Gluten Free Friday: Mexi Mac and Cheese

When you’re making the transition to a gluten free lifestyle, there’s a lot of self pity involved for all the things you can’t have.   Hubby keeps thinking of things he can no longer have and getting depressed.  When he realized he can no longer have an ice cold Strawberry Abita beer after mowing the grass this summer, I thought he was going to cry.  Consequently, I’ve spent a lot of time working on transforming a lot of our favorite comfort foods into gluten free versions.  Now this recipe can absolutely be made with regular pasta and be just as fantastic, if you’re not having to watch your gluten intake.  And for those of you with gluten intolerance, this is the comfort food you’ve been looking for.  Now, it’s not healthy.  In fact, I didn’t even calculate the nutrition info because I didn’t wanna know what damage I was doing to my diet (well, okay, my cookbook software did, but I’m not looking!).  But it IS fantastic.   Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ground beef, cooked and drained
  • 12 oz gluten free pasta (I think this was Dreamfields)
  • 2 cups smoked cheddar
  • 2.5 cups skim milk
  • 2.5 Tbs corn starch*
  • 1 can tex mex diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup corn chips, crushed
  • 1 tbs Taco seasoning
  • 1/2 tsp mustard

 

Directions:

1. Grate your cheeses.

2. Brown, drain and rinse the ground beef.  Set aside.

3. Prepare pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.

4. In a large pot, whisk the milk, corn starch, taco seasoning, and ground mustard together.

5. Bring to a simmer and cook over medium high heat for 2-3 minutes or until sauce begins to thicken.

6. Add the cheeses, stirring in in batches until melty and well combined.

7. Add the ground beef and the drained tomatoes.  Stir until well combined.

8. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and add the pasta mixture.

9. Top with crushed corn chips.

10. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes

 

Servings: 6

Amount Per Serving

Calories 686.07

Calories From Fat (50%) 342.52

% Daily Value

Total Fat 38.11g 59%

Saturated Fat 15.48g 77%

Cholesterol 98.29mg 33%

Sodium 782.13mg 33%

Potassium 525.97mg 15%

Total Carbohydrates 55.09g 18%

Fiber 2.99g 12%

Sugar 7.11g

Protein 29.78g 60%

Printable version.

2 thoughts on “Gluten Free Friday: Mexi Mac and Cheese

  1. You are my hero! This looks so good I want to leave work right now and go make it. LOL

    I have a stupid question. All the smoked cheddar I’ve found has a little bit of a dark rind around it. If I use that kind, should I take that off? It’s not thick like Brie, but it’s there.

    1. Unless it’s actually wax, like that thick stuff on hoop cheddar, I think it’s usually just the outer layer that’s gotten dark from the smoking process. I’ve used gouda with that ring before and it didn’t cause any kind of problems.

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