My Gluten-Free Take on An Old Favourite

I'm trying more and more to eliminate wheat from my diet.

The reasons why are for another day, but in the meantime,

here is my variation on an old favourite.
(full recipe at the bottom)

Yummy Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese

Make it tonight!

In a large skillet, fry butter and onion for a few minutes until onion is translucent. 

Add rice flour and mustard powder.

Whisk together - it looks clumpy and sticky. 

Add about 1/2 cup of the milk and whisk it so that the flour becomes removed from the onions. 

Add the rest of the milk, stirring constantly until mixture comes to a slight simmer. 

Once the sauce becomes thick and hot, add in 2 cups of the grated cheese and stir in to melt. 

I pre-wilted some spinach and pre-cooked some chicken to add in. 

Stir cooked pasta into cheese mixture, adding any of the various extras you wish. 

Pour into a large casserole and top with remaining 1 cup of cheese.
(Yes, that is the Pyrex Snowflake pattern! *swoon!*)

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, and then broil for a few minutes at the end to brown on top (don't leave unattended!!)

How yummy does this look?!? 

As you can see, the consistency is nice and thick - no soupy saucy mess. 

Ingredients


1 16oz package Trader Joe's Brown Rice Penne

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons rice flour

1 tablespoon powdered mustard

3 cups 1% milk

1/2 cup onion, finely diced

3 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded (separated)

1 teaspoon salt

Topping:

1 cup shredded cheese

Optional for crunch: bread crumbs (using gluten-free bread, parmesan cheese, almond meal)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large pot of boiling, salted water cook the pasta to al dente (not quite done and still a little firm)

While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Add the onions and saute for 2 minutes or so on medium-high heat. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about two minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, whisking all the way to the bottom to incorporate the butter/flour/onion mixture. Simmer for ten minutes or until it becomes thick and saucy. Add two cups of the grated cheese and stir until melted. Add salt to taste (usually about a teaspoon for us.)
Gently stir the penne into the cheese sauce and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top the mixture with remaining cheese. (Sometimes I "wing" the amounts and add other ingredients, and often have some left over. I can usually get 1 REALLY full casserole dish or one large and one small one.)

Bake for 30 minutes-40 minutes. Broil for 3-4 minutes at the end if you wish to have the cheese topping brown and crispy.

Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Variations:

All Four Food Groups: Add in some pre-cooked chicken breast and wilted spinach to cover all four food groups in one dish!

Tex-Mex: Add 2 tbsp taco seasoning to the cheese sauce, and then a can of corn and a can of beans into the final mixture.



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