Sneaky (Healthy) Mac and Cheese

Submitted by Nicoleg

"Picky eaters can be really tough to convince to eat veggies and other healthy foods. Perfect for those picky eaters; it has veggies masquerading as a cheese sauce! Just don’t tell them, we’ll keep it our little secret!! Cheaters Alley: If you can’t find butternut squash frozen or just want to shave a few minutes off prep time, you can use canned pumpkin instead. It would be about 1 cup of pumpkin or squash, and you can skip the boiling with the milk and water. Adapted from www.girlmakesfood.com"

 

• Ready In: 1hr
• Ingredients: 10
• Yields: 1 9x13 pan
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 226.79 g bag frozen cauliflower
• 453.59 g dreamfields low carb pastas
• 118.29 ml pasta water
• 283.49 g frozen butternut squash
• 118.29 ml milk (regular, or non dairy milk)
• 177.44 ml sharp cheddar cheese (If you try and use mild cheddar, there will be little to no flavor!)
• 59.14 ml parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper
• 59.14 ml breadcrumbs
• 7.39 ml butter

directions

1. •Put cauliflower florets in microwave safe dish and cook covered for 10 minutes, or until tender.
2. •In a large pot, bring pasta water to a boil.
3. •Add pasta, and cook until al dente, I recommend 2 minutes less than the package says.
4. •Drain and add back to the pot, off the heat.
5. •In another, small pot, boil milk and pasta water (scoop it out of the boiling pasta pot) with the butternut squash.
6. •Add the butternut squash and milk mix into a blender with the cheeses.
7. •Add the cauliflower.
8. •Blend until smooth.
9. •Taste, you will probably need to add a decent amount of salt.
10. •Add the sauce to the pasta and place in a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish.
11. •Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed (yes again – this is your last chance to get it perfect!).
12. Melt butter and mix with bread crumbs.
13. Sprinkle bread crumbs over mac n cheese.
14. Cook at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden.
15. Can be made ahead and refridgerated. Just cook 30 minutes.
16. •Eat up! (And don’t tell!).