Ameteur Foodie: Dilled Mac and Cheese with Garlicky Spinach

So my neighbor Holly has this entire cookbook of just Mac & Cheese. It's like the holy grail of carbs and I love it. She invited me over a few weeks ago to make this dish, and it looked pretty outside my comfort zone. But if this dish is wrong then I don't want to be right. I have dreamt about this macaroni for weeks and so last night I made it again.




Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound macaroni
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk, warmed
• 12 ounces Manchego, grated
• 1/2 tsp ground cinamon
• Pinch of nutmeg
• 2 tbs olive oil
• 1 small onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 1/2 cup minced fresh dill
• 1/2 cup toasted plain breadcrumbs
• 6 ounces feta, crumbled

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 375
• Grease 9 x 13 baking pan
• Cook pasta until almost al dente. Drain. 
• Heat 6 tbs butter over medium-low heat. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute or until mixture turns slightly beige, is bubbly, and appears to have grown in volume.
• Increase the heat to medium,  and slowly whisk in the warm milk. Bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low and simmer the sauce for 2 minutes. 
• Add in the manchego cheese in handfuls. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg
• Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook 4-6 minutes or until onion softens. Increase the heat to medium-high and add spinach by the handful, letting each batch wilt before adding more. 
• Stir the spinach mixture and dill into the sauce, then pour the sauce over the pasta. Transfer pasta into grease pan. 
• Melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add breadcrumbs and stir well until browned. Toss the breadcrumbs with the feta to combine. Sprinkle mixture over the top of the dish. 
• Bake casserole for 20-30 minutes.

 Again, AMAZING. The recipe takes awhile to make, and it uses like 4 pots and pans, so there are lots of dirty dishes to clean, but it is so worth it. I wish I had taken a picture before I ate it, but alas, it is gone.