Healthier Baked Macaroni and Cheese

"This dish was developed for the *Make it Healthier Game* and based on 3KillerB's Recipe #208573. My sister in law's mother also makes a custard based macaroni and cheese so I was interested in the chance to work on a version that while not low-fat, certainly lower than most dishes of this sort. Use the sharpest cheddar or other cheese you can find for best results. The zucchini is a nice way to add extra volume to the dish without adding calories. If your family is averse to green, peel the zucchini first."
 
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photo by Tea Jenny photo by Tea Jenny
photo by Tea Jenny
photo by justcallmetoni photo by justcallmetoni
Ready In:
57mins
Ingredients:
11
Serves:
6
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ingredients

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directions

  • Cook macaroni according to package directions but two minutes less than suggested by the directions. Add the zucchini bites and cook an additional minute. Drain and rinse.
  • Place 1/4 cup of your skim milk into a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the powdered milk and dry mustard until there are no lumps. This step enriches the milk without adding fat. Now whisk in the corn starch until there are no lumps and the milk is warmed but not hot. Add in the remaining milk and turn off the heat. Mix in the egg substitute. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Guessing paprika, onion or garlic powder might be nice here as well.
  • Prepare a 9 inch square pan with a coating of butter flavored cooking spray.
  • After grating the cheese, reserve 1/4 of the amount for the top.
  • Place 1/3 of the pasta and zucchini into the bottom of your baking dish. Cover with 1/2 of the remaining cheese. Repeat, with a second layer of pasta and cheese. Place the final third of pasta on top and cover with the reserved cheese.
  • Pour custard into the casserole dish. You want this liquid to come within about 1/2 inch of the top of the pan. The shape and size of the dish may require more or less -- just keep the proportion of 1/2 cup egg substitute and 1 tablespoon dry milk for each cup of skim milk.
  • Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean of custard (it might be a bit cheesy).
  • Tip from 3KillerB's: this is apt to overflow a little if you got the custard too far up to the top. Best to bake it on the upper rack with a baking sheet on the rack below to catch any drips.

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Reviews

  1. I love, love, love, macaroni cheese and since I became diabetic I was unsure about eating it, so when I saw this, I thought yes! I can have this it's nice and healthy, I then went to my larder and found I had no macaroni, so I had to use w/wheat pasta spirals and it worked, but next time I will use macaroni. I cut the recipe by half other than that I followed the recipe, that is until I had to bake it, I just thought maybe I could do this in my Crockett. I put it on high for one and a half hours and then under the grill to brown the cheese on top, it was fantastic. Oh! I also sprinkled a bit of cayenne pepper to give it a bit of a kick, Mmmm it was very tasty. I didn't think it would be as good as it was as sometimes low fat things can feel like it's lacking in something, but this never felt like it lacked anything. Thank you for posting. Made for healthy hearts February 2011
     
  2. This was okay but next time I think I'll cook it for less time - maybe 35-40 minutes - I cooked it for the full 50 and should have cooked it for less time. I will also add in the additional spices as suggested in #2. Thanks for sharing!
     
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>I come from a long line of wonderful cooks and doing my best to hold up that tradition. My great-grandparents owned a coffee shop; my Nana was also a great cook and started the tradition of baking around the holidays, both cookies and fruitcakes. After she died, now a decade ago, our family decided to continue in her honor. The picture above is my mother's (Chef Hot Pans) dining room table just before we packed up our Christmas cookie trays. More that 20 kinds of cookies, many of which are from 'Zaar recipes. <br /> <br />I myself am an amateur cook with a penchant for ethnic foods and spice. Currently reforming my menu in favor of healthy dishes lower in fat with lots of grains and vegetables. My favorite cuisines are Mexican, Southwestern and North African. <br /> <br /> <br />Some of my favorite public cookbooks include:</p> <li>ladypit's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/33588> WW Core Recipes I Have Tried </a> </li> <p>&nbsp;</p> <li>shirl(j)831's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/34888> Can this really be lowfat??? </a> </li> <p>&nbsp;</p> <li>julesong's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/30566> Cooking Light Recipes </a> </li> <p>&nbsp;</p> <li>mariposa13's <a href=http://www.recipezaar.com/mycookbook/book/44690> WW &amp; Lowfat Recipes </a> </li> <p><br /><img src=http://members.aol.com/sdnt4life/dpg.gif alt=Dirty /> <br /><a href=http://s10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/Game%20Room%20Banners/AM%20Banners/?action=view&amp;current=kitchen-special-hot2-1.jpg target=_blank><img src=http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a132/tgifford/Game%20Room%20Banners/AM%20Banners/kitchen-special-hot2-1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /></a> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Animation1.gif alt=Image /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/4treasurehunt.gif alt=FFF#2 width=50% /> <br /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/purplechefhat.gif alt=Image /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/chef3.jpg alt=Image /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/beartag_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/adopted_1_1.jpg border=0 alt=Adopted /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/200_artistrichardneuman-art-prints_.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/permanent%20collection/untitled.jpg border=0 alt=Photobucket /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/200_PACpic.jpg border=0 alt=PAC /><img src=http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b399/susied214/projects/pacbanner.jpg border=0 alt=Photo /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZaarWorldTourFirst.gif alt=/ /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/ZWT2.gif alt=/ /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/Zaar%20World%20Tour%203/ZWT3-Participation.gif alt=/ /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/World%20Tour/AnimatedHostChallengeBanner.gif alt=ZWT3 /><img src=http://www.satsleuth.com/cooking/RecipeSwap2.JPG alt=width=50% /> <br /><img src=http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y53/DUCHESS13/cookbookswap.jpg alt=/ /></p>
 
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