Something to fall back on

Last night we were supposed to have dinner at a friend's house, but they had to cancel last minute. So i was left with no dinner and no plan. It seems like the meal i always throw together on those nights is HOMEMADE MAC AND CHEESE! I'm not sure why, but that's what always seems to turn up for dinner on the nights when i'm just not sure what to make. Everyone enjoys it and we always seem to have the ingredients on hand.

Here's a very general recipe i usually use. (i think there are 2 kinds of cooks: recipe followers and recipe modifiers.........i am the latter of the 2. i never make the same thing the exact same way twice)

Ingredients:

1 pound of pasta of your choice (we like gemelli or fussili, something with twists to capture the sauce)
1 small onion
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
breadcrumbs, if you like them
salt and pepper to taste
anywhere between 4 and 8 ounces of cheese, shredded (i always use a mix. the majority usually ends up being extra sharp cheddar, and then i throw in some parmesan. i have also used gruyere, monterey jack, romano, colby........you get the idea)

Boil water for pasta and cook it while making cheese sauce. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Melt butter in sauce pan and saute onions until translucent. Add flour and stir until light brown. Add milk and heat until sauce boils and thickens. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add mustard and about 3/4 of cheese, salt and pepper if you wish.

This needs to end up in a baking dish. I typically return drained noodles to pan and mix in cheese sauce then pour it all into a baking dish. Do this step how you wish. Once it's in the baking dish sprinkle with breadcrumbs if you would like, and top with the remaining cheese. Bake at 375 until cheese on top is melty and brown and looks like its done!

We layer with tomatoes during the season.

Tonight we will have bean and veggie enchiladas, but i don't have a recipe for that either.....so i'll pay attention to how i make them and post later!