Excellent Mac & Cheese

So I heard about this recipe from Ellie Krieger for home made mac & cheese that uses butternut squash as a base to elimiate the fat that would typically be used in the heavy cream.

I decided to give it a try saturday night with a nice turkey meatloaf, talk about comfort food!

It was so good. unfortunately all of the cheese was too rich for adam, but my god it was so good and i'm still eating it!!

Macaroni and 4 Cheeses
Cooking spray
1 pound elbow macaroni - i used the new ronzio smart choice pasta for added fiber
2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1 teaspoon salt (and surprisingly with the cheese in there, it really does still need the teaspoon fo salt cause i typically don't salt anything with cheeses in it but it needed it )
1 teaspoon powdered mustard (I just used real dijon)
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used Paprika instead)
(I also added about half a teaspoon of nutmeg here too
2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon olive oil


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned.

Mmmm comfort food!