Macaroni Cheese

I call Macaroni Cheese my 'fall back on' recipe. Whenever I have unexpected guests and not enough time for shopping, this is the one for me. Even if I don't have all the ingredients, I will always have the basic ones needed for this ever so comforting dish. Some of the added ingredients in this recipe like the bacon, mushrooms, onion and sundried tomatoes are just ingredients I happened to have in my fridge one day, decided to try them out and found that they just made this very classic dish even more tasty...so basically sometimes it's not about following a recipe but about just getting creative and having fun with in the kitchen!!!

Ingredients

I packet of pasta shapes, I like to use penne
2  tbls butter
2 heaped tbls plain flour
¾ Litre of milk
2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp Mustard Powder
1 tsp Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper
1 tbls Olive oil
1 onion,chopped
4 Rashers of streaky bacon,chopped into small pieces
6 pieces of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
6-7 Mushrooms,chopped
2 Sliced Tomatoes
2 tbls Breadcrumbs mixed with 2 tbls Cheese

Method
· Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes; drain well and set aside in a large bowl.

· Melt the butter over a medium heat in a saucepan. Add the flour and stir to form a roux, cooking for a few minutes.

· Gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time. Cook for 10-15 minutes to a thickened and smooth sauce. Add the mustard, nutmeg and cheese,season with salt & pepper and mix well.

· Gently cook onion until transparent, add bacon, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes and cook on a low heat. When cooked drain and mix with the pasta, add cheese sauce and mix well.

· Pour your mixture into a oiled dish, cover with sliced tomatoes and sprinkle breadcumb and cheese mixture on top. Cook in the oven until golden brown.

Enjoy!!!
Androulla xx