Panera Bread-style Mac N Cheese

I LOVE Panera Bread, not only for the good food, but because it's one place kids, husband, and I can all agree on. I took a spoonful of the Mac N Cheese from my daughter and was shocked at how tasty it was. Sharp white cheddar and white american cheeses made this a must-have recipe at our house. I found a recipe on another blog (Thanks LiveBeautiful; http://www.courtneykirkland.com/2010/09/panera-bread-mac-cheese-recipe.htmlgreat pics!), so I'm passing it along the recipe with my own pictures.

• 1/3 Cup of All Purpose Flour
• 1/4 Cup of Butter
• 2 1/2 cups of 2% Low Fat Milk
• 8 oz [1 block] of Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
• 6 Slices of White American Cheese [cut into small pieces]
• 1 Box of Medium Shell Noodles
• 1 tsp of Dijon Mustard (I found I didn't like the mustard flavor, maybe a little powdered mustard instead.)
• 1/3 tsp of Hot Sauce
• 1/4 tsp of Kosher Salt

Directions:

-Prepare your noodles according to the directions on the box and drain.

-Melt butter in Boiler on Low Heat. Once melted, gradually mix in 1/3 cup of flour. Whisk continually for 1 minute until creamy and thick.

-Gradually stir in milk on Medium Heat. Sauce should thicken and bubble but remain creamy. Whisk until smooth.

- Next, remove sauce from heat and add cheeses, mustard, hot sauce and salt. Mix thoroughly until smooth and creamy. There should be no lumps in the sauce. 

-Once mixed, add your noodles back to the sauce and cook over Medium Heat for 1-2 minutes…just long enough to heat the Pasta the entire way through.

-Add Paprika as a garnish if you desire.