Smoked gouda macaroni and cheese

I (Sylvia) tried this recipe tonight and we fell in love with the mild smoky taste. wonderful!
This recipe comes out of a Colorado cook book and serves four.


2 cups dry elbow macaroni
1 T butter
2 cloves garlic
2 T flour
2 cups whole milk (I used 1% milk)
1/2 t salt
1/4 t black pepper
1/2 C shredded fontina cheese
1/3 C freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
5 C coarsely chopped fresh spinach
1/4 C smoked Gouda cheese
2 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 t olive oil
1/4 C panka bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water; drain and reserve 1 cup of pasta water. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually whisk in milk, salt, pepper until blended. Bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes or unti lthickened. Stir in fontina and Parmesan cheeses until melted. Add spinach and drained macaroni to cheese sauce and stir until well blended. Spoon into a greased 2-quart baking dish. If mixture seems dry, add some of the pasta water. Sprinkle with Gouda cheese and bacon, mix olive oil with bread crumbs and sprinkle on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly.

I just cumbled up fresh french bread for my bread crumbs, and used the oil to coat them.

Here's the bad news. 475 calories, 19 g saturated fat, 53 mg cholesterol 740 mg sodium
53 g carbohydrates, 8 g sugar, 3 g fiber, 22 g protein.

OK, this isn't something that you are going to have every night, that would be BAD, but once in a while would be fine. Enjoy!