Foodie Friday - Cheese and Herb Penne

Hi my friends!! I found this recipe over at Over the Kitchen Counter: Angie's Place for Cooking and Crafts
She is always doing something that looks like fun!  I thought this would be great and kinda an adult version of mac-n-cheese perfect for a no-meat night!

Three Cheese and Herb Penne

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 lb penne pasta

3 Tbsp butter

2 small cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 tsp mustard powder

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

3 cups milk

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh herbs (such as parsley, dill, oregano and basil)

1/2 tsp salt

pepper to taste

Toss cheeses together and set aside. Cook pasta and drain well, set aside. Melt butter in saucepan over med. heat. Add garlic. Cook for one min. Stir in flour, mustard, and nutmeg. Gradually whisk in milk. Stirring, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened. Remove from heat. Set aside 3/4 cup of tossed cheese. Add remaining cheese to sauce and stir until melted. Stir herbs, salt and pepper into sauce. Toss sauce with pasta and turn into a 13"x9" greased baking dish. Sprinkle with reserved cheese. Place baking dish under broiler for about 1 min. or until cheese is bubbling.

I also made some yummy bread to go along with it from the same web-site!! :)  I had never made a dough in the bread machine, but it turned out beautifully!  I halved the recipe though and did it according to my bread machine directions on how to put it in.  An hour later all the hard work was done and I just needed to spearate into 3 pieces and braid.  Then I let it rise before I baked it up!  YUM!

 

Italian Style Loaves

1 tsp sugar

2 packages yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water

4-5 cups bread flour

2 tsp sea salt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 egg white

garnish (optional) sesame, caraway, fennel, poppyseed, sea salt

Dissolve sugar and yeast in 1/2 cup of the warm water. Set aside 15 minutes or until foamy.  Put 2 cups of the flour and sea salt in a large bowl. Mix together and make a well in the centre.  Put yeast mixture, remaining water and olive oil in the well and mix until well incorporated.  Turn dough out on floured surface, and knead in enough of the remaining flour so dough is no longer sticky and is smooth and elastic. (10-15 mins).  Lightly oil a large bowl with olive oil.  Form dough into a ball, place in bowl and turn to coat with oil.  Place a clean towel over top of bowl and set in a warm place to rise until double in bulk (1 to 1-1/2 hours).  Punch dough down by pushing air out of dough.  Divide dough into three parts.  Roll into long, thin shapes and place in pan.  Cover with clean towel and let rise until double in bulk. (20-30 mins.) Snip top decoratively, with kitchen shears, brush with egg white and sprinkle with on of any combination of seeds and sea salt.  Bake in preheated 400 degree oven for 15-20 mins. or until bread sounds dull and hollow when tapped and is a deep golden brown.