Tomatoey Macaroni and Cheese

Submitted by Miss V

"This recipe is from Cooks Country. The dish is a creamy and cheesy as ordinary mac and cheese, but it turns a beautiful rosy color. The acidic tomatoes keep the rich sauce in check. This dish brings to mind a favorite lunch from our childhood: tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches."

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 10
• Serves: 8-10

ingredients

• 8 ounces macaroni
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 28 ounces tomatoes (canned petite diced)
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1⁄2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 cups half-and-half
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 6 cups cheddar cheese (4 c. mild, 2 c. sharp)

directions

1. Adjust oven to middle position and heat to 400 degrees.
2. Bring 4 qts water to boil in large dutch oven, stir in 1 T salt and 1 box macaroni and cook until just al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and return to pot. pour diced tomatoes with juice over pasta and stir to coat. Cook over med high heat, stirring occasionally, until most of liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
3. To make cheese sauce: Melt butter in med saucepan over med heat. Stir in flour and cayenne and cook till golden and fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in half an half and broth until smooth, add shredded cheese. Bring to boil, reduce heat to med and simmer, stirring occasionally, until cheese is melted. Pour cheese sauce over macaroni and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Scrape mixture into 13x9 inch baking dish set in rimmed baking sheet and bake until top begin s to brown, 15-20 minutes. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.
5. The macaroni and cheese can be made in advance through step 2; scrape mixture into baking dish, lay plastic wrap directly on surface of pasta, and refrigerate for up to 1 day. When ready to bake, remove plastic wrap , cover macaroni mixture with foil, and bake for 30 minutes. uncover and bake until top is golden brown , about 15 minutes.

Reviews

[mama smurf]

This was a very tasty dish! The only thing is you mention 3 cups of cheese (2 c mild, 2 c sharp) so I used 2 cups of sharp and 1 cup of mild cheddar cheese. Other than that I did follow your recipe (oh yes, I did add a little more than 4 ounces of macaroni to use up what I had). Next time I might try using 1 cup half-n-half and 1 cup 1% or 2% milk to help cut down on some of the fat. Also DH wants me to try it with a can of Rotel for the tomatoes for more zip (sounds good to me). Definately going into my Favorites of 2011. Thank you for submitting. Made for Fall PAC 2011.