Well, how do we get that? After mulling over all Sunday morning, I zeroed in on adding finely chopped sun dried tomatoes and am so glad I did. What a lovely difference it made. Spinach gives color and these two are added to the milk & cheese sauce, the outcome was truly drool worthy. 

By the end of the day, in one tiny kitchen of Hyderabad, there were four happy souls digging their spoons into their macaroni pasta, thoroughly enjoying every bite in absolute silence!

Well. Isn't that a happy ending and truly a dream come true? :-)

I still have half a jar of sun dried tomatoes left. Now, what do I cook with that?

...Just out of the oven..

Creamy Sun Dried Tomato and Spinach Macaroni 'n' Cheese

Adapted from Farm Flavor

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 to 30 minutes

Download the recipe

Ingredients:

100 gms (approx 4 oz) macaroni pasta, uncooked (or use any kind of pasta like tube, shell etc)
1.5 cups of milk
1 tbsp all purpose flour
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 cup grated cheese
1/4 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes (drained)
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (I just pulsed a dry piece of white bread for this recipe)
1/2 tbsp oil (from sundried tomatoes jar)
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp butter

Preparation:

1. Cook macaroni in salted water 1 to 2 minutes less than indicated on package directions so pasta is just al dente. Drain and quickly rinse with cold water so that it stops cooking. Set aside on a flat plate.

2. Heat a tbsp of oil (from sun dried tomatoes jar) and add breadcrumbs to it. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes and transfer to a bowl for later use.

3. Heat milk along with bay leaf until it starts to form small bubbles. Let it stand for a few minutes in a separate bowl. Meanwhile, melt butter and once it starts to foam, add flour. Mix and cook for 3 to 4 minutes on medium flame. Once it changes color to light golden brown, add milk (without the bay leaf) 1/4th cup at-a-time and whisk so that no lumps are formed. Repeat the same till milk is all incorporated into the flour mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Add grated cheese and stir well until it is creamy & smooth.

4. Add chopped spinach and sun dried tomatoes. Mix well. Finally add cooked macaroni and gently toss everything together.

5. Preheat oven to 200 C or 400 F. Grease a baking pan with butter and transfer the mac 'n' cheese into it. 

6. Top evenly with sauteed bread crumbs and bake for 13 to 15 minutes until the crumbs turn brown. Let it stand for a minute or so and Serve piping hot. 

...Time to dig in..

Sending this sun driend tomato flavored mac 'n' cheese to Pasta Please - March Challenge, this month guest hosted by Utterly Scrummy and conceptualized by Tinned Tomatoes.

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