Macaroni and cheese is a dish that I drool over. The problem is that I don’t often have the time to make a big production out of it by melting the butter, adding flour, etc. I did, however, have on hand a box of whole wheat elbow macaroni in my pantry and some extra-sharp cheddar. So, I opted to make a very simple version of mac and cheese. A relative of mine makes it this way – with just pasta, cheese, milk, and pepper – and it is so good that I really don’t miss the added fat and calories of butter and flour. The cheese that goes into this dish has enough creaminess for me.

What you’ll need:

• one 16 ounce box of whole wheat elbow macaroni (you can certainly use another kind of pasta such as penne or shells)
• 3/4 of a pound of cheese (you can use any kind really, but I like to use a sharp cheddar cheese)
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 2 teaspoons of pepper
• 1 cup of milk

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the pasta to al dente. Drain and let it cool. While you’re waiting for it to cool, cut the cheese into blocks, or you can grate the cheese, whichever you prefer. Toss your pasta and cheese together, also adding 1/2 cup of milk, pepper, and paprika. Then, place it all into a 9×13 baking dish and cover it. 20 minutes later, your cheese will be fully melted and delicious looking. Add 1/2 cup of milk and mix everything around, making sure you evenly mix the cheese with the pasta. 10 minutes later, take off the cover and let the top brown for the last 15 minutes. You can also mix it around and add any more milk if the mixture looks like it’s drying out.

Adding the paprika really brought out the whole-wheat taste in the pasta. If you don’t want to enhance the whole-wheat taste, and are really just using the pasta as a vehicle for the cheese, then feel free to omit the paprika and certainly add more cheese.