Hatch Chile Baked Mac & Cheese

It's Hatch Chile pepper time again. And you know what, this recipe beat the hell out of any broccoli and cheese casserole. If you live in the south, most likely you can get Hatch chiles this time of year in your grocery store. If you cannot, just substitute a couple of jalapenos or a poblano pepper.

Ingredients:

• 8 oz (uncooked) elbow macaroni
  
• 1 cup Queso Asadero cheese, shredded
  
• 1 cup Colby Jack cheese, shredded
  
• 4 TBSP flour
  
• 4 TBSP butter
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• dash pepper
  
• 2 cups milk
  
• 2 large hatch green chiles, stemmed & seeded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Puree the chile peppers in a food processor until almost unrecognizable. You may need to drizzle a bit of oil into the mixture to get the puree moving.

Cook the macaroni according to package directions to al dente tenderness.

In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. When melted, add the flour, salt, & pepper and whisk until bubbly. Slowly add the milk, continuing to whisk until smooth. Bring the mixture to just under a simmer and begin slowly adding the cheese a handful at a time until all cheese is melted. Finally, add the chile pureeto the mixture.

Pour the cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and stir to coat. Then transfer the entire mixture to a medium baking dish. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned on top.