Yesterday, on Twitter, I mentioned that I made our favorite, healthy, mac and cheese recipe and a couple people requested the recipe. So here it is...
I got this recipe from one of my parent's Food Network Magazines. Food Network was challenged to come up with a mac and cheese recipe that was healthier but still used full-fat cheese {cause we all know the non-full-fat stuff is just crap}.
The article says it took the recipe developers 12 tries to find the key to making it "trim and tasty".
Wanna know the reasons why it is healthier? Here is the explanation if you would like or you can just skip to the recipe...
- using sharp cheese (sharp cheddar and parmesan) gives it a stronger flavor allowing you to use less but still use the full-fat stuff
- evaporated milk has one-fifth the fat of heavy cream but it makes the sauce just as rich.
- The cauliflower is the other big key. One cooked up has less than 30 calories and pureeing it bulks up the dish and gives the sauce a creamy texture.
You might be thinking the same thing I did... 'really, cauliflower in mac and cheese... yuck!' but seriously... it totally works to make the sauce nice and creamy and thick but there is no funny flavor to it and it still tastes like mac and cheese.
Okay on to the recipe... I put all my tips and notes in italics throughout the recipe... feel free to ignore them if you wish. :)
I got this recipe from one of my parent's Food Network Magazines. Food Network was challenged to come up with a mac and cheese recipe that was healthier but still used full-fat cheese {cause we all know the non-full-fat stuff is just crap}.
The article says it took the recipe developers 12 tries to find the key to making it "trim and tasty".
Wanna know the reasons why it is healthier? Here is the explanation if you would like or you can just skip to the recipe...
- using sharp cheese (sharp cheddar and parmesan) gives it a stronger flavor allowing you to use less but still use the full-fat stuff
- evaporated milk has one-fifth the fat of heavy cream but it makes the sauce just as rich.
- The cauliflower is the other big key. One cooked up has less than 30 calories and pureeing it bulks up the dish and gives the sauce a creamy texture.
You might be thinking the same thing I did... 'really, cauliflower in mac and cheese... yuck!' but seriously... it totally works to make the sauce nice and creamy and thick but there is no funny flavor to it and it still tastes like mac and cheese.
Okay on to the recipe... I put all my tips and notes in italics throughout the recipe... feel free to ignore them if you wish. :)
Three-Cheese Macaroni
What you need:
1 egg
1 12-ounce can evaporated whole milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground
Black pepper
1 1/3 cups grated muenster cheese (4 ounces), plus 4 deli-thin slices (1 ounce)
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets (4 cups)
4 cups medium pasta shells (9 ounces)
*My tips on ingredients:
- I don't have cayenne pepper so I just used a little chili powder and it worked fine... you only need a pinch so its not a big deal
- For the nutmeg, I have a little glass thing with pieces of nutmeg in it that you just turn the lid and it grinds it... bought it at the grocery store
- Rather than getting a brick of muenster and deli slices, I just grated most of the muenster and then sliced up the rest... they are smaller slices though so I use more of them.
- I use a whole head of cauliflower to make it creamier and a little thicker (and even healthier!)
1. Whisk the egg, evaporated milk, cayenne, nutmeg, and salt and black pepper to taste in a bowl. Toss the grated cheeses in a separate bowl.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook until almost falling apart, about 7 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add the pasta to the same water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Preheat the broiler.
*This last time I made it, I didn't end up needing the cooking water but its supposed to make it creamier... I didn't want to thin my sauce out more so I just left it (maybe cause I used extra cauliflower I didn't need it?) I would suggest reserving the water and then deciding if you want to use it once the sauce is made. :)
3. Combine the egg mixture and the grated cheeses in the empty pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the cheeses melt and the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the cauliflower. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth and light (you can also use a regular blender). Stir in some of the reserved pasta water until creamy.
*Big tip: I do not have a regular blender, only a magic bullet. (okay so technically I have a blender but it is in the garage with all the other wedding gifts we aren't using yet.) Instead of blending the entire thing together, I just pureed the cauliflower in two batches in my magic bullet and then added it to the sauce and mixed until it was fully mixed in. It does not seem to be a problem to do it this way but, of course, you can do it however you want. :)
4. Toss the pasta in the sauce; season with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a shallow casserole dish and top with muenster slices. Broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
*The first time I made this, I only did the muenster slices (which, by the way, don't end up covering the entire dish). This last time I made it, I put the muenster slices on and then sprinkled the whole thing with bread crumbs. Next time I think I will make a heartier bread crumb mixture with bread crumbs and some melted butter and than put that all over the top... not sure yet but you can do it however you like, obviously. {I'm sure the breadcrumbs add some calories but I didn't use a ton so its probably not that big of a difference}
According to the article, a typical serving of restaurant mac and cheese has 900+ calories. This dish has only 403. Not too shabby, if you ask me :)
Well, hope you all are enjoying your weekend... Greg and I are going to take a walk to Panera for some lunch and maybe play some cards and then we are going to walk to a discount movie theater and watch a movie for just $3.50!
Tomorrow night we are going to see New Moon! Can't wait!!!
1 egg
1 12-ounce can evaporated whole milk
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt and freshly ground
Black pepper
1 1/3 cups grated muenster cheese (4 ounces), plus 4 deli-thin slices (1 ounce)
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese (2 ounces)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (1 ounce)
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into small florets (4 cups)
4 cups medium pasta shells (9 ounces)
*My tips on ingredients:
- I don't have cayenne pepper so I just used a little chili powder and it worked fine... you only need a pinch so its not a big deal
- For the nutmeg, I have a little glass thing with pieces of nutmeg in it that you just turn the lid and it grinds it... bought it at the grocery store
- Rather than getting a brick of muenster and deli slices, I just grated most of the muenster and then sliced up the rest... they are smaller slices though so I use more of them.
- I use a whole head of cauliflower to make it creamier and a little thicker (and even healthier!)
1. Whisk the egg, evaporated milk, cayenne, nutmeg, and salt and black pepper to taste in a bowl. Toss the grated cheeses in a separate bowl.
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the cauliflower and cook until almost falling apart, about 7 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Add the pasta to the same water and cook until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water. Preheat the broiler.
*This last time I made it, I didn't end up needing the cooking water but its supposed to make it creamier... I didn't want to thin my sauce out more so I just left it (maybe cause I used extra cauliflower I didn't need it?) I would suggest reserving the water and then deciding if you want to use it once the sauce is made. :)
3. Combine the egg mixture and the grated cheeses in the empty pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the cheeses melt and the sauce begins to thicken. Remove from the heat and add the cauliflower. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth and light (you can also use a regular blender). Stir in some of the reserved pasta water until creamy.
*Big tip: I do not have a regular blender, only a magic bullet. (okay so technically I have a blender but it is in the garage with all the other wedding gifts we aren't using yet.) Instead of blending the entire thing together, I just pureed the cauliflower in two batches in my magic bullet and then added it to the sauce and mixed until it was fully mixed in. It does not seem to be a problem to do it this way but, of course, you can do it however you want. :)
4. Toss the pasta in the sauce; season with salt and black pepper. Transfer to a shallow casserole dish and top with muenster slices. Broil until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
*The first time I made this, I only did the muenster slices (which, by the way, don't end up covering the entire dish). This last time I made it, I put the muenster slices on and then sprinkled the whole thing with bread crumbs. Next time I think I will make a heartier bread crumb mixture with bread crumbs and some melted butter and than put that all over the top... not sure yet but you can do it however you like, obviously. {I'm sure the breadcrumbs add some calories but I didn't use a ton so its probably not that big of a difference}
According to the article, a typical serving of restaurant mac and cheese has 900+ calories. This dish has only 403. Not too shabby, if you ask me :)
Well, hope you all are enjoying your weekend... Greg and I are going to take a walk to Panera for some lunch and maybe play some cards and then we are going to walk to a discount movie theater and watch a movie for just $3.50!
Tomorrow night we are going to see New Moon! Can't wait!!!
7 comments:
YUM! i'll have to try that sometime. mac n cheese is one of ben's favs. and yep... i've heard of using cauliflower for healthier versions of food, for instance, mashed potatoes...
I made this recipe after seeing it in Food Network Magazine too! I even used 2% cheese, low fat evaporated milk and high fiber pasta, and it was still tasty. Not quite as yummy as my full fat mac'n'cheese but a great low fat substitute!
I love me some mac and cheese, def. going to try this! :)
My mom made something similar from a heart healthy cookbook and it was delish!
And New Moon is AWESOME! It's my fave book of the series and lived up to most of my expectations... Let me know what you think of it!!
I've actually had this before but couldn't find the recipe!!
Funny, call me unamerican but not a huge Mac N' Cheese fan, is theresomething wrong with me??? haha!!
Sounds yummy!! =)
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