Luscious fontina cheese sauce with bits of sausage and mushroom and lots of sage, thyme and garlic, wrapped around your favorite pasta then baked just enough to crisp the edges. One of the fanciest mac and cheeses around. So delicious, easy to make and full of Fall flavor!

INGREDIENTS – serves 4

1/2 box of your favorite pasta

1/2lb sausage
10-12 crimini or white mushrooms
1T sage
1/2t thyme
1/4t garlic powder
1/4t salt
2T flour
1/2c broth
1c milk
1c fontina, shredded
1/4c parmesan

1T butter, softened/oil/nonstick spray

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 425°F and bring a large, salted pot of water to boil. Butter a 8×8/9×9 baking dish. Cook pasta 2 minutes less than package instructions, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, in a large pan, cook the sausage on med-high until its just done then add mushrooms, sage, thyme, garlic powder and salt. Stir it together and let it cook for 2-3 minutes then stir in the flour and let it go for another couple of minutes. Slowly pour in broth, stir to incorporate completely then add the milk, stir it in then bring it to a simmer. Give the sauce a good stir then turn off the heat. (If it got to a rapid boil, let it cool a bit before adding the cheese or it could curdle). Sprinkle in a small handful of cheese and swirl it around to melt it in, then add the rest of the cheese and stir it in until completely melted into the sauce. Toss in the pasta until full coated then pour into your greased baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until crisped to taste.

ENJOY!