Macaroni And Cheese With Green Onions And Ham

Directions

1. Make white sauce by melting 4 Tbsp. butter in medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add in flour and whisk till smooth. Cook 5 min, stirring occasionally, to remove raw taste of flour.
2. Add in 1 c. lowfat milk and whisk till smooth. Raise heat to medium and add in remaining lowfat milk, whisking occasionally to prevent lumping. Cook till sauce has thickened, about 10 min. Add in mustard, if you like, and season to taste with salt and white pepper.
3. Meanwhile, cook noodles in plenty of rapidly boiling, lightly salted water till barely tender, about 8 min. Drain, remove to large mixing bowl and toss with 1 Tbsp. butter to prevent sticking.
4. Add in cheese to white sauce and stir to mix. Add in cooked ham and green onions and mix again. Add in white sauce mix to cooked noodles and combine thoroughly. Turn noodles out into well-buttered 2-qt gratin dish.
5. In small skillet, heat 1 Tbsp. butter. Add in bread crumbs and fry, stirring constantly, till lightly toasted, about 5 min. Scatter bread crumbs over top of noodles and bake at 350 degrees till top is browned and bubbling, about 30 min.
6. This recipe yields 6 to 8 servings.
7. Comments: You can make this fancy by using a combination of different cheeses - I like a combination of Fontina with a little fresh goat cheese and some Parmigiano-Reggiano (they're not very strong, so add in the mustard to the white sauce). But the classic is good old American Cheddar.
8. NOTES :