Recipe: Brussel Sprout and Gouda mac and cheese

So last week I was looking for things for my meal plan, and Jennie linked a Brussel sprout mac and cheese that she was making. It sounded promising, but there were a couple things I was concerned about so I figured for my family, I would make a few changes. I ended up making so many changes I don't think it was anything like the original so I think I can officially say it's my own recipe at this point.

It also occurred to me (and it was requested) that perhaps I post something about this "recipe". The only problem is that I didn't do it ahead of time, so I'm going to do my best. Please feel free to ignore me completely. This is just how I did it. Also, I shaved the Brussel sprouts and shredded the cheese the night before because I only had about 45 minutes to cook, and I used 3 pans so I could cook all of it at the same time.

Ingredients:

4 slices of bacon, chopped (raw)
1/4 yellow onion, sliced very thin
1 lb brussel sprouts, shaved on a mandoline
12 oz Gouda, shredded
1 cup parmesan cheese, separated - 3/4 cup and 1/4 cup
1 large clove of garlic, minced
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1 can evaporated milk
1 can worth regular milk (I use skim, use what you like)
1 tsp ground mustard
1 lb pasta (I used corkscrew)
a handful of panko breadcrumbs (I don't know how much, it was whatever I had)

If you have a toaster oven, you will want to have available a pan which will fit in it for broiling. If you don't, preheat your oven for 400 degrees (ish).

In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil and cook pasta as directed, al dente or however you like it. Drain and return to the pot.

In a large pan, sauté the onions and bacon until fully cooked. Add the brussel sprouts and cook down until, well, well cooked.

In a medium sauce pan, melt butter and cook mince garlic for one minute. Add flour and mustard. Cook for a minute to cook the flour (making a roux). Add milks and heat to a boil, stirring often. It will not thicken as much as you would think but cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to make sure the bottom doesn't scald. Take off the heat and add all the gouda and 3/4 cup of parmesan, stir until fully melted.

Now add the Brussel Sprout mix to the pasta and mix fully until incorporated. Then add the cheese sauce, and again stir until fully incorporated. Dump mixture into pan and make the top flat. Mix panko crumbs with the rest of the parmesan and sprinkle on top of the mac and cheese.

Broil until the top is brown. The rest is already fully cooked so you don't have to worry about cooking through.

Enjoy!

(I hope this is a good enough recipe, it's the best I could do after the fact. But this was absolutely delicious, I swear. Make your husband do the dishes since we just used every pan you have (or maybe wash all the stovetop pans while it's cooking in the oven, which is what I did).


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