Ooey-gooey extra cheesy Mac and Cheese. BUT it also has cauliflower in it to make it a smidge healthy! This could be the perfect food to sneak veggies onto your kid's ...or husband's... plate. 😛
**Chef Note**
Aside from salting the boiling water, do not add anymore salt during the recipe. You're putting in a lot of cheese and one of those cheeses is feta which is already really salty.
Into a bowl, shred the mature cheddar cheese, crumble the New York Cheddar and the Havarti. Dump the feta into the bowl. Place the bowl back in the fridge to chill.
While you wait for a large pot of well-salted (salty like the sea) water to boil, cut off the florets from the head of cauliflower.
Boil the cauliflower for 4-5 minutes. Remove cauliflower with a slotted spoon into a strainer (do not drain the water!). Run cold water over to stop the cooking and put cauliflower in another large bowl.
Using the cauliflower water, boil your macaroni until al dente, according to the box. Drain the pasta into a strainer.
Add macaroni to the bowl of cauliflower. Mix in 2 tbsp of butter.
Preheat oven to 400°F. To save on washing dishes, use the same pot. Melt the remaining 4 tbsp of butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour and mustard flour to make a roux. Use a whisk to keep it from burning.
Slowly pour in the whole milk while whisking. Make sure you keep whisking to keep it from being lumpy. Season with the cayenne pepper.
Bring it to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened.
Keep the heat low, add in 3/4 of the cheeses to the mixture. Do this 1-2 handfuls at a time and then stir until the mixture is smooth again.
Once you have stirred in 3/4 of the cheese, add the macaroni and cauliflower. Stir well to coat.
Spread into a 9x13 casserole dish.
Mix breadcrumbs, thyme, and remaining cheeses. Sprinkle on top of the mac and cheese.
Bake on a middle or lower rack for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler, move to the top rack for another 10 minutes or until golden. WATCH IT SO IT DOESN'T BURN!!
Ingredients
Directions
Into a bowl, shred the mature cheddar cheese, crumble the New York Cheddar and the Havarti. Dump the feta into the bowl. Place the bowl back in the fridge to chill.
While you wait for a large pot of well-salted (salty like the sea) water to boil, cut off the florets from the head of cauliflower.
Boil the cauliflower for 4-5 minutes. Remove cauliflower with a slotted spoon into a strainer (do not drain the water!). Run cold water over to stop the cooking and put cauliflower in another large bowl.
Using the cauliflower water, boil your macaroni until al dente, according to the box. Drain the pasta into a strainer.
Add macaroni to the bowl of cauliflower. Mix in 2 tbsp of butter.
Preheat oven to 400°F. To save on washing dishes, use the same pot. Melt the remaining 4 tbsp of butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour and mustard flour to make a roux. Use a whisk to keep it from burning.
Slowly pour in the whole milk while whisking. Make sure you keep whisking to keep it from being lumpy. Season with the cayenne pepper.
Bring it to a boil over low heat, stirring frequently, until thickened.
Keep the heat low, add in 3/4 of the cheeses to the mixture. Do this 1-2 handfuls at a time and then stir until the mixture is smooth again.
Once you have stirred in 3/4 of the cheese, add the macaroni and cauliflower. Stir well to coat.
Spread into a 9x13 casserole dish.
Mix breadcrumbs, thyme, and remaining cheeses. Sprinkle on top of the mac and cheese.
Bake on a middle or lower rack for 10 minutes. Turn on the broiler, move to the top rack for another 10 minutes or until golden. WATCH IT SO IT DOESN'T BURN!!