Manly Man Man N' Cheese

This recipe was a blast to make. I made it for the fire station guys and it was literally gone in just a few short minutes.

1 lb. box of elbow or shells pasta
2 cups half and half
1 cup whole milk
3 cups of cheddar cheese (shredded) plus one cup
3 Tbs flour
3 Tbs butter
2 1” thick slices of ham diced
1 ½ cups Panko breading
3 Tbs butter

1. preheat oven to 350
2.Bring water to a boil and add pasta (add a little oil to keep pasta from sticking together)
3.In a sauce pan add 3 Tbs butter and melt, add flour and brown. Slowly add half and half and milk to the rue (butter and flour). Wisk until not clumpy. Add cheddar cheese to the mix. Heat up until all the cheese is melted. Stirring constantly. Add diced ham
4.Drain pasta. Mix the cheese/ham sauce with the pasta in the pasta pot
5.Put pasta in a large pyrex or other baking dish
6.In a small frying pan melt remaining 3 Tbs of butter. Add panko breading and brown slightly
7.Add remaining cheese to the top of the man n’ cheese then add the breading to the top of that
8.Bake 10 min.

This is a nice little twist on an old fashion recipe. This recipe only took about half an hour to make total time and is an easy dish to prepare for guests or just whenever you feel the need for some good comfort food.

Total price for ingredients was $15