Recipe for Romance: Gluten-Free Mac N Cheese

Recipe for Romance Two champagne glasses against a purple sparkly background with bells and ribbons at their base

Welcome to Recipe for Romance!

Each weekend, I share a snippet of a tale that either takes place in the current month (in this case, September) or is coming out in the current month, and a recipe that either goes with the tale or goes with the month.

Confused yet? Excellent! lol

Let’s get started. I’m sharing a snippet of THE SAMHAIN SOLDIER, book 7 in the Cloudburst Colorado series. Kendra MacGillivray was just trying to get read for Samhain, gathering things for her altar. Then this cocky warrior shows up being trailed by a demon. A witch’s work is rarely done. Time for some comfort food.

Out Now: The Samhain Soldier

“What the hell is that?”

Kendra fought bile back down her throat as she took in a creature resembling an organic version of the cat-like thing from the movie about robot aliens who transformed into innocuous objects. A ridge of fins from each vertebra protruded along the back and tail, and oddly jointed limbs ended in long, sharp claws.

“Stay back, Mistress Kendra. This demon is here for me.”

“Oh, that’s comforting.” The demon’s glowing green eyes shifted from Phinnius, and it just had to lick its slavering jaws as its gaze settled on her.

“I promise I won’t let it hurt you.”

Kendra snorted and tried to settle her mind enough to gather the life energy around her. Magic wasn’t an alien force—it came from the living beings inhabiting the world. Ironically, this frightening creature held some of the same energy, but it appeared tangled or kinked, like an old garden hose. The energy didn’t flow properly.

What’s wrong with you?

Kendra took a deep breath and built a ball of power, focusing her mind in the direction she’d cast it. The creature crouched, its hindquarters wiggling just like a cat about to pounce. Kendra waited for the right moment. The spell she had in mind wouldn’t harm the creature, but it would contain it and heal some of the conflicting energy paths.

Phinnius moved into her line of fire and she growled. “Get out of the way. I don’t want to hit you.”

“Hit me? With what? I’m the one with the sword. Just stay back and I’ll protect you.” He turned his back to her, watching the creature.

While she liked his looks, right now, she didn’t need him to be in the way when she threw her energy casting. Goddess only knew what a defensive spell like this would do to him.

Gluten-Free Homemade Mac N Cheese

INGREDIENTS

  • 8-9 cups of water (boiling)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 cups (or one full package) of elbow noodles (we used brown rice noodles)
  • 16 oz of mild cheddar cheese shredded. We used Dubliner Cheddar and Monterrey Jack (for creamy meltiness)
  • 2 1/2 cups milk 1 cup of bread crumbs (we used gluten free plain)
  • Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

  1. Fill pot with water and add salt. Bring to a boil, add oil and add the pasta. The oil keeps the pasta from sticking to itself. With brown rice pasta you’ll need to stir constantly because the pasta will stick to the bottom of the pan, too. Boil for 8 minutes.
  2. Shred the cheese. If using two kinds of cheese, shred the harder cheese first and mix them together.
  3. Set your oven to 350 F (177 C) and allow to warm. Get out the 9 x 13 inch pan. Set aside.
  4. Pour the pasta mixture into the 9 x 13 inch pan and distribute the pasta evenly. The mixture will be soupy, but it’ll cook off.
  5. Drizzle bread crumbs on top.
  6. Bake 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 6-8 people.

One Reply to “Recipe for Romance: Gluten-Free Mac N Cheese”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.