Holly over at The Balanced Broad chose Flax as this weeks ingredient.  I almost forgot because of Thanksgiving, but I read Emily’s blog today, and she reminded me – thanks Em! 😀

I actually bought flax seeds a couple weeks ago and they’ve been in my cupboard ever since, unopened!  The obvious thing to do would be to make some sort of muffin, or maybe a breakfast cookie.  But you know how I love my cheese!

Biz’s Mac N Cheese

  • 8 ounces uncooked pasta, any shape
  • 8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
  • 2 cups chicken broth (no milk in this one!) (I used my soup base mixture)
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • cracked pepper
  • (don’t add any salt – the chicken broth has plenty!)
  • seasoning of your choice (I used Soul Food seasoning)
  • topping: 2 tablespoons flax seed, 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (mix well)

Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain.  Meanwhile, melt butter.  Add flour and mix into a pasta and cook for 2 minutes.  Slowly add the chicken broth to make a roux.  Remove from heat after it has thickened (and I was skeptical it would because of the broth, but it was nice and thick!) add cheese and stir until melted.  Add in cooked pasta and mix well, put in casserole dish and sprinkle flax seed mixture over the top.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, or until cheese sauce is nice and bubbly.  Had I had broccoli I would have added it! 😀

Makes Six Servings:  Each serving is 372 calories, 19 fat, 33 carbs, 16.6 protein and 2.1 fiber

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The perfect bite!  I love how the topping got crunchy and almost added a nutty flavor to the mac n cheese.  One con for me:  i thought it was a tad salty, but my step-son Joe, a salt lover, said it was great!

Thanks again for hosting this week Holly! 😀