Gluten-Free Mac — The Warm Bowl Waiting When You Walk In the Door

First day of school. I handed Owen to Patty at 7:30 AM and he looked at me with an expression that I had been bracing myself for and which was exactly as hard as I had braced myself for. He did not cry. He looked at me and then at Patty and made the calculation that Patty was going to be fine and looked back at me with what I can only describe as encouragement. He is seven months old. He does not know that was encouragement. It was encouragement.

I called Patty at lunch. She said they were fine. I called at 2 PM. She said I said they were fine. She texted at 2:45: "Still fine. Teach your kids." So I taught my kids. I picked up Owen and Nora at 4:30 and held them so long Owen made a squawking noise of polite protest and even that was the best thing I had felt all day.

My new class is wonderful and it is going to be a good year and two of my students are going to need more from me than the curriculum provides and I already know which two and I am already working on it and this is what it means to love this job. You walk in and see them and you just know.

The slow cooker had a pot roast waiting when I got home. I had put it in at 7:15 AM with a packet of ranch dressing mix and a can of cream of mushroom soup and a bag of baby potatoes, which is the three-ingredient pot roast that every slow cooker blog has been right about since approximately 2009. It was there. It was warm. I ate it standing over the pot in my teacher clothes before I even took off my lanyard. The lanyard stayed on for another hour. I did not notice.

The pot roast was already handled that morning, but there have been plenty of first days — first days back from maternity leave, first days after hard weeks, first days after hard hours — where I did not have the 7:15 AM foresight and needed something in twenty minutes that still felt like a hug. This is that recipe. I’ve made it with whatever Aldi had on the gluten-free pasta shelf, and it has never once let me down. The lanyard can stay on for this one too.

Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 15 min | Total Time: 20 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• 8 oz gluten-free elbow pasta
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere or additional cheddar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook gluten-free elbow pasta according to package directions until just al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta water, then drain and set aside.
2. Make the roux. In the same pot over medium heat, melt butter. Whisk in cornstarch and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture is pale golden and smells slightly nutty.
3. Build the sauce. Slowly pour in the milk while whisking continuously. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 4—5 minutes until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
4. Melt in the cheese. Reduce heat to low. Add cheddar and Gruyere a handful at a time, stirring after each addition until fully melted. Stir in garlic powder, dry mustard, salt, and pepper.
5. Combine and serve. Add drained pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. If the sauce feels too thick, add reserved pasta water a tablespoon at a time until it reaches your preferred consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 430 | Protein: 17g | Fat: 19g | Carbs: 49g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 390mg