Lightened Up Macaroni & Cheese

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  I know I did!  We were invited to a fabulous dinner at our new neighbors, had a guest over for brunch, and I went to masters swimming and to a great bikram class - oh and Scotty we worked on the house! 

Sunday was perfect.  Bikram, baking, house projects, and cuddles.  To make sure I had allll the time in the world to help Scotty with building projects, I decided to make a dish that I could start in the morning and then shove into the oven a few minutes before dinner.  Scotty had been working really hard all weekend and I wanted to give him MAN Food, but still something I could eat.

The day ended with lots of snuggles after a relaxing dinner.  Wait - I want to squeeze in too!

There are quite a few awesome things about this recipe.

1.  You can serve boy and girl serving amounts - the men feel fed and the ladies feel like they got away with eating carbs - yeay!  (jk - carbohydrates are part of a well-rounded diet).
2.  You can make 2 dishes and have one the day you make it and throw the other in the freezer (which is exactly what I did).
3.  You can hide vegetables and use different cheeses or pasta shapes.  Yummy veggie options are: peas, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, bell pepper, kale, or arugula.

I personally hate macaroni.  I think that Gobbetti is THE BEST - followed by Rontini, Penney, and Farfalle.  I used Pipe for this recipe, which turned out AWESOME.  The pasta made little cups to hold all the sauce and cheese in... mmmmmmm....

Anyways - it's your pasta, so create it the way that YOU like best.  Enjoy!

Yields roughly 16 servings at about 2/3 cups each

Nutrition Information:  221 calories, 25g carbs, 8g fat, 11g protein, 23mg Cholesterol, 416mg Sodium, 2g sugar, 1g fiber

Ingredients:

• 1 container of pasta (I use Costco Garofalo – 17.6 oz.)
• 16 oz. of light shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup unbleached flour
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups Unsweetened Almond Breeze Almond Milk (or non-fat milk/silk)
• 1 teaspoon of Better Than Bouillon Concentrated Chicken Broth (or 2 bouillon cubes / 1 cup chicken broth*)
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• ½ cup chopped onion
• 2 cups water (only use 1 cup of water if you used 1 cup of chicken broth)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Oregano to taste

Directions: 

1. Cook pasta according to directions and spray a baking dish with your misto.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large skillet or pot, melt butter over medium heat and slowly add flour.  Stir over medium heat and add chopped onions.  Sautee.
3. Add almond milk, water, and Better Than Bouillon.
4. Raise heat and whisk until smooth and thick.
5. Remove from heat and add S&P, oregano, and mozzarella cheese.  Stir until smooth.
6. Add cooked pasta with veggie of your choice.
7. Sprinkle the top with parmesan and oregano.
8. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then bake for 5-10 minutes with foil removed – or until parmesan turns golden.

This recipe is a modified version of the amazing Skinnytaste Lighter Baked Macaroni and Cheese recipe.  Thank you Gina - love your inspiration!