Paul's Macaroni and Cheese

When I first went gluten free, a huge struggle of mine was to find a solid, easy homemade macaroni and cheese recipe. I made many flops, but at last seemed to make one that I thought was delicious. My family agreed, but they had already been on this journey with me and were becoming accustomed to gluten free noodles and roux. But I decided to take my new creation to a dinner at a church member's house, anxiously, apologizing that it was gluten free, expecting no one to even touch it. But then, a man named Paul, a dear church family member who is now with Jesus, he ate that macaroni and cheese, and he even said it tasted good! I thought he was simply being kind, he was always kind, so it was fitting. But time and time again, I'd bring a dish of what my girls officially titled "Paul's" macaroni and cheese to a church event or serve at my house for dinner and Paul would thank me and say how much he enjoyed that gluten free macaroni and cheese. It's a reminder to me that persistence is worth it and kindness towards another's attempts makes the world a difference. It was only macaroni and cheese, but my newly diagnosed and struggling greatly in the kitchen I was once confident in self, Paul's kindness gave me encouragement to keep trying, to make more dishes gluten free and even step out and serve my gluten free food to others.

16 ounces of your favorite GF pasta

3 cups of milk

16 oz block of your favorite cheese, we like a combo of Monterey Jack and Sharp Cheddar (I just cube the cheese up; it's all going to melt. Shred, cut, cube, it all works.)

1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons)

1/4 cup All Purpose GF flour

1 TBS Dijion mustard

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

°Boil the noodles till almost done, drain, rinse and set aside in a colander. 

°To the same pot, make a roux with the butter and flour: melt the butter on medium heat then whisk in the flour simply to cook it for a few minutes. To that add the milk, Dijion, and seasoning - whisking till thickened.

°Turn the heat down and add the cheese, whisking until melted. 

°At this point once you add your cooked noodles you can serve up a creamy stove top mac. OR you can bake it, pour everything into a buttered dish, top with extra cheese, maybe some cooked bacon or breadcrumbs and olive oil and bake at 375° for 20ish minutes.