Ugh. It's just been one of those days. Despite me having an insane amount of work to get done by upcoming deadlines, the lab building was locked and apparently I'm the only one who didn't get the memo. We're hitting a serious cold front up here, and I'm surrounded by sick people. I put a hole in my brand new shirt after I just took out the tags, the package I'm expecting got lost in the mysterious realms of USPS, and I ran out of my favorite bubble bath.
Where can someone turn in clearly dire situations like this? The obvious answer: a classic comfort food like macaroni and cheese. For well over a year I have tried countless mac and cheese recipes looking for the perfect one. Unfortunately, the Kraft blue box (don't judge!) remained the undisputed champion.
Until today.
Inspiration came from a Rachel Ray recipe I saw awhile back for Pumpkin Cheddar Mac and Cheese. I'm not crazy about pumpkin (I prefer butternut squash) and the recipe seemed a little heavy for my tastes so I set about trying to reinvent mac and cheese in a slightly healthier form while still maintaining all those things that make it so damn good.
I think this recipe was pretty close to success. It's significantly lighter than a majority of mac and cheeses yet still WAY creamier than any healthier versions that I've tried. This was the first time I tried something like this though so if you try this and can think of ways to improve it, help a girl out and let me know!
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| Butternut squashy cheesy goodness |
Ingredients (for 4 servings):
- 1 tbs butter
- 1 clove of garlic (I used minced)
- 1/4 tsp of red chili flakes (this definitely gives a kick - use less or more to your liking)
- 1/2 tsp of dry mustard
- 3 or 4 fresh sage leaves roughly chopped
- 1/2 of a small onion roughly chopped
- 2 red bell peppers chopped small
- 10oz (~1.5 cups) butternut squash cut into smallish pieces (I used the pre diced)
- 1/2 tbs flour
- 1 1/8 cups skim milk (I used skim but I bet whole would take this to a whole new level)
- 1 cup shredded fat free cheddar cheese (substitute full fat if you'd like)
- 1/2 cup fat free ricotta (substitute as above)
- 1/2 cup of reduced fat blue cheese crumbles (substitute, substitute, substitute)
- 2 cups macaroni
- a scallion or 2 for garnish
- Boil the macaroni until they are tender but still somewhat firm, drain, and place to the side. The idea is that you want them cooked, but strong enough to hold their shape when mixed around in the sauce.
- Set your oven to 375.
- In a pot melt the butter and add the onions and just one of the bell peppers. Sautee until the onions start to brown a bit and the peppers are tender.
- Next add the garlic, sage, dry mustard, and chili flakes making sure to keep mixing for a couple of minutes.
- Add the flour and mix so everything is evenly coated. Keep mixing until the flour starts to brown.
- Lower the heat and SLOWLY add the milk, mixing all the while. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the butternut squash to the pot and simmer until the squash is fork tender.
- Scoop the entire mix into a regular blender and puree.
- Scoop the mix back into its original pot over low heat. Slowly mix in the ricotta, cheddar, and blue cheese taking care to properly melt the cheeses.
- Before you mix in the pasta, taste test the sauce! See if you need more cheese, salt, whatever. Some people are iffy about blue cheese so add a little at a time until you find what works for you.
- Combine the macaroni, sauce, and the remainder of RAW bell pepper pieces and move the whole deal into some sort of casserole dish.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Slice up a couple of scallions and sprinkle on top for garnish.
- Calories: 290
- Fat: 4g
- Protein: 22g
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