Macaroni and Cheese.....er, Queso! :-)

G'mar Tov to everyone -- hope you all had an easy and meaningful fast!

Olé! We're taking a trip south of the border this week! I am so excited to share this recipe with you. This is something that I came up with a long time ago and have made several times, but didn't think I'd have the opportunity to make again anytime soon. And then, mazel tov! Good friends of ours had a baby last week and my roommates and I decided to cook a meal to bring to their house. What better for new parents than something they can heat and freeze and reheat and refreeze, right? Casseroles and baked pasta dishes are the best for those kinds of things!

Now, I have a confession: I love cheese. And I love pasta. They are maybe my two greatest food loves. So what's better than putting them together, right? Macaroni and cheese is just the most yummy and warm and creamy and comforting dish ever. In my childhood, I thought that Wacky Mac reigned supreme, but as I got older and started to cook a lot more often, I realized just how easy real homemade mac and cheese is. I have a great original macaroni and cheese recipe that I'm happy to share with anyone...or maybe it will be a blog post sometime soon!

One of my secrets for awesome cheesy mac is to cut up a some cheese into small cubes and mix it in with the macaroni after I'm all done mixing and right before I pop it into the oven. The cubes don't get melted into the sauce, but instead make these gooey pockets of cheesiness that are an awesome surprise! Another thing I do is add about 1 cup of milk into the mixed macaroni and cheese right before I bake it. It keeps the dish from drying out and is especially important if you plan on chilling and reheating it.

Sometime in the last year or so, my roommates and I were invited out to a dairy Mexican-themed Shabbos meal. I must have been craving mac and cheese that week, because I decided to put a little Mexican spin on my normal recipe and it came out so well. The corn, black beans, onions, peppers and tomatoes added such great color and texture, and simply switching it up from my usual American-and-Cheddar combo to a Cheddar-and-Pepper Jack mix made it so different and Latin-tasting. And who doesn't like crushed tortilla chips on top? This is such a great dish if you're going to a Mexican potluck, or if you just want a little twist on a classic...or if you have a new baby in the neighborhood and want to help out the new parents! Mazel tov!

(Also, notice the new blue background on my pictures. One of my cousins told me that me beautiful spic-and-span burners were not the best background for food shots. So we'll try this out for a week or two and see how we feel about it!)

M

Mexican Macaroni and Cheese
1 lb. campanelle pasta (or any short pasta - macaroni, bowties, whatever you like!)
2 tbsp. canola oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 medium green peppers, finely chopped
8 tbsp. margarine, divided
6 tbsp. flour
4 cups milk, divided
8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz. pepper jack cheese
salt and pepper, to taste
1 15-oz. can corn, drained
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, rinsed and drained
4-oz. brick of cheddar cheese, cut into small cubes
4-oz. of nacho flavored tortilla chips, crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1. In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and put in a large bowl.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the peppers and onions and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Pour over noodles.
3. In the same saucepan, melt 6 tbsp. of margarine over medium heat. Slowly add the flour and whisk for 1 minute, until it becomes a paste. (Note: This is a roux and is used as a thickening agent.) Pour in 3 cups of milk and whisk constantly until no lumps remain. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a simmer to thicken, about 5 minutes. You want it to be the consistency of Elmer's glue. (Note: This is a basic white sauce, or Bechamel, one of the 5 French "mother sauces," which can be flavored with any number of flavors and used in a million different ways - great to know!)
4. Turn off the heat and add the shredded cheddar cheese and pepper jack cheese, whisking to melt completely. Season with salt and pepper. (Note: It is almost always easier to season the sauce before it's on the pasta; the seasoning will distribute much more evenly.)
5. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta and sautéed vegetables. Add the drained corn, drained and rinsed beans, and drained and rinsed tomatoes and mix until everything is incorporated. At the very end, add the remaining 1 cup of milk and the cubed cheddar cheese and mix.
6. Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 inch dish.
7. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 2 tbsp. of margarine. Add the crushed chips and toss to coat. Sprinkle the chips over the entire dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, or until the tortilla chips are browned and the cheese sauce is bubbling at the edges.