Baked Penne with Cheese

Since moving back from Toronto, I've rarely made macaroni and cheese or any pasta for that matter. While other people resort to instant noodles, pasta and cheese was my go-to quick comfort food. Using the small bits of cheese still leftover from all the homemade pizzas, I made a quick penne with cheese. I don't usually cook with a recipe, but Blog Chef's recipe looks similar to my version. I have written a rough recipe in the past. And by rough, I mean the measurements weren't exact. Should you dare to try out this recipe of mine:

1 cup                       Macaroni, Rotini, Penne or Baby Shells

4 tsp                        Butter

4 tsp                        Flour

1½ cups                 Milk

1½ tsp                    Chicken Bake/Broth Mix or Salt (I use the bright yellow one)

1½ cup                   Cheese (I use old cheddar, but sometimes make it with mild cheddar)

Sprinkle                 Black pepper (Optional)

Although I love baked cheese, I typically don't bake the pasta with cheese because I never have the patience. On this occasion, I undercooked the pasta a bit and then made the mornay sauce with mozzarella cheese. The pasta was incorporated with the cheese sauce and then added to the lightly greased and floured baking pan. Since I just wanted the cheese to brown on top, I just broiled the pasta until it was done.


While the pasta was let to cool on the table briefly, I grabbed my camera and took these photos.




While the pasta was in the toaster oven, I went through the fridge and made myself a side salad. I have to admit that I added too much cheese. The sauce needed more milk. It certainly doesn't look like there was too much cheese though.