Deceptively Delicious Macaroni & Cheese

The next recipe I wanted to try out from my Deceptively Delicious cookbook is Macaroni & Cheese - my daughter's favorite. There were actually 2 Mac & Cheese recipes in the cookbook - one made out of either butternut squash or cauliflower puree and the other one out of beans. I still had some pumpkin puree, so I decided to use the butternut squash/cauliflower recipe.

My daughter loved this one. You can't even tell that there's a vegetable in this dish. Hubby and I had this for dinner as well, and it was deliciously cheesy. I will probably try making this with my own Mac & Cheese recipe by adding the pureed vegetable, because the concept is similar to my recipe.

1 1/2 cups elbow macaroni (or any pasta you like)

nonstick cooking spray

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

1/2 cup nonfat milk

1/2 cup butternut squash or cauliflower puree (I used pumpkin puree)

1 1/2 cups shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese

1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1) Cook pasta according to directions and cook until al dente. Drain.

2) Coat large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. Add oil, then flour, and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture resembles a thick paste but has not browned, 1 to 2 minutes.

3) Whisk in mil and cook, stirring occasionally until the mixture begins to thicken, 3 to 4 minutes. Add vegetable puree, cheeses, and seasonings, and stir until the cheese is melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in the macaroni and serve warm.

(Note: you can also place this in a baking dish and top with bread crumbs, then bake at 345 deg F for 30 minutes if you liked the baked version of Mac & Cheese).