Sriracha Mac and Cheese

I'd consider myself a tentative spicy food lover. Growing up directly in the center of the Midwest not many meal ideas walk the line of hot foods, and I always laugh when people poke a fork at a red pepper flake or pepperoncini with a look of fear at how much spice it may have. While I have the same fear when I watch some of my friends order the spiciest thing they can find to just see if their body can take it. Ahem, stuffed jalapenos with the seeds anyone? (DON'T DO IT!) Sriracha is in a class of its own though, and I find that all food over the last several years has become a mere vehicle for putting Sriracha in my mouth. Popcorn with coconut oil and Sriracha, eggs with a healthy dash of red, even a spot on a chocolate just to try it. (That was unnecessary, by the way, and very gross.) But my favorite thing to put the old rooster juice on is good old mac and cheese. Since adapting a low glycemic diet this spring, pasta has become a rare occasion for me, and it's not something I had often anyway, but mac and cheese is most often found to have nostalgic and magical properties to most Midwestern folks. It was one of the first foods I figured out how to make as a preteen, and one I still love from time to time nowadays.

Sriracha Mac and Cheese

- 8 oz elbow macaroni or shells

-1/4 cup butter

-salt and pepper

-2 cups milk

-1/4 cup flour

-2 cups cheddar cheese

-Sriracha to taste

Directions: Salt 6 cups water and bring to a boil. cook macaroni noodles until done. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly stir in salt, pepper and flour and stir until smooth. Slowly pour in milk and stir constantly until mixture is thick and bubbly, about 5 minutes. Add cheddar cheese and  stir until smooth. Add cheese sauce to drained noodles and toss until combined. Add Sriracha sauce to taste, 1. t for mild heat, up to 1 or 2 T. for a little kick.

I add about 1 T. of Sriracha depending on how much heat I want.  Plus if someone in  your house is afraid of the hot stuff you can just make this super easy mac and cheese and add the heat to your own bowl. Enjoy!