Baked Mac & Cheese with Notta Pasta

Now I think it's safe to say that Mac & cheese is a favorite of many! So I'm posting this for Friday Favorites. I had these Notta Pasta rice noodles. I used part of them to add to my spring rolls. So when I used the rest of them for the recipe on the back of the box I had to adjust for the size of the bake ware I had and the noodles that I had left.

It seems all my photos seem to look the same color. I really need to liven things up with some color. But this was so tasty I don't think it matters what it looked like.

1 box of Notta Pasta (1lb) rice noodles, they are like wide fettuccine

3 cups milk

1 small onion

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dried thyme ( I don't care for thyme so I used tarragon)

1 Bay leaf

4 T butter

3 T flour

2 & 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Butter a 9x13" baking dish.

2. Mix the milk onions, & seasoning in a sauce pan and bring to a low boil.

3. In a medium saucepan melt butter over med heat & whisk in flour until smooth.

4. Slowly add heated milk, stirring constantly until smooth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer for 4 minutes. Add the cheddar & Parmesan. Stir until cheeses are melted & sauce is thickened.

5. Turn off heat & remove the bay leaf. Preheat the oven 350.

6. Cook Notta Pasta in boiling water for 4 minutes. Time carefully.

7. Pour Notta Pasta back into pot & mix in the sauce. Combine well.

8. Pour Mac & Cheese into prepared baking dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes, then broil for 3-5 minutes or until lightly browned.

Edited to add : I sauteed the onions first, I wanted to make sure they were done and flavorful. I also added the seasoning at this time (the Fine Herbs and Tarragon). The recipe had you just broil it, but I baked it some to make sure it set up nice. I did like the browning on the top.

When you serve this you can cut them out in squares. This rice pasta works so well in this, I could substitute this easily for regular pasta. This is one that didn't last, of course I used a smaller pan, my 7"x 11" stoneware!