Mac n Cheese with Butternut Squash
Ingredients:
1 pound elbow macaroni
2 10 ounce packages of frozen squash
2 cups lowfat milk
4 ounces extra sharp Cheddar, grated (1 1/3 cup)
2 ounces Monterey Jack, grated (2/3 cup)
1/2 cup Ricotta Cheese (or 1/2 cup Mozzarella)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered mustard
1/8 teaspoon cayenne (red) pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions:
1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil.
3. Add the macaroni
4. Let boil 10 minutes
5. Drain water and remove from heat
6. Place frozen squash in a large saucepan
7. Add 2 cups lowfat milk to squash
8. Cook squash/milk over low heat for 5 minutes - stir occasionally
9. Turn the heat up to medium-high heat and cook until it is at a simmer - continue stirring.
10. Remove pan from heat
11. Stir the Cheddar, Monterey Jack, and the Ricotta (or Mozzarella) into the Squash/Milk mix.
12. Add and stir in the salt, mustard, and cayenne (red) pepper to the squash/milk/cheese mix
13. Pour the squash/cheese mix over the macaroni noodles.
14. Stir the cheese mix and macaroni together very thoroughly
15. Grease a 13x9 casserole dish
16. Pour the macaroni noodle/cheese mix into casserole dish
17. In a small bowl, combine and stir the Parmesan, bread crumbs, and olive oil
18. Sprinkle the bread crumb/parmesan mix over the top of the casserole
19. Bake for 20 minutes
20. Then after 20 minutes, broil for 2-3 minutes for a brown and crisp top.
21. Enjoy!!
Mark's Notes -
For the Ricotta Cheese, I had to substitute Mozzarella cheese as Trish is allergic to the Ricotta.
Mark's Story -
I came across this recipe on the Food Network Facebook feed. I liked the idea that it had squash in it. Sneaky way to feed the kids vegetables. Everyone liked it. Trish works at the high school cafeteria, and they were interested in it, and so I made them a batch.
Here is the original link to the Food Network Recipe
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/macaroni-and-4-cheeses-recipe.html
