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Sometimes I just want a big ol’ bowl of pasta. The cheesier the better. I don’t think I’m alone in that, a lot of people turn to pasta for comfort. It’s a meal that soothes the soul and makes everything feel good again. This week I updated my normal mac n cheese recipe with some pesto and heirloom cherry tomatoes. Let me tell you – its magical.
As much as I love a big bowl of cheesy pasta, I hate scrubbing the cheesy, gross pot afterwards. The melted cheese is so hard to get off and there always seems to be a speck of cheese stuck to the pot no matter how much I scrub! Luckily I was sent this WaxonWare Sauce Pan for a review. I love the speckled design and it’s non-stick! I only had to use a sponge to quickly wipe off any cheese- YAS! Also I love that the lid has a little slot on the side for your spoon handle. I think the real use of the slot is to pour/drain, but the slot is way to big for that to really be useful in that sense. Overall, I was really impressed with its non-stick nature and design.
Back to my pasta – I made a basic bechamel sauce with white cheddar cheese and added some pesto I made earlier to the mix. The tart tomatoes helped cut the richness and balanced the dish out.
Also here a quick step by step video!
Pesto Mac n Cheese
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 2 - 3 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pasta (dry)
- 1 tbsp butter
- 1 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 1/2 cups white cheddar cheese, freshly grated
- 2 tbsp kale pesto sauce
- 1 cup heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a sauce pan on medium heat, add butter. Once the butter melts add the flour and whisk until there are no clumps of flour. Keep whisking, once mixture turns semi golden, quickly pour in the milk. Bring milk to a simmer and add cheese. Stir until the cheese has completely melted. Stir in kale pesto. Add in the pasta and stir until pasta is well coated. Mix in cherry tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. Serve while hot!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
Disclaimer: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
