Healthier Mac & Cheese

I wanted to make a homemade mac & cheese, today so I looked around for recipes and came across a recipe for "Healthiest Macaroni & Cheese" I decided to give that a whirl, with a few minor changes. I don't tend to over modify for the most part when I'm cooking, I usually stay pretty close to the recipe. I also tend to slack on measurements when I modify more. Anyway, here's how the Healthy Mac & Cheese went.

chopped cauliflower

I am such a messy peeler! I always end up with peels all over the counter and floor.

The peeled squash is quite slippery and kept trying to get away from me. I ended up using my knife to hold it in place while peeling the bottom.

Squash and milk

What I did with the leftover squash. Is it wrong to include my dragon in cooking posts? Sorry.

Tada! The finished product!

Healthier Mac & Cheese

• 4 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed (1 medium sized squash)
• 4 cups of low fat milk
• 16 ounces of cheddar cheese, shredded, 4 ounces reserved
• 3 ounces of fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
• 1.5 pounds, uncooked pasta (You could use 1 pound, if your family normally eats less)
• 1 head of cauliflower, finely chopped (or you can cheat, like I did, and buy a bag of florets and chop those.)

In a medium saucepan, combine the squash and milk. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, without scorching the milk. Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until squash is tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from heat.

Blend the milk and squash until its smooth. While it’s still hot, add in 12 ounces of cheddar and 2 ounces of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

While that is cooking: Cook the pasta, with the cauliflower, and drain well.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the pasta and cauliflower mixture with the squash mixture, in a 9X13 dish. Top with remaining cheeses and bread crumbs

Bake for 30 minutes or until browned and bubbly.