Crunchy Delicious Macaroni & Cheese

INGREDIENT INTENSIVE, BUT WORTH IT. THE YUMMIEST MACARONI AND CHEESE I HAVE EVER HAD. I LOVE THAT THE PASTA DOES NOT HAVE TO BE PRE-COOKED. NEXT TIME CHEESE GOES ON SALE I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE SPLURGE.
{Picture and Recipe via SmittenKitchen}

Ingredients:
{for a 9x13}

• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
  
• 2 cups whole milk cottage cheese
• 4 cups milk (not skim)
• 2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Pinch cayenne
• Pinch nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large block (540g) of sharp or extra-sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 pound (450g) elbow pasta or rotini, uncooked.
• 1 cup of bread crumbs
• 1 cup extra grated cheese
• 2 T melted butter
  

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees and position an oven rack in upper third of oven. Use 2 tablespoon butter to butter a 9x13 baking pan.

2. In a blender, puree cottage cheese. When consistency is extremely smooth, add milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg and salt and pepper together. In a large bowl, combine grated cheese, milk mixture and uncooked pasta. Pour into prepared pan, cover tightly with foil and bake 30 minutes.

3. Uncover pan, stir gently, sprinkle with extra cheese and breadcrumbs, held together with 2 T melted butter. Bake, uncovered, 30 minutes more, until browned. Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

NOTE: I also added: 3 strips of chopped bacon & half an onion sauteed, plus 1 cup parmesan. And DO serve this with a BIG GREEN SALAD. You will feel less guilty about the fat content of this stuff.