Pumpkin Mac n Cheese
With vegetables in Mac n Cheese
Mac n Cheese without additional vegetables
Because of the requests of I decided to move this food blog post to the front of to-do list. Give this recipe a try, trust me, it does not taste like pumpkin and it is rich and creamy. It takes longer to eat it than it does to make it, but that is only because it is so good it hurts. It is a little like getting kicked in the shin, you will have to walk off the first bite.
The recipe is a good source of calcium (for those of you on the grocery store tour, you know what this means), and only 205 mg sodium. Seriously, give it a try.
**Note: I have made it by replacing the chicken base with a 1/4 tsp of salt and it worked fine. Also,
Ingredients:
One cup milk
One tbsp butter
One tbsp all purpose flour, 100% whole wheat flour worked fine, but refined is ok too. It is only 1 tbsp.
3/4 tsp chicken base, I got mine from Giant Eagle
3/4 cup shredded Colby Cheese
One tsp garlic powder and cumin
Half cup canned pumpkin, or bakes and mashed pumpkin (or other squash like butternut and acorn)
4 cups cooked, 100% whole wheat pasta, I like penne or rotini
Optional Ingredients:
Half cup minced onion
One cup rough chopped broccoli
One cup chopped red bell pepper
One cup sliced carrots
Instructions:
If using the optional ingredients:
Saute all vegetables, remember to saute the more dense vegetables first. (carrots, then broccoli, then onion and peppers together) The additional sauteed veggies will add only 33 more calories, yet provide nearly a half cup vegetables per serving. Plus you also get more to eat. Anytime you can get more vegetables in you diet it is a win (Jennifer Hunter). Set vegetable aside. Add back to recipe with the pumpkin sauce when it is poured over the pasta.
Melt butter in skillet, then add flour. Heat and combine flour into butter, but don’t burn. Then add in the milk and bring to a simmer, stir til slightly thickened Add in the cheese, pumpkin, and other ingredients and mix til even. Pour over pasta and mix. Put on shoes, serve, take first bite, walk it off, enjoy the rest.
