The Cheese Lady

I'm generally opposed to breaking and entering, but I could see myself breaking into this new store I discovered.  It's called The Cheese Lady and is located on Q Avenue in Texas Corners (that's Portage-ish if you've never heard of it).  I imagine myself breaking into this store of heavenly delights and eating myself to death in their refrigerated case.  I wouldn't have to serve any time because I would, literally, eat myself enough goat cheese and outrageously sharp cheddar until I die!

Ok, on a more coherent note, the hubs and I found this place while parading through this year's Parade of Homes.  It opened in March and there is another one in Muskegon as well.  This place is a cheese-lover's heaven.  Mostly because, in addition to stocking more cheeses than you can possibly imagine, they are very plentiful with the tastings.  I was already in the mood to make mac and cheese (inspired by THIS post by pioneerwoman.com) and the woman behind the counter threw out about 100 different combinations to inspire me.  When she noticed the blank look on my face (blank on the outside, imagining how I would break into such a store on the inside) she suggested I buy a bag of pre-shredded stuff. Basically, after giving out infinite tastings, they have odd amounts left and so they shred them and sell bags of gourmet cheese mixes.  I bought one that had, among other things, smoked gouda inside.  I also bought half a pound of uber-sharp cheddar that I was planning to eat slowly - and by myself - not to "waste" in mac and cheese!

Anyway, I recommend you check this place out if you are ever in the area: The Cheese Lady

If you are interested in my most tasty mac and cheese, I basically made a roux with butter and flour, then added the cheese (about 2.5 cups) and milk until I reached the right consistency.  Then I threw in a pound of cooked rigatoni pasta as well as (and this is where it gets good) carmelized onions, chopped spinach, mushrooms, and (oh my) bacon.  I stirred the whole heavenly concoction together and dumped it into a casserole dish.  I shredded just a bit of my uber-sharp cheddar over top and threw it in a 350 degree oven until the cheese was melted and it looked a bit bubbly.  It was crazy good.