Multi-Purpose Cheese Sauce

Homemade Cheese Sauce

 * You know the cheese sauce in  a jar, the canned cheese dip for Nacho's, canned Cheese Soup, and the Creamy Mac & Cheese?  This is the homemade recipe.  With NO artificial food coloring, preservatives or glue, I promise you will like this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin(plain stuff NOT Jello) or 1 tsp. guar gum

12 ounces Cheese, finely shredded (Sharp Chedder will give you a stronger, sharper flavor.  Colby or Mild Cheddar or any other cheese is fine)

1 tablespoon nonfat milk powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk (If you don't have whole milk, and add 2 tsp of oil)

2.       In a small bowl, combine water and gelatin and stir. Let sit for five minutes (or just throw all ingredients together)  Combine cheese, milk powder, salt, and cream of tartar in the bowl of a food processor or blender, and pulse a few times to combine. Heat milk in microwave for 30 seconds at a time until hot. 

5.       With the food processor running, slowly add hot milk through the feed tube at the top of the bowl. Add prepared, thickened gelatin mixture. Stop food processor occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl, and continue pulsing until the mixture becomes perfectly smooth (a few minutes).  The more milk you add, the creamier the mixture will be.  This is the consistency of Cheese dip.  Add more milk, and you have cheese for Mac & Cheese (I love it over GF noodles).  You can store in a container in the fridge and use it as needed.