Homestyle Mac 'n' Cheese

This recipe is one of my favorite comfort food dishes. I had it for the first time not quite a month ago courtesy of my friend Bethany, and I recreated it tonight for company - and let me tell ya, it was polished off! The recipe says it feeds six, but we all decided it must feed 6 people who don't like mac 'n' cheese! I say it feeds 4 with an itty bitty left over for a certain 17 month old's lunch. I especially like this recipe because it's so easy. I prepped for it big time by cooking and cubing the chicken last night and making my bread crumbs (I use Ritz crackers) and slicing the tomatoes this morning! When I got around to actually making the stuff, it was a cinch!

Homestyle Mac 'n' Cheese

• 1/2 lb spiral pasta
• 10 oz shredded cheese of choice (I used extra sharp white cheddar and some mild cheddar - so tasty!)
• 2 c warm milk
• 3 T butter
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 t salt
• 2 medium tomatoes sliced thin
• 1/2 c bread crumbs (i used quite a bit more b/c I like them so much)
• 2 small chicken breasts, cooked and cubed

--Cook pasta just shy of done. Drain and set aside.
--Heat large sauce pan to medium-low and melt butter
--Add flour and whisk
--Whisk in 1 cup of the milk making sure there aren't any lumps. Whisk in the other cup. --Simmer over medium heat until thick.
--Remove from heat, add cheese and stir until melted.
--Add salt and pepper to taste. (You can add Cayenne or paprika here, too)
--Add pasta and chicken. Pour into greased 2 QT baking dish.
--Top with sliced tomatoes and then bread crumbs.
--Bake for 30-35 minutes at 375 or until golden brown on top.

This is what it looked like before we all went back for a small share of seconds...