Healthier, Yummy Mac n Cheese!

Who doesn't love Mac n Cheese? Comfort food at its best! But, man, the calories just get you :(

I've recently been craving the comfort of creamy, cheesy mac n cheese but, being very much conscious of all my recent weight gain (~sigh!), I wanted a healthier version with lower calories. I saw a few recipes, and came across a few suggestions like use only 1/3 of the pasta or reduce the cheese and that's definitely not going to do it. I saw these couple of recipes where they used butternut squash instead and that definitely made sense. So, here goes... my experiment with a healthier version of an old favorite!

Ingredients:
Whole wheat elbow pasta: 2 cups
Cubed butternut squash: 2 cups
Broccoli florets: 1 cup
Part skim, shredded mozzarella: 1 cup
Whole wheat bread crumbs: 3 tbsp
Paprika: 1-2 tsps
Salt: to taste

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 F
2. Bring water to a boil in a big saucepan. Add salt.  Add the butternut squash and boil for 5-10 minutes until the squash is tender. 
3. Transfer the squash to a blender and add broccoli to the same water to boil for 5 minutes until tender. 
4. Blend the squash until you get a smooth, creamy puree. Add half the cheese to it and blend once more. 
5. Bring water to a boil in a big saucepan. Add salt.  Add the pasta and boil for 5-10 minutes until it is al dente. Drain and set aside.
6. Mix everything in a big bowl and add the rest of the cheese, salt, and paprika. 
7. Transfer to a oven safe casserole dish and top with bread crumbs. 
8. Bake for about 20 minutes until the crumbs have browned. 

Your dish is ready to be served!

Pasta with Tomato/Red Wine Sauce

I've been meaning to use wine in cooking for a while now, but never got around to it. But, a recent post by someone I know inspired me to finally do it... This recipe is actually my husband's creation, he is a budding chef himself :)

Ingredients:
Carrots - sliced into 1 inch rounds
Tomatoes - 3 or 4, diced
Basil flavored Olive Oil
Onions - 1/4
Spring Onions - 2 stalks
Garlic - minced
Oregano
Bordeaux Red Wine - 6 oz
Juice of 1 lemon

Method:

1. Cook the pasta according to directions, drain and set aside. 
2. Heat a pan and add the basil flavored olive oil
3. Once the oil is hot, add chopped onions and garlic and saute until onions have carmelized
4. Add carrots and spread them across the pan. Cover and sweat.
5. Add 1 oz of red wine to the pan and cover the pan once more
6. After about 3-5 minutes, once carrots are tender, add chopped tomato to the pan. Add 1/2 of the remaining red wine and cover the pan. 
7. Once the sauce starts to simmer, add the rest of the wine and continue to cook the sauce in the covered pan until the wine evaporates and the sauce thickens.
8. Add the cooked pasta to the sauce, toss and make sure it is evenly coated. 

Yummy pasta with red wine sauce is ready to serve!

It's not a great picture, but here's what it looked like - tasted great!