all this talk about mac & cheese made me want to make some this weekend! so i experimented by mashing together two different recipes i found and came up with something quite yummy and a bit healthier than traditional mac & cheese!

for a long time, i had been wanting to try a mac & cheese recipe by Ellie Krieger (saw it on her FN show, Healthy Appetite) in which she uses winter squash as a way of reducing the calories and adding a veg to the dish. i figured it would work just as well with pureed pumpkin. most of the reviews on the FN website were very positive, but a few of them said it wasn't flavorful or cheesey enough. so i found some ideas from another pumpkin pasta recipe i found on line. here's what i came up with:

Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese (serves 4)

Ingredients:

1/2 box of short pasta (whichever you prefer. i used multigrain rotini)
1/2 can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
1/2 onion finely chopped
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves minced
1 tbsp butter (or olive oil)
1/2 cup lowfat milk (i used 2%)
1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
4 oz shredded gruyere cheese
2 oz shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 tbsp dijon mustard
pinch or 2 of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
2 tbsp breadcrumbs
1 tbsp olive oil

1. boil pasta in salted water and set aside. grease a baking dish and preheat the oven at 375 degrees.

2. in a medium sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp of butter (or olive oil) and saute onion and garlic until soft.

3. add pureed pumpkin, milk and chicken broth to the sauce pan. bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

4. mix in gruyere, cheddar, ricotta, dijon mustard, 2 tbsp of parmesan cheese, nutmeg, salt and pepper so that everything is well combined and then remove from heat.

5. add pasta to the cheese sauce and pour the mixture into your baking dish.

6. combine remaining tbsp parmesan cheese with 2 tbsp breadcrumbs and 1 tbsp olive oil. sprinkle on top of of the mac & cheese. bake for about 20 minutes, then place under the broiler for about 3 minutes until the crust is golden brown.

here's my finished product! i inadvertently left it under the broiler for more than 3 mins, so the crust is a little over-browned... lesson learned: definitely keep an eye on it when it's under the broiler! it has a very subtle pumpkin flavor. the hubs was a little skeptical because he was afraid that it would be sweet, but it's not. it's definitely very savory. he liked it!

by the way, i used the same pan to bake it that i used on the stovetop to make the sauce. if you have a pan that can go from the stove top to the oven, by all means, do what i did! once less dish to wash!

Oh we're definitely going to have to try that. . . .

Thanks for sharing!

yay! let me know what you think. i thought about adding some sort of herb like thyme or rosemary, but decided to keep it simple. but if you like heat, ellie's recipe calls for a bit of cayenne pepper.