Gluten Free Pasta & Cheese

8 oz gluten free pasta.  I used brown rice/quinoa from Trader Joe's this time.  Any will work.

2 cups shredded cheese.  Cheddar is best, for this version I used something called "Mexican blend"  Straight cheddar will make it a yellower dish.  This one has lots of white cheeses so it's only kind of yellow.  For a full out yellow mac & cheese toss in some American.  I hate American, so that's not happening for me.

1/3 cup ricotta

1/3 cup grated parmesan - not dry - the moist stuff from the fridge section

1/4 cup provolone

1/3 cup onion

1/2 cup diced peppers - bell, poblano, whatever you have

1/4 teaspoon ground pepper

1/4 teaspoon ancho pepper

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1 tablespoon gluten free all purpose flour (coconut flour works too, but is drier, so more milk might be needed)

4 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup masa harina

2 tablespoons butter cut into the harina to make crumbs

2 cups milk

 1/4 cup heavy cream

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Heat oven up to 350

make noodles according to package directions, drain and set aside.  

In saucepan combine 4 tablespoons butter, onion and peppers.  Saute until onion is soft.    Add spices, milk and cream.  stir constantly until boiling.  Mix in the cheeses and cook, again stirring constantly until bubbly and thick.  

Mix together with the noodles and put into a baking dish.  Make sure the sauce is well mixed.  

Old fashioned noodles & cheese add bread crumbs at this point.  I have yet to find a gluten free bread that I consider edible - especially given the price.  I made a topping crumb mix from butter and masa harina.  

Cut the 2 tablespoons butter into the masa  If you're not familiar with cutting butter into flour, Betty's Kitchen has a great tutorial.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RAONX3BZZU

Sprinkle crumb mix onto the noodles and bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  Everything should be piping hot and the top should be a little crunchy.

nutritional information is based on 6 servings.  It's a heavy dish and super filling.  I was super surprised that it came back with a b-.  After adding the cream, milk & butter I was fulling expecting a D.