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Recipe: Mac & Cheese and Deli Sandwich by Perfect Italiano!

I love cheese. Cheese loves me.

If you don’t like cheese at all, there’s a chance we could never, ever be friends. Just like how I can’t understand why some people do not like fluffy bunnies. Cheese and bunnies are life.

I can almost never say no to something that has oozy melty cheese all over it. It is my ideal #foodporn. I don’t really take much of the stronger stuff like blue cheese or even parmesan, I definitely do not eat cheese on its own with a glass of wine, but I DO like it when it’s paired properly. For example, blue cheese in a gourmet burger or parmesan on bread or pasta! Yum.

As with any avid cook, I have my favorite brands for the choice of ingredients that I use in my home cooked meals, and today’s star of the post is… Perfect Italiano!

Perfect Italiano is a cooking cheese brand that adds simple Italian flair to everyday family meals! My most used product from Perfect Italiano is their good ol’ traditional Mozzarella cheese. They have both the grated version and the block version, for the recipes shown I used the block version. It has a soft, stretchy texture that’s wonderfully stringy when pulled apart, which makes it the ideal cheese to use for many different dishes because it can be baked, made into sauces, or just out of the packet, sliced.  Even people who don’t normally like cheesy foods can enjoy a good mozzarella dish thanks to its subtle, creamy flavor. With this awesome cheese, imma show you guys how to create two delicious dishes you can enjoy & share with your family and friends!

First perfectly cheesy dish from today’s line up: Baked Mac & Cheese!

Ingredients (serves 4):

  • 300ml full cream milk
  • 200g sausages, chopped (any you like, I used chorizos)
  • 50g bacon, chopped (optional, or substitute with more sausages)
  • 220g cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 160g spinach leaves
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small / medium onion, diced
  • 300g macaroni pasta (or other short pastas like penne, fussili)
  • 2 tablespoons plain flour
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 250g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella, grated
  • A handful of breadcrumbs 
  • A handful of Perfect Italiano Perfect Bakes

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta with a pinch of salt and a drip of olive oil until 95% cooked. Texture should be slightly undercooked or very al dente, because further cooking will be done in the oven later on. Rinse with cold water, toss with a tablespoon of olive oil and set aside.

2. Sautee the onions & garlic in a pan with some butter or cooking oil for 2 minutes.

3. Add the spinach leaves, cherry tomatoes, bacon and sausages and then stir fry on low heat until bacon and sausages are about cooked. It doesn’t matter if the meat is still a little pink. Empty your cooked contents into a deep large bowl.

4. In the same frying pan, melt 2 tbsp butter under low heat until it turns liquid. Immediately add 2 tbsp plain flour to butter, and stir constantly.

5. Once flour is dissolved, pour in milk and grated Perfect Italiano Mozzarella, continue stirring with gentle heat until cheese sauce becomes thick and smooth. Remove from heat once cheese sauce is of the right consistency to prevent overcooking. 

6. Combine cooked contents, pasta & cheese sauce together! At this time, do a taste test and add salt & pepper to your own preference. Pour into oven-safe baking dish.

7. Sprinkle top generously with Perfect Italiano Perfect Bakes, and breadcrumbs. If you have paprika, put some of that on too, for a perfect golden color after baking!

Perfect Italiano Perfect Bakes is a full-flavoured Cheddar blend with a little Mozzarella for stretch and Parmesan for bite. This special blend does not turn oily, and bakes to a delicious golden brown crust. Since I can’t resist melted cheese, it only made sense to complement my Mozzarella from Perfect Italiano with Perfect Bakes on top.

8. Pop the dish into preheated oven of 200 degrees, & bake for 10 minutes to finish off!

..Ready for some oozy gooey food porn?!


Now that is one very pretty bed of mac & cheese. Imagine laying that down on the dinner table for your family to tuck into! I’m sure you’ll be their favorite person in the house. Yes, I am my own favorite person in my house.

Check out that perfect crust on the top.. *content sigh* Thanks to a thin layer and of course, Perfect Italiano Perfect Bakes! (and paprika, it does wonders for color)

I’ve switched things up quite a bit by adding spinach, cherry tomatoes, bacon and sausage meat, making it a very substantial meal. I know the classic mac & cheese doesn’t have all these extra ingredients, but trust me when I say you’re never going to look at plain mac & cheese again after having this awesome version!

After all… what’s there to complain about? The yumminess factor just increased exponentially. Look at it just overflowing with wonderfully stretchy Perfect Italiano mozzarella. My kinda happiness. It is one of my favorite pastas to make for myself and dinner parties, and there is NEVER any leftovers!

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If you’re looking for an easier, fuss-free (and healthier) option to use Perfect Italiano Mozzarella to make a meal for your family, I’ve got you covered too!

This Deli Sandwich is totally simple, and something busy people or amateur cooks will have the time + skills to prepare, because everything will take less than 30 minutes.

Ingredients (serves as many or as little as you want it to):

  • Sliced whole grain bread
  • Sliced tomatoes
  • Sliced ham (your favorite type, smoked salmon would work too)
  • Sliced avocadoes
  • Lettuce (or any salad leaves you like)
  • Mayonnaise or other dressing if you don’t like dry sandwiches
  • Perfect Italiano Mozzarella or Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus
  • A knob of butter

Directions:

1. Butter the bread slices & sprinkle with garlic / onion powder if you have some at home (optional)

2. Load on plenty of Perfect Italiano Mozzarella or Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus into a heaping pile on top of your bread slice! I used a mixture of both! It may look like a lot, but it melts down to a pretty reasonable amount. Or maybe I’m just crazy.
3. Pop the bread slices into a preheated oven at 200 degrees for 6 minutes, or until cheese is completely melted. 

4. Once the bread slices are out, you may start assembling your sandwich! I like displaying my top bread slice with the melted cheese side up for extra yumminess factor.

Easy as 1, 2, Cheese!

Tell me this doesn’t make you salivate.

…Liar!

I’ve garnished mine with a cherry tomato on top, held in place with a toothpick through my sandwich. This would be an ideal lunch for people on-the-go, because you can quickly make this in the morning and bring it to work!

A balanced meal that was ridiculously easy to prepare. You’ve got your carbs and fibers, vegetables, protein, vitamins and dairy all on one plate.

For more Perfect Italiano meal ideas and suggestions / recipes on how to use their cheeses in your everyday home cooking, check out their website here! 

If you do try any of my recipes (they are original!) please do tag me on Instagram at @shiberty #shibertycooks, and also tag #perfectitalianosg so that we can view your successful dishes! ;)

Happy cheesing!