Brrrrrr today was cold! I left the house this morning and was confronted by a foggy minus 3 and an icy windscreen.
At least the weekend was nice and sunny for the BBB Sprint Triathlon. Speaking of which, I slept ever so soundly last night and woke with a ravenous hunger for breakfast, two good indications that I had a great workout.
This evening I was super excited when this ingredient came out of the Mystery Box...
Cheese!!!!
Cheese is possibly one of my all time favourite foods. I can give or take chocolate or sweets, but put a cheese platter in front of me and don't expect me to share ;)
Did you know? Cheese is a good source of protein, important for growth and development. It is also rich in calcium, which helps maintain healthy bones and teeth and as well as normal nerve and muscle function.
In honour of this fine ingredient, I made the first dish that came to mind.....macaroni cheese. Veggie-fied and GF of course.
Starting with a cheese sauce…
Stirred through macaroni, olives, spinach and mushrooms.
Topped with….more cheese!
And baked for 20 minutes until golden brown.
Served alongside a green salad – spinach, olives, avocado mushrooms and pepitas.
All together now!
Macaroni cheese really is comfort food for the soul. Cheesy and oh so delicious.
Macaroni Cheese (GF) – serves 4
Ingredients
- 30g butter
- 2tbs GF flour
- 3 cups skim milk
- 1tbs dijon mustard
- 1 tbs dried parsley
- 3/4 cup grated tasty cheese
- 1/3 cup shaved parmesan
- 60g low fat feta
- 350g GF macaroni, cooked and drained
- 100g baby spinach
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives
- 100g mushrooms, sliced
Method
- Preheat oven to 200C.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add flour, stirring for 2 minutes.
- Remove from heat, add milk, mustard and parsley. Stir until smooth.
- Return to heat and stir until sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and stir through tasty and parmesan cheese.
- Place cooked macaroni, spinach, mushrooms and olives in a bowl. Pour over cheese sauce and stir gently to combine.
- Pour into casserole dish, and sprinkle with feta.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
What about you? What is your favourite type of cheese?
Mine would have to be feta, haloumi or goats cheese. Or maybe brie. Or edam. See I told you I was a fan!
Happy baking :)
Posts
This is my favorite post by you so far because I am in LOVE with cheese!!!!! I could live off of cheese and bread for the rest of my life if I had too ;)
ReplyDeleteSo jealous right now. I love it but it hates me!
ReplyDeleteBlue cheese, no question! Although I ahve a washed-rind currently awaiting its use-by date in the fridge - got to eat it just before then, when it'll be at its best!
ReplyDeleteWasn't today awful? Particularly because it didn't look too cold outside, but our palce has been freezing all day. Never recovered from the night temps, I think!
How to pick what type of cheese I like best? I love them all!
ReplyDeleteI think tho, one of the naughtiest things I like to do is grate more mozzarella cheese when we make pizza.. and eat that. By the time the pizza is done, I think I've eaten more cheese than what's on the pizza....
I have to admit, I am not mac n cheese's #1 fan (I'm lactose intolerant) but this looks so amazing! My favorite cheese is Cabot's lactose-free cheddar... I also really like mozzarella!
ReplyDeleteThis looks delish - I too am a HUGE cheese lover. I like the way you have lightened this up (calorie-wise). Yummy!
ReplyDeleteOooh cheese is a fun one! looks great!
ReplyDeleteI love mozzarella cheese : )
ReplyDeleteI love cheese a lot! I love fresh mozzarella the best! Mac and Cheese sounds so good right now! Thanks Mystery Box!
ReplyDeleteooooo that mac & cheese looks delicious! comfort food done right : P
ReplyDeletelove mac and cheese! that's sure hard to pick a favorite, but I love goat, aged gouda, and fontina :) Can you send some of your cold weather over here in Vegas? ;)
ReplyDeleteMy absolute favorite summer meal is bread, cheese and wine. My absolute favorite winter meal is baked mac n cheese. Mmmmm
ReplyDeleteI wish I could say something hard-core like "maggot cheese", but I can't even handle blue! For a soft cheese, I love Brie de Meaux or St Morgon, and as a hard cheese, I would accent everything in the world with Asiago if I could... and Jarlsberg is great in a fall salad. And I could go on and on... mac & cheese is just epic comfort food!
ReplyDeleteOooh wow! That dish looks delicious! My favorite cheese is goat cheese or gruyere. Tasty!
ReplyDeleteIt's so hard to choose just one favorite type of cheese. They're all so good. I'd probably go with Swiss cheese, especially a thick slice to top on a slab of sourdough bread.
ReplyDeleteYUM! I love goats and feta but my favourite on pizza is definitely vegan cheeze.
ReplyDeleteomg the last pic is especially my favorite cuz the cheese looks so good next to the salad!
ReplyDeletemacaroni and 'real' cheese, thats what comes to mind with this post! nice <3
There are just too many to choose from! Brie on warm crusty bread with a glass of wine, goat cheese on everything, sharp cheddar to snack on, freshly slice muenster, asiago... I could go on & on!
ReplyDeleteOh dear another cheesy creamy dish I'm going to have to try. I'm a total cheese fiend...my favorite has to be good old English cheddar...although brie and blue is right behind.
ReplyDeleteI am a turophile (cheese lover) through and through. Any cheese: raclette, parmesan, massadam, brie, washed rind...
ReplyDeleteCheese is not my favorite, I actually try to avoid it.
ReplyDeleteYum! Mac and cheese is such a great comfort food! I actually made some today to post tomorrow, but didn't think of adding veggies like you did here. Next time I'll have to take a little healthier route :)
ReplyDeleteI really, really, REALLY miss cheese *tear*. I will live vicarously through you because your dinner looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteYummy!!! I love your version of mac and cheese with the olives. Nice twist! Definitely one of my favorite meals ever.
ReplyDeleteI really like cheese too although I can only eat a certain amount of it. Unless it's halloumi. Then I can eat kilos! :D
ReplyDeleteI love to eat cheese, but I can only have goat or sheep cheese. I would mix in some goats brie into my mac and cheese for extra gooiness!
ReplyDeleteCheese is one of my favorite foods :)
ReplyDelete