New Taste for Creamy Cheese-y Pasta!

In the back of the cupboard I found an opened package of Number 8 Spaghetti last night.  I knew we had some sharp cheddar, some mozzarella, and some Parmesan cheese as well as milk, butter, and flour so I decided to make some pasta for supper.

To make the white sauce I used 4 Tablespoons of butter, which I melted in a medium stainless steel saucepan.  When it was mostly melted I added 1/3 cup of flour and stirred until combined.  Now I added 2 cups of dairy milk and stirred with a whisk until it was smooth then added another cup or more of milk and let it thicken while whisking.

With the white sauce  nearly cooked and the spaghetti cooking in a large pot of well-salted water,  I started dumping in seasonings.  These are the ones I used:

Dried parsley--1 1/2 teaspoons
Granulated chicken bouillon--a rounded half-teaspoon
Benson's Salt Free Seasoning--as I write this away from the kitchen, I think it was their Mediterranean seasoning--about 1 teaspoon
SMOKED Paprika--1 teaspoon

With the seasoning in I started adding clumps of shredded cheese.  There was probably 1/3 cup of the sharp cheddar.  When I opened the bag of mozzarella I was sorry to see that it was pretty colorful so I put it in the trash.  Sad.  Well, I don't usually put mozzarella in white sauce anyway, so it was just as well.  The Parmesan had a tiny spot of color which I disposed of then pulled out a large handful and plopped it into the sauce.  At the bottom of the package was more color but it was too late by that time to re-think.  Well, I am pretty sure there was no mold that got into the sauce, but I would not stake my life on it...

When this was all added and well stirred, and the pasta was cooked and drained, I put them together back in the large pasta pot and stirred well.

IT WAS DELICIOUS!!  I think the smoked paprika made the difference.