Most Amazing Macaroni & Cheese

I am not a mac and cheese kind of gal... kind of boring and usually too greasy. This new recipe caught my eye in my new Bon Appétit mostly a) because it looked like it would make dinner plus lunch leftovers (true), b) because it constitutes a one-dish dinner, which theoretically should make dinner easier (not necessarily true) and c) because it had veggies in the center, and veggies are always a hit in my house (definitely true). It is OMG so delicious and completely changed my thoughts about mac and cheese forever.

I made this for Earth Day and liked that it was vegetarian and green in the middle, and I made it with as many organic ingredients as I had on hand.

I also (of course) changed several things in the recipe, mostly out of frugality. First, the original calls for a blend of two cheeses: aged gouda and edam. Now, while I am a huge fan of these two wonderful Dutch cheeses, having been introduced to them as a kid by my dad, another cheese lover, I am not a fan of $12 macaroni and cheese. I also had a big loaf of Tillamook medium cheddar on hand. So, I instead used a blend of mostly cheddar with a bit of organic Parmigiano-Reggiano added in, and it was scrumptious.

Other changes: I used the full one-pound box of noodles instead of the 12 oz. the author called for (perfectly fine change), and I probably used closer to two pounds of chard instead of 1½. Chard bunches were only 99 cents, were fresh and beautiful and I knew my crowd would appreciate extra green. It certainly didn’t seem like too much, and I’d maintain all of these changes next time. I’ll probably continue to play with the cheese combination... the possibilities are endless and surely all tasty. How can you go wrong with cheese?

The only flaw, if you can call it that, is that it felt like this recipe dirtied every pot and utensil in the kitchen—Cuisinart to shred cheeses, bowls for mixing, Pyrex cups for measuring, several pans for cooking, strainers, spoons, whisks. What a mess!

As I put the dish in the oven to bake, I wasn’t sure it was worth all the trouble. One bite... DEFINITELY worth all the trouble! A huge hit all around!