Cheese Sauce

So while at our farewell lunch for work at Grizzly's (pretty yummy I may add), the Food Network was on.  Not having cable, I was drawn into Rachel Ray's raspy vortex and was not let go since she was making some sort of Mac and Cheese.  Her's was with a cheese sauce, pancetta, bread crumbs, and lots of fresh grated cheese.  Keep in mind, I know all this from watching and only that since I could not hear the television.  So if that's not what it was, it was some variation of things that look like those.  Anyway, seeing this, I wanted to go home and make it myself with less of the pancetta and bread crumbs and more of the sauce, noodles, and baking it under the broiler for a few minutes.  I haven't done this yet, but I made a cheese sauce from un-fancy (in-fancy?) things in my kitchen.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar or swiss
• Salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the flour, being sure to combine it with the butter very well, to make a roux. Let cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Do not let it darken. Gradually add the milk, about 1/4 cup at a time, whisking or stirring vigorously to incorporate. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until thickened and just starting to boil, about 10 to 15 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as desired.

Recipe taken from www.terriskitchen.com.  It's what I made, just explained better.  Sadly, no photo.  I poured it over my noodles and then ate it too quickly.  Sorry!

Well, it's off to make dinner.  I just woke up from a three hour power nap.  I say power nap since those are to replenish just a little bit of sleep you didn't get the night before.  I was at a junior high ADD haven since Thursday and returned today.  Yes, three hours qualifies as "power nap".  I will leave you with a photo of the chaos since there is none for the cheese sauce.

Gotta love youth ministry!