The most delicious, low-cal mac and cheese ever!

Yes, I am likely the only person not watching the Oscars.  I would much rather tell you guys about this phenomenal macaroni and cheese that I made for dinner last night!  But before we begin, let me explain how this delicious dish came to be.

Mike and I have recently realized how amazing public libraries have become.  We have been stalking our local library for the past month or two: he scours the CD selection and I scour the cookbooks.  No lie, I have about 10 cook books checked out right now.  I have read them all. OK, except for Paula Deen's Southern Bible-- but that, I've decided I'm just gonna buy.  So that's ok.

The reason it even occurred to me to look at cookbooks at the library was because I was so curious about this one by Rocco Dispirito, who has transformed classic American comfort food (150 of these dishes!) into <350 meals.  I know.  Amazing, right?  Mike bought me his new Now eat this: Italian book for Christmas, and that compliation is lovely.  So I wanted to explore this book.  It took me a few weeks, but I finally got my grubby paws on it.

So yes. This book has what I think will be some real winners.  Enough that I might even consider buying it.  But as I was reading through it and marking the pages with sticky notes (and drooling), there was one recipe that I knew would have to be made first.  Mac and cheese.   His recipe had hints of our favorite mac-and-cheese ever, recipe given to us by a dear family friend (Hi, Mrs. V!).  The only problem is that mac and cheese, while stop-you-in-your-tracks, kick-yo'-mama delicious, is all full-fat, rich, decadent, creamy, everything.  So it is definitely a special occasion dish.  Albany friends, this is the mac we made for our Christmas party.  It is that good.  But Rocco's recipe had nods to that all-star recipe, especially with the dry mustard, which got me intrigued.  The greek yogurt sounds sort of funny, but it is so so wonderful.  It adds the most pleasant tang which really plays off the sharpness of the cheese.  And despite the lack of a roux (the butter or oil and flour mixture traditionally used to thicken the cheese sauce in mac & cheese), it is thick and creamy and wonderful.  My mind is already swelling with pasta-bilities (haha-- mac and cheese, right?) of things we could do to this dish: add rotel, change up the cheese and add broccoli, hell-- maybe even get real wild and think of something totally new!  One thing is for sure-- next time we will be doubling this recipe.

So yes, long story well.. long, we whipped it up.  It's a little prep-intensive with the onion-garlic puree.  But, I assure you, it is WORTH all of the dishes.  It is worth puppy-facing your husband to grate all the cheese.  Mike quickly declared it his favorite mac and cheese ever (yes, ever), trumping right over our more traditional standby.  And, on top of that, if I served this to you, you would never know it's low-cal.  Everything about it is perfect!

Macaroni & Cheese with a Crusty Crunch

(Rocco's title, not mine.  I would call it "Kick you in your pants and knock you over mac & cheese.)

Serves: 4

 

• Nonstick spray
• 4 oz. whole wheat elbow macaroni
• 1/2 c. onion garlic puree (recipe to follow)
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard (Do not omit, even if you aren't mustard fans-- neither are we!)
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 8 oz 50% reduced fat cheddar (we used Cabot)
• 1/3 c. nonfat greek yogurt (we used Oikos)
• s&p
• 1/4 c. whole wheat breadcrumbs or panko
• 1/4 c. grated parmigano reggiano cheese

 

Onion Garlic Puree (makes 1 cup)

•  1 large vidalia onion, roughly chopped
• 9 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 c. water
• s&p

1. Combine onion, garlic and water in a microwave-safe bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 10 minutes.
2. Pour the mixture into a food processor or blender (we used our mini food processor) until it is completely smooth.  Store in covered container in the fridge for up to 72 hours.

*note: when I did this, I made a half batch with one medium sized onion and 4 cloves of garlic, cooking for 7 minutes.  If I were you, I'd make the full recipe of the puree and double the mac and cheese recipe :)

 

Mac & Cheese

1. Preheat oven to 425.  Spray 8x8 inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. Bring large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add elbows and cook according to package directions; drain.
3. While the pasta is cooking, bring the onion-garlic puree, mustard and cayenne to a simmer in a small sauce pan over medium heat, stirring often.  Whisk in the cheddar (grated) until it has melted.  Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the yogurt.
4. In a medium bowl (or pasta pot), toss the cooked elbows with the cheese sauce to coat thoroughly.  Season with s&p to taste.  Pour the macaroni into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs/panko and parmigano over the top.
5. Bake until cheese has melted and the macaroni is hot throughout, about 10 minutes.  Serve immediately.

And if you don't believe me about being low-cal, check this out.

For each serving (4):

Calories 227

Fat 6.5 g

Carb 29

Fiber 3

Protein 16

 

You cannot ask for anything more from mac and cheese.  It is heavenly!  But please don't take my word for it.  Make it for dinner for yourself!  And let me know if you think it's wonderful, too!