Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese

I am not sure who Chuck is, but this mac and cheese recipe that he submitted on allrecipes.com looks really, really good. I have mostly everything on hand for this, with the exception of the cottage cheese. I did ask the husband to stop at the grocery store on the way home to pick some up for me, so that solves that problem. I have never heard of mac and cheese with sour cream and cottage cheese in it, but all the reviews are positive. I will let you know how it turns out.

Chuck's Favorite Mac and Cheese
INGREDIENTS:
1 (8 ounce) package elbow
macaroni
1 (8 ounce) package shredded
sharp Cheddar cheese
1 (12 ounce) container small
curd cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container sour
cream
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, added to cheese mixture (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil, add pasta, and cook until done; drain.
2. In 9x13 inch baking dish, stir together macaroni, shredded Cheddar cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture.
3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until top is golden.

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Jen's Notes:
The only variation I made was that I added a pinch of cayenne pepper, but not very much. I did not want this dish to be spicy, but I wanted a little extra layer of flavor. I used about 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper in the cheese mixture. The cayenne was great and gave a little extra 'umph' without being obvious.