home style mac.

home style mac.
Originally uploaded by janacakes

Oh my goodness, I do like to eat Mac n' Cheese. I cannot help myself. Its a weakness of mine.

I almost forgot to mention here in my blog... last week at the studio we had a Mac n' Cheese party. Yum. I found this great picture on Flickr to use as the invite and then for the evening I made 2 baked dishes: one was a butternut squash dish, ricotta and cheddar cheese mac - looks like orange mac n' cheese but a little bit sweet and full of fiber (the squash) and then I poached 4 lbs of broccoli and put a classic cheddar cheese sauce over the top of all of it and baked it for a while. Yummy. Although in retrospect, the quick poaching and then refrigeration made the broccoli let go of a LOT of water. I think there could be a better solution. Anyhow - the party was fun, it was just me and Aimee and Scott and Tim and a couple other people stopped in, but it was a small affair. Lots of fiber :)

here the recipe for the butternut squash mac n' cheese, its good, and its healthy :) I first heard of it as a way to get little kids to eat squash. works for big kids too

Ingredients

Serves 6

* 1 small butternut squash
* 1 1/2 cups nonfat milk
* Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
* Pinch of cayenne pepper
* 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 pound elbow macaroni
* 4 ounces extra-sharp cheddar cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
* 4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, finely grated (1 ounce)
* 2 tablespoons fine breadcrumbs
* 1 teaspoon olive oil
* Olive-oil cooking spray
* 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Split the squash and remove seeds. Roast the squash in the oven until soft. Remove from heat and let cool, remove skin and mash with milk; stir in nutmeg, cayenne, and salt, and season with black pepper. Stir to combine.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles; cook until al dente according to package instructions, about 8 minutes. Drain, and transfer to a large bowl; stir in squash mixture, cheddar, ricotta, and 2 tablespoons Parmesan.
3. Lightly coat a 9-inch square baking dish (4 inches deep) with cooking spray. Transfer noodle mixture to dish. In a small bowl, combine breadcrumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan, and oil; sprinkle evenly over noodle mixture.
4. Cover with foil, and bake 20 minutes. Remove foil, and continue baking until lightly browned and crisp on top, 30 to 40 minutes more. Serve immediately.