Harvest Moon Pasta - Rachael Ray

This is a Rachael Ray recipe. This is so good, I just had to sit down and post it. A few modifications: I used ziti, 2% milk, a mexican blend of cheese and quite a bit of sriracha hot sauce. I omited the thyme, simply because I forgot it. It looks and feels like I'm eating creamy mac and cheese, but its better and more sophisticated...and comforting. I usually shy away from her recipes because they have too many ingredients and take way longer than she indicates. I relented as I had all the ingredients on hand. Yum-O. seriously.

• Ready In: 35 mins
• Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1  lb pasta (macaroni or ziti, recommend hollow, ribbed pasta)
• 2  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1  medium onion
• 3  garlic cloves, chopped
• 2  tablespoons thyme
• 3  tablespoons butter
• 3  tablespoons flour
• 1  cup  chicken stock
• 1 1⁄2 cups  whole milk
•  salt and pepper
• 1  dash nutmeg
• 1 (12 ounce) package  frozen butternut squash, thawed
•  hot sauce
• 1  cup parmesan cheese
• 1  cup sharp cheddar cheese
•  fresh parsley
• 1  dash paprika

Directions

1. Bring water to a boil, season with salt and cook macaroni to al dente.
2. Preheat broiler and place rack in middle of the oven.
3. Heat the extra-virgin olive oil in a sauce pot over medium heat, saute onions and garlic until soft, 6 to 7 minutes and stir in the thyme.
4. Scoot onions off to side of pan and melt butter, whisk flour into butter and combine whisk 1 minute then whisk in stock and milk, season sauce with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and cook until thickened, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Stir in butternut squash and a few dashes hot sauce. Reduce heat. When sauce comes to a bubble, stir in Parmigiano. Combine the sauce and macaroni, transfer to a casserole dish and top with shredded yellow Cheddar, chopped parsley and paprika. Brown the macaroni under broiler, 4 to 5 minutes until brown and bubbly.