White Cheddar Mac & Cheese

My kids LOOOOVVVEEEE mac & cheese, so when I saw this recipe I had to try it. However, apparently white cheddar is really hard to find, so I just use regular cheddar cheese and it's just as good. My kids loved it and they ate the peas and ham in it too! Who could go wrong?

12 servings

1 lb farfalle pasta (bowtie pasta)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 black pepper
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 lb white cheddar (or regular cheddar), shredded (about 4 cups)
1 10 oz package frozen peas
1/2 lb finely diced ham (you can actually buy the ham already diced in the meat section of the grocery store)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Coat 13x9x2-in pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cook pasta in lightly salted water following package instructions. Leave pasta just under cooked a little (not crunchy, but with just a little bite). It will cook the rest of the way in the oven. Drain.

2. While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a sauce-pan over medium heat. Stir in flour until well-blended; cook about 1 minute. Whisk in 1 cup of milk and cook, whisking continuously until smooth. Whisk in remaining 1 cup of milk, whisking until thickened and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salt and pepper and nutmeg. Whisk in 2 cups of cheese until smooth.

3. In a large bowl mix together the pasta, cheese sauce and 1 cup remaining cheese. Stir in the peas (still frozen) and ham. Pour into prepared baking dish. scatter remaining 1 cup cheese evenly over top.

4. Bake at 350° for 30 ,minutes or until bubbly.