Shrimp, Feta and Fresh Herb Mac and Cheese

This mac and cheese is far from healthy, but it. is. AMAZING! I got the recipe from another blog that is one of my favorites, Annie's Eats. As far as difficulty, it was about a medium, but really the tough part was all of the prep and the organization needed for putting it together. Once the prep was done, it was easy to make. 1 lb. pasta shapes
1 lb. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

10 oz. feta cheese, crumbled and divided

zest of 1/2 a lemon, divided

1/2 c. Panko breakcrumbs

2 Tbsp. fresh parsely, chopped, divided

5 Tbsp. butter, divided
4 Tbsp. flour

3 c. milk

2 Tbsp. fresh dill, chopped and divided

8 oz. Gruyere cheese, shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 400. Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the shrimp to the pasta and toss together to partially cook the shrimp.

2. In a small bowl, combine half of the feta, a pinch of lemon zest, the panko, 2 tsp. of the parsley, and 1 Tbsp. of butter that has been melted (I melted mine in a small bowl in the microwave). Toss to combine, set aside.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the remaining 4 Tbsp. butter over med-hi heat. Add the flour and whisk to form a paste. Cook 1-2 minutes until whisking constantly, until the paste is a light golden brown. Whisk in the milk. Continue to heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture is bubbly and thick, about 5 minutes. Once it is thick, remove from heat and add the remaining feta, Gruyere, parsely, lemon zest, dill, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the pasta and shrimp, toss to coat.

4. Transfer the mixture into a baking dish that has been lightly greased (I sprayed mine with olive oil spray). Sprinkle the breadcrumb-feta mixture over the top and bake at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 4 hearty servings.