GOURMET HAM AND CHEESE RECIPES

Steps:

• PLEASE NOTE: This is a BAKED macaroni and cheese, therefore, it will NOT turn out with a lot of extra cheesy sauce asis absorbed into the pasta while baking. If you require an extra saucy mac & cheese, just reduce the amount of pasta you place into the dish or make more sauce so it is creamier. Thanks so much for making this dish; I hope you enjoy it! :).
• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 3 quart rectangular baking dish with non-stick spray. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling.
• Toss all the shredded cheeses together in a large bowl, set aside.
• Melt butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour until smooth and slightly bubbly.
• In a thin stream, whisk in the milk. Stir in the onion powder, salt, nutmeg, dried mustard and cayenne.
• Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in 2 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture and stir until smooth. Cover to retain the heat.
• Once water boils, add pasta. Cook until your desired doneness, then drain. In the pasta container, stir together the cooked pasta and cheese sauce.
• Pour half of the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the reserved cheese. Spoon remaining cheese-covered pasta into the dish and top with the remaining cheese.
• Add 1 cup of Japanese Panko Bread crumbs to the top of mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the Panko crumbs are lightly browned and the cheese is bubbly. Cool slightly before serving.