Macaroni & Cheese

I [Brittney] had been craving Macaroni and Cheese for weeks. So when we got back from our honeymoon I made homemade Mac & Cheese with the help from my 'quick & easy' cookbook (a Christmas gift from my old roommate Joella who worked at Barnes and Noble!)

Ingredients

8 oz dried macaroni (we used Tinkyada rice noodles for this recipe)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 tbsp whole grain mustard (dont skip out, really adds flavor to the dish. *if you are gluten free, we used kraft )
3 tbsp fresh chives
7 oz cherry tomatoes, halved
butter or oil (for greasing the pan)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

*The cookbook suggests adding 1 cup chopped drained sun-dried tomatoes in oil. However, we opted out. Adam is not a big fan of tomatoes to begin with and finding a gluten free brand did not sound like fun at the time.

Directions

1. Preheat the broiler to high. Bring a large saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until done. Drain.

2. Mix together the ricotta, mustard, and chives with salt and pepper. Stir in macaroni, cherry tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes.

3. Grease a 2qt dish. Spoon in macaroni making to sure to spread it evenly.

4. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the macaroni mixture and cook under the broiler for 4-5 minutes (for us it took almost 10 minutes), until golden and bubbling.

Now, dont let the looks deceive you. This really is a tasty dish that deviates from the normal mac and cheese we are accustomed to. Add a nice green salad and you have a delicious (and potentially gluten free) meal. Serve and enjoy-with a nice glass of wine!