Beer Cheese Fondue Mac N' Cheese

For Evan's birthday party - I wanted to make some mac n' cheese, but also wanted to use the ingredients I already had in the kitchen, so I improvised. Trader Joe's has an awesome product - Beer Cheese Fondue in a pouch. You just squeeze it into your fondue pot and heat it and it is good to go - very easy. Well, I had 2 pouches leftover from Christmas, so I decided to try it for the Mac N' Cheese. Here is what I used to make the BIG batch for his party:



Ingredients:



3 bags of cavatappi noodles (I used Krogers private selection brand)

1 pint of half and half

1 stick of butter, divided

2 bags of sharp cheddar cheese (4 cups)

2 pouches of Trader Joe's Beer Cheese Fondue

salt and pepper to taste



Preparation:



Make pasta according to directions, drain and put in the baking pan - add entire stick of butter - reserving 2 TBSP for the sauce. Stir noodles so that they do not stick. To make the cheese sauce, mix 2 TBSP of butter, 1 bag of sharp cheddar cheese, 2 pouches of Trader Joe's Beer Cheese Fondue and the pint of half and half. Add the half and half slowly as the cheese melts. Once the cheese sauce has completely melted, pour it over the noodles and mix well. Bake covered at 375 for 2 hours. During the last 15 minutes of baking, sprinkle remaining bag of shredded sharp cheddar cheese on top. If you make this recipe for a smaller crowd, I would adjust baking time accordingly.