Macaroni & cheese w/ sausage, sun-dried tomat

4 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
½ pounds Hot Italian sausage; bulk
½ teaspoon Oriental chile paste (opt)
6 Sun-dried tomatoes
½ pounds Macaroni; cooked
2 tablespoons Fresh basil; chopped
½ cup Freshly-made bread crumbs
Vegetable oil cooking spray
Cheese Sauce:
2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Flour
1½ cup Milk; heated
½ cup White cheddar cheese; grated
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

H

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 1-½ quart casserole with oil spray.

Cook sausage in a pan over medium-high heat. Drain off grease.

Stir in optional chile paste.

Cover tomatoes with water in a microwave-safe dish and nuke on high until softened--about 2 minutes. Drain off liquid and mince tomatoes.

Put the cooked macaroni, sausage, tomatoes and basil into the casserole. Pour the cheese sauce over it and mix gently with a fork.

Spread the crumbs over the cheese and spray top with vegetable oil.

Bake, uncovered, until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes.

CHEESE SAUCE: Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until bubbly but not brown--about 2 minutes. Add the hot milk, continuing to stir as the sauce thickens.

Bring to a boil. Add salt and pepper to taste, lower the heat and whisk in cheese. Cook, stirring, 2 to 3 minutes more. Serves 4.

From the Denver Post Food Section 11/4/94 Formatted for MM by Pegg Seevers

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