Day 110 - Home made Mac n' Cheese

Even before the uproar about fake coloring in store bought boxes of  Mac n' Cheese, there was never any question about what my kids preferred. It was always home made for them. That way, I have the luxury of varying the flavors & cheeses in the mix and can come up with variations galore. This version is made with white sauce, mozzarella & Parmesan, spiced up with fragrant herbes de Provence & smoked paprika

You need:
3 cups cooked fusilli pasta
2 tablespoons All purpose flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan
1/ teaspoon herbes de Provence
1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
1/4 teaspoon  paprika
salt & cracked peppercorn to taste

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the all purpose flour to brown well. Sprinkle the seasonings (paprika, salt, pepper, Herbs) in to the browned flour. Stir in the milk ensuring that there are no lumps, simmer on a low heat until the sauce begins to thicken. Stir in the mozzarella and half the Parmesan cheese. Fold the sauce into the pasta and transfer into a 8 sq inch baking dish sprinkle the Panko bread crumbs and the remaining Parmesan cheese over the pasta. Bake in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes until the top is bubbly and begins to turn brown. Serve warm.