For Tuesday? Homemade Mac-n-cheese

Tonight we're going to have our first vegetarian meal. Not vegan by any means, but meatless. Homemade mac and cheese isn't as easy as the box variety, but it's way more flavorful and filling and it only takes about 30 minutes (more if you like it baked). You can use any variety of pasta, from traditional elbow to rotini to gemelli to fusili. They all work well, but I do prefer the spiral types, like gemelli or rotini, because their ridges hold more of the creamy, cheesy sauce. You can use any combination of cheeses. I like to use a combo of Cheddar, Swiss and Gruyere, but at $8 for half a pound, gruyere is not in the frugal vocabulary, so cheddar and swiss will have to do for our purposes. And all cheddar is good, too.

Unfortunately I've never really found a good way to reheat the leftovers and make them taste as good as fresh, but if you're using this as the main part of your meal instead of a side, you don't really need to worry about that.

This recipe makes enough for 4-6 healthy-sized main courses or 6-8 large sides.Serve with steamed broccoli or any veggie or salad.

Macaroni and Cheese (adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

4 cups dried pasta
1 whole egg, beaten
4 T butter or oil
4 T flour
2-1/2 cups milk
2 teaspoons mustard powder or 1 T prepared mustard (the mustard powder is best for this if you have it)
4 cups grated cheese (mixture of cheddar and swiss)
1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (or more to taste) 

Cook the pasta to a firm al dente (meaning, not quite ready to eat, still very firm when you bite into it). Drain and set aside. Be sure you salt the water you cook your pasta in with a good 2-3 teaspoons of salt. It does make a difference in the taste of the pasta. Just be sure you dissolve it in the water, because if it settles in the bottom of the pan it can cause pits in the metal.

In a large pot (I use my beloved Lodge enameled Dutch Oven), heat the butter/oil and sprinkle in the flour. Whisk together over medium heat until light brown (this is your roux for the sauce). Should take about 4-5 minutes, maybe a little more depending on your stove's definition of medium. Pour in the milk, add the mustard powder (or mustard), and whisk together until smooth. Cook  until very thick (5-10 minutes). Reduce heat to low.

Temper the egg with 1/2 cup sauce (meaning, slowly whisk the sauce into the beaten egg, which will warm up the egg and avoid scrambling it when you add it to the rest of your sauce). Pour the egg mixture into the sauce, whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Stir until smooth. Add the cheese (s) and stir until completely melted.

Add the salt and pepper, or more to taste. Pour in the drained pasta and stir until well combined.
Serve immediately or pour the mixture into a buttered casserole, top with extra cheese, and bake for at 350 degrees until the top is browned and the sauce is bubbling.