Cougar Gold Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 1 ½ quart baking dish. Bring 6 cups water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan with 1 ½ tsp salt.

Add 2 cups elbow macaroni (8 ounces) and cook just until tender.

While the pasta is cooking, prepare the sauce. You will need the following:

2 1/4 cups grated Cougar Gold
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 cups whole or skim milk

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. While whisking, gradually add the flour and milk. Stir in the following:

1/2 medium onion, minced
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp sweet paprika

Simmer at a low temperature for fifteen minutes, stirring often. Remove pan from the burner and stir in 1½ cups of the Cougar Gold. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the cooked macaroni. Pour about half of this mixture into your baking dish and sprinkle half of the remaining cheese over the top. Pour on the rest of the mixture and top off with the cheese.

For a final touch melt 1 T butter and toss it with ½ cup fresh breadcrumbs. Sprinkle this mixture on top of your casserole and bake for 30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden.

Serves 4-6 main-course servings; 8-10 side-dish servings

Review - This was ok, but a waste of Cougar Gold, in my very humble opinion. The flavor of the cheese was completely lost and overall, the dish was fairly bland. I've yet to find a macaroni and cheese recipe that lives up to my expectations. For now, I think I'll stick to the blue box variety.

If you're interested in ordering a tin of Cougar Gold cheese, here's the link: http://www.wsu.edu/creamery/