Top 10 Comfort Foods

We all have our own personal versions of comfort food. Chocolate. Mashed Potatoes. Soup. Spaghetti and Meatballs. There is sometimes a memory attached, like a grandmother’s signature dish… or sometimes it’s just a warm concoction that soothes the soul. Few would say today’s recipe shouldn’t be in the Top 10 of Comfort Foods. In my eyes, it’s where comfort food begins. It’s your basic gentle, warm, creamy meal that is perfect in every season. You can serve it at a picnic, alongside your Thanksgiving turkey or curl up under a blanket on a snowy day with a bowlful. Can’t go wrong with that, right?

Any guesses? (If your eyes prematurely drifted to the paragraph below, you already know. I’m not too great at the concept of suspense. Ah, well.)

It’s Mac and Cheese. Yes, my gluten free friends, we can have creamy mac and cheese… and I bet no one will notice that it’s gluten free! As for my friends who still belong to the world of gluten, this recipe is for you, too. Just swap our rice noodles for some of your gluten packed ones! It gets better… this will be wonderfully creamy without heavy cream. Heck, it doesn’t even have whole milk in it! Just good ol’ 1% milk. OK, fine. There is a stick of butter in it. But I should add this feeds an army. A 9x13 pan filled to the top!

Since variety is the spice of life, add whatever you want! Diced tomatoes, bacon bits, broccoli crowns, cut up hot dogs… the possibilities are endless! You can also top the mac and cheese (before baking) with more cheese or bread crumbs. But before you start experimenting, give the basic recipe a try. Who needs that stuff in the blue box? Not us!

Gluten Free Mac and Cheese

1 stick of butter

1 small onion, chopped

3 ½ cups of 1% milk, divided

2 tsp prepared yellow mustard

2 tsp Worcestershire sauce

¼ cup cornstarch

16 oz Colby jack cheese, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 Tbsp salt, for the noodle water

1 bag rice elbow noodles (I used Tinkyada), about 3 cups

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

To a large pot of boiling water, add the 1 Tbsp of salt and the rice elbow noodles. Cook until just shy of soft (they will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and immediately rinse with cold water (for gluten free noodles only).

While the noodles are cooking, melt butter in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until soft and translucent. Add 3 cups of milk (reserving ½ cup) and heat. Add the mustard and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to combine.

In a bowl, mix together the remaining ½ cup of milk and the cornstarch. Just prior to the milk beginning to boil, add the cornstarch milk to the pan. Stir and continue to heat until the milk begins to thicken.

Once the milk is thickened to a creamy sauce consistency, turn the heat to low and add the cubed cheese. Stir until the cheese cubes are melted into cheesy goodness. (At this point, you may want to taste the cheese sauce to see if salt or pepper is needed.)

Add the rice noodles to the pan and toss to combine. Pour into an ungreased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly on the edges.

Serves: 8 people as a main dish, 12 people as a side dish