Baked Mac & Cheese

T-Minus 9 months.  That is the time I have left to whip my booty back into shape for Ann’s Wedding.  Actually, in exactly 9 months I will probably be suffering through hangover as it will be the day after Ann and Matt’s wedding, but I digress.  While I was at home for the holidays I had one of those moments when everything clicked.  I knew I was going to be stress free from work for almost two weeks and I would have zero excuses to not work out.  Libby was heading back to her family for Christmas so she left her dog Moxley in our care, making him a great buddy to kick-start my workouts and go for long power walk/jog.  Despite getting caught in a down pour and pretty cold temps, Mox and I had a great time.  I am proud to say that I have kept up my workouts even after returning to reality (aka work). 

In addition to this I have started making smarter choices in what I am eating.  I don’t completely cut a certain food out of my diet; rather I cut back on the amount or try to make a healthier version.   This brings me to my post today…baked mac and cheese.  It is a favorite comfort food of everyone but isn’t the most nutritional of options.  However, Cooking Light does a great job in creating healthier options of your favorite foods.  I thought I would try out my new  Le Creuset baking dish, courtesy of my dad, and give this recipe a try.  One thing I didn't realize when I started was that I needed a food processor.  It didn’t make a huge problem, but I would recommend having one to make this recipe.   Overall, I really liked the mac and cheese.  It has a good amount of cottage cheese in the recipe which made it slightly tangy, but hey, I love cottage cheese, so that didn't bother me.  It is a great healthy twist on a classic. Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

3 cups (12 ounces) uncooked penne (tube-shaped pasta)

1 (12-ounce) carton 2% low-fat cottage cheese 

1/2 cup (2 ounces) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese 

1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese, divided

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) 

1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°.

2. Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; place in a large bowl.

3. Place cottage cheese in a food processor; process until smooth. Combine cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Add the cheese mixture to pasta, and stir well. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray.

4. Combine remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan, panko, and parsley in a small bowl. Sprinkle evenly over pasta mixture. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes.

5. Preheat broiler (do not remove dish from the oven).

6. Broil pasta 1 minute or until top browns.

Recipe Source: Cooking Light

Picture Source: Cooking Light & Lindsay Klindt