healthy mac & cheese

after babysitting for 8+ years i can't bear the thought of eating one more bite of kraft macaroni and cheese. however, mac & cheese is not just a food for kids. it is still an american favorite, comfort food. it is becoming more common to see restaurants serve mac & cheese as a side dish or on their happy hour menu. i highly recommend hi-life's $4 happy hour macaroni and cheese baked en casserole with roasted anaheim peppers & four cheeses.

unfortunately mac & cheese is traditionally loaded with calories and fat. but the recipe i have for you is comfort food made healthy. by substituting whole milk for skim milk, using low-fat cheese, and adding cauliflower for nutrients this recipe has, get ready for this...half the calories and a quarter of the fat of traditional recipes. this crowd pleaser has less than 200 calories per serving!!! i made it for my family and both my Dad and 11 year old sister gave it two thumbs up. 

this recipe does take about 1 1/2 hours to prepare and bake so i would recommend making it on the weekend or on a night when you have some extra time. enjoy!!

Ingredients (8 servings):
7 oz. elbow or shell pasta
1 head of cauliflower, roughly chopped
1 1/2 C. low-fat (2%) shredded cheddar or cheese blend
1/4 C. shredded Parmesan
2/3 C. skim milk
1 egg
1/2 t. salt
1 t. butter, melted 
2 T. panko breadcrumbs (i used regular breadcrumbs)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.


Boil water and cook pasta until al dente, about 8 minutes
While pasta is cooking steam the roughly chopped cauliflower until very soft.
Drain the pasta, drizzle with olive oil, and let cool.
Shred the cheese if not pre-shredded. 
Beat the egg, milk, and salt in a separate bowl. 
Mix the melted butter and breadcrumbs (or panko) in another bowl.
Now your ready to start putting it all together!


Mash or blend cauliflower and gently mix in with pasta.
Take a pinch of all the cheeses and mix in with the breadcrumb/ butter blend...set aside.
Mix the rest of the cheeses in with the pasta/cauliflower.
Pour the milk mixture in with the pasta/cauliflower. Carefully stir and fold in the milk mixture until combined.
Fill 6-8 ramekins with pasta mixture and sprinkle with breadcrumb topping (you can use a casserole dish if you don't have ramekins).


Bake for 30-40 minutes, uncovered, or until tops just start to brown.

I bought my ramekins at Target from the $1 bins!

Next time...
1. make my own breadcrumbs with whole wheat bread (trim crust) in food processor. 
2. try whole wheat pasta.
3. add some black pepper and paprika.
4. try cottage cheese to create a creamer texture.