Velveta Shells and Cheese eat your heart out!

I decided that I really wanted to make Mac n' Cheese tonight. However, I hate the powder box stuff, and you just don't get velveta here, so, off to make this on my own. I have made it before, and this time, it is just amazing. I think it is the fact that I used half sharp cheddar and half white cheddar. Luckily, at Kaufland here in Germany, you can get decent cheddar slices. Good for burgers, GREAT for mac n' cheese!

Here's the recipe:

2 Tablespoons of butter
1/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 1/2 cups milk
2 cups of cheddar cheese
8 oz. macaroni (or gnocchi shells)

Directions:
1. Cook the pasta according to cooking directions.
2.Melt the butter in a large saucepan.
3. stir in next 4 ingredients and whisk until smooth
4. remove from heat and slowly add the milk
5. Add back to medium heat and continue to whisk until thickened. This takes a while. You'll get a great arm workout though!
6. Stir in the cheese until it melts.
7. Add the cooked pasta.
8. HERE is where you can get creative. Put the mac n' cheese in a buttered baking dish. You can either cover it with some more cheese OR what my mom likes to do is cover it in buttered bread crumbs and bake until golden. (I used Garlic and Herb bread crumbs from Progresso)

Seriously, this is the BEST mac n' cheese! Even when I'm back in the states and have an urge for mac n' cheese, I'll be making this recipe!