Sunday Mac and Cheese

Contrary to popular belief, I don't stay out until 3am very often. The same can be said about sleeping until noon. However when I do the former, I do the later. Such was the case Sunday morning on into Sunday afternoon after a late night of ro-sham and rock band. When I did make my way out of bed Sunday I was HUNGRY. I didn't have any of the typical breakfast makings (things like bacon, eggs, or bacon), so instead I made vat of Mac and Cheese that was spicy and delicious, and easy like Sunday morning.

Inspiration: No Eggs
Time: 30 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Special equipment: Flat Whisk
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
1 lb pasta (mini penne or shells are my favorite)
2 tbs butter
2 tbs flour
1.5 C milk
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. mustard powder
1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
3/4 C sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
3/4 C parmesan cheese, grated
1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 large handful spinach, chiffonade-ed

1. Bring 6 cups or so of water to a boil in medium to large pot. Add a good hefty pinch of salt, and then noodles. Cook until pasta is done. Drain, and set aside
2. In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Add flower and stir continuously with a flat whisk until flour butter paste is a golden brown color. (If you don't have a flat whisk, your next best option is a fork, or normal whisk. I don't recommend using a spoon.) Add milk 1/4 cup at a time, stirring constantly in between until milk is incorporated and paste comes back together. When all your milk has been added, you'll have a nice velvety white sauce.
3. Add spices and cheese. Stir until cheese has melted in. If the sauce is too thick for your taste, you can add more milk. If it is too thin, continue to cook over low head stirring occasionally.
4. In a large bowl combine pasta, sauce, tomatoes and spinach.
5. Optional: Some people choose to put the mac and cheese into a lightly greased 9x13 pan, cover with breadcrumbs, lightly dust with grated cheese and bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes. But I wouldn't recommend that. It's hard to wait another half hour to eat.

Note: You can mix almost any combination of stuff into this and it's great: veggies (mushrooms, broccoli, squash work very well), cheese (cheddar, bleu, gruyere), meat (I like bacon, sausage, left over turkey or chicken breast, pork, roast beast, or bacon), and toasted nuts (like hazelnuts or pecans) also add a nice variation. You should play with spices too. Curry is especially good with a yellow cheddar sauce and chicken.