I absolutely love Macaroni and Cheese, however, I know that for the sake of my waistline I cannot eat it every day.  I am always on the look-out for a healthier version, so when I found a recipe for what claimed to be healthier and included butternut squash, I thought “why not?”

The first thing I noticed is that there was far too much liquid for the macaroni, so we poured in some of the cheesy/butternut squash mix to fill up the macaroni mixture and then decided to convert the rest to soup.  I added a bit more milk, rosemary, and mushrooms and cooked it down to the right texture.  I then added a swirl of this AMAZING basil olive oil I bought to the top.  The soup was incredible.

The macaroni and cheese was good, but the texture wasn’t amazing (though not as bad as I thought it would be) and the taste just wasn’t enough.  I’m also not sure how much healthier it could have been, but I guess it’s better than using a ton of heavy cream.

To pair with it, we also made a variation on chicken piccata that was quite tasty.

All were very easy to cook and there was a whole lot of food for just the two of us.  I’m sure it would make a good family meal.

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“Healthier” Mac and Cheese

Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 23 min

8 servings

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen pureed winter squash
• 2 cups 1 percent lowfat milk
• 4 ounces extra-sharp Cheddar, grated (about 1 1/3 cups)
• 2 ounces Monterrey jack cheese, grated (about 2/3 cup) – we went with Gruyere instead
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper – We eliminated this due to my allergy, which may be why it was a bit bland
• 2 tablespoons unseasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 1 teaspoon olive oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 9 by 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook until tender but firm, about 5 to 8 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place the frozen squash and milk into a large saucepan and cook over a low heat, stirring occasionally and breaking up the squash with a spoon until it is defrosted. Turn the heat up to medium and cook until the mixture is almost simmering, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the Cheddar, jack cheese, ricotta cheese, salt, mustard and cayenne pepper. Pour cheese mixture over the macaroni and stir to combine. Transfer the macaroni and cheese to the baking dish.

Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese and oil in a small bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the macaroni and cheese. Bake for 20 minutes, then broil for 3 minutes so the top is crisp and nicely browned

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Chicken Picatta

Ingredients:

• 1.5 – 2 pounds thinly pounded chicken breast
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 TB olive oil
• 6 TB unsalted butter
• 2 TB finely chopped shallots
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice – we eliminated this and it was still fine
• 2 TB freshly chopped parsley leaves –also omitted with no noticable problem

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees F
2. Cut chicken breast crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
3. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour.  Shake off excess flour and set aside.
4. In large saute pan over medium to medium to high heat, heat olive oil and 4 TB of butter.  Once hot, but not yet smoking, brown chicken quickly (about 1 minute on each side) and remove to an ovenproof platter.  Place in oven to keep warm. (We used a plate and a microwave… it worked)
5. Reduce heat to low and add shallots to the pan.  Saute for 1-2 minutes or until they begin to turn translucent.
6. Add wine and lemon juice to pan and simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes.
7. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and whisk to combine.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste if necessary
9. Pour sauce over chicken, sprinkle with parsley, and serve immediately

Tags: cheese and butternut squash soup, chicken piccata, healthier mac and cheese, healthy mac and cheese, mac and cheese, macaroni and cheese