WOW guys. WOW.
Drooling yet??
For the big game this past weekend, I was looking for a something a little different to take to the family party… Something a little healthified but that still packed a little somethin somethin. During my search, I stumbled upon the the Mac and Cheese Light recipe from the September 2010 Cooking Lite, and it looked like the perfect fit! You can never have too much cheese on super bowl Sunday, I always say.
What really drew me to this particular recipe was that it started off with the “secret weapon” – a puree consisting of one whole LARGE onion and 9 cloves of garlic.
Hello lover.
Clearly this was destiny.
First up, I put a big ole pot of water on the stove to boil, then tossed a large Vidalia onion and 9 cloves roughly chopped garlic into a bowl with 1/2 cup water.
I covered this guy with plastic wrap and nuked in the microwaved for 10 minutes. Prepare to smell like onions and garlic for the remainder of the day. Don’t worry. I won’t judge you.
After 10 minutes, you dump this onion garlic goodness out into a blender and pulse until smooth. It should look like grits, ya’ll:
By now the water should be boiling, so drop in 8 Ounces Barilla Plus Elbow Macaroni and cook until al dente.
Meanwhile season up you onion garlic puree with:
- 1 tsp dried mustard
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- Salt and pepper to taste (I used A LOT)
Once the pasta is done, drain and set aside. Then heat your onion garlic puree up in a pot (large enough to hold the sauce and the pasta), and once hot and bubbly slowly whisk in 2 cups shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese.
It should be gloriously thick.
Once the cheese is all melted in, take it off the heat and whisk in 2/3 cup fat free plain greek yogurt, then add in the cooked pasta. Once everything is combined, pour the mac and cheese into a casserole dish greased with cooking spray.
Sprinkle the top with
- 1/2 cup whole wheat panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Sprinkling of dried parsley
Baked at 425 for 15 minutes:
Cheesy deliciousness:
Just to balance things out, I also made a big arse salad for the game:
No joke. Big. Arse.
Of course I finangled one serving of the mac and cheese to take home with me after the game, and I decided to spice it up a bit for dinner tonight.
I LIBERALLY seasoned up 4 jumbo shrimp with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper and sautéed them up on a pan:
I also roasted up some broccoli that I had liberally seasoned with S&P … and I also microwaved the mac and cheese. Don’t judge.
VOILA!
That is a seriously grown up healthified mac and cheese masterpiece!!!
I havent had roasted broccoli in months!! I practically lived off of roasted veggies last summer, and I had somehow forgotten how friggin delicious they are!
The mac and cheese by itself was a little too mild for my tastes – so, at the super bowl party I topped it off with some Frank’s Red hot. But for tonight’s dinner this spicy cayenne shrimp added plenty of kick:
Can’t get over how delicious!
Get in my beeeeeeeeeeeelllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stats on 1 serving mac and cheese (no shrimp): 275 calories, 30g carbs, 10g fat, 17g protein, 3g fiber
Stats on 1 serving mac and cheese WITH shrimp: 322 calories, 30g carbs, 11g fat, 26g protein, 3g fiber
Mac & Cheese Ingredients List (serves 8 )
- 1 large Vidalia onion
- 9 cloves roughly chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup water
- 8 Ounces Barilla Plus Elbow Macaroni
- 1 tsp dried mustard
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups reduced fat cheddar
- 2/3 cup fat free Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Sprinkling of dried parsley
15 Comments
mmmm! i was drooling at the title…before i even saw the pics.
Wow love the idea of making mac and cheese with that much onion and garlic!
I’m definitely going to give this mac n cheese a try! I don’t know that it’ll usurp my favorite Alton Brown recipe, but it definitely seems delicious!
You should seriously consider starting a cookbook besides just the blog. I know I’d buy it in a heartbeat! ALL of these receipes are so delicious. Just wish I had the time to go through and cook all of them. Baked brocolli is my FAV and I would haven ever even thought of it if not for Fervent Foodie!
You know, my mom says the same thing… I’m not a recipe creator though. I’m more of a recipe-tryer-outer and tweaker!
This looks incredible! SO yummy! I think I need to make that mac&cheese!
AGH! That looks so freakin unbelievable!! I love the addition of shrimp and that gooey cheese is way seducing me.
OMG – that onion puree made my die! That is the best idea ever I dont know why i never though of it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I AGREE! I need to find other uses for this concoction!
The mac n cheese was sooo good! Practically licked my bowl yesterday 🙂
I love mac and cheese! Looks delicious 😀
Yes, I am drooling BIG TIME!!! Send me a bite! 🙂
OMG! That looks so good, I’m scratching and sniffing the library’s computer screen right now!!!
what a great combo of shrimp & mac and cheese! must try that soon!
love your blog, come check out mine if you haven’t 🙂