Ww Spicy Mac and Cheese

Submitted by teresas

"My grandaughter (with help from her Daddy) gave me a wonderful cookbook for Christmas called "The Whole Foods Market Cookbook". This is the recipe that my DS recommend to try 1st. It was full of fat so I have made it lower in fat. The original recipe said it served 6 in a 9X9 inch pan. There is so much of this stuff I can't imagine it fitting in that size of pan. I used a 9X13 inch pan and it was full.This is my version of this tasty dish. Still high in calories but lower in fat. Made WW friendly-7 points"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 18
• Serves: 10

ingredients

• 3 tablespoons light margarine
• 1 1⁄2 cups onions, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (1 1/2 tsp)
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons coriander
• 1⁄4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 cups low-fat milk
• 1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 2 cups diced tomatoes, canned, undrained
• 1⁄2 cup part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1⁄2 cup low-fat cheddar cheese, grated
• 1⁄2 cup low-fat swiss cheese, grated
• 2 cups cooked chicken breasts, chopped
• 1 lb penne pasta, cooked and drained
• 1⁄2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1⁄2 cup dried breadcrumbs

directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt the butter in a large saute' pan, and add the onion, garlic, cumin, and coriander.
3. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, or until the onion is soft.
4. Mix in the flour, and cook the mixture over moderate heat for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
5. Using a wire whisk, slowly incorporate the milk into the onion mixture until the flour and milk are blended.
6. Bring this to a boil, lower, the heat to a simmer, and stir in the jalapeno pepper, cayenne pepper, salt, and tomatoes with their juice.
7. Simmer for 15 minutes.
8. Remove the pan from the heat, and stir in the mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and Swiss cheese, blending until well mixed.
9. Combine the sauce, cooked pasta and the chicken in a large mixing bowl.
10. Place the sauced pasta in a 9X13-inch baking dish, sprayed with cooking spray.
11. In a small bowl, mix the Parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs.
12. Sprinkle the Parmesan topping over the pasta.
13. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the crumb topping is golden brown.

Reviews

[rpgaymer]

Great low-cal alternative to Mac and Cheese. It ends up tasting almost like a nacho cheese casserole... and that's awesome. Thanks for sharing.

 

[mary k.]

I substituted cooked cauliflower for the penne pasta, and canned skim milk for regular milk for a HUGE savings in calories. I would have saved even more of I'd used cashew milk. It was a very tasty casserole.

 

[Annacia]

I had to use a pizza mix cheese for the mozzarella and bottled jalapeno for the fresh but it still came out scrumptious. What a great change up from the average mac and cheese! I did cut the recipe back to 2 servings and maybe should mention that I used whole wheat penne. A delicious meal with a cool crisp salad on the side. Made for: For Your Consideration game.

 

[Dantana]

I made this in the dutch oven, only cooking the pasta in a second pot. I did not go low fat, this was a cheat-day treat on my low-carb diet. I followed the receipe exactly, but I used the full-fat versions of the food (hey, it was my cheat day!). Cooking in the dutch oven allowed me to do it all with one dish and the results were fantastic! Awesome! I only get one day a week to cheat and this hit the spot! I'm sure you can still cook it in a dutch oven (or other stove top-to oven dish) with the WW guidelines and still get the great results. Great one and it will be a make again!

 

[Nif_H]

Fantastic!!! This is absolutely delicious, even if I didn't have jalapeno. I made this pretty much as listed, using macaroni instead of penne. I also subbed more mozzarella for the Swiss cheese which made it stringy and yummy! I will make this again for sure! Made for Best of 2012. Thanks TeresaS! :)