Healthy mac n cheese...

Last Friday was a bit gloomy in the weather department so I decided to make macaroni and cheese for dinner. Of course, my recipe is slightly healthy (but yummy) but you can add extra cheese if you feel it's a bit too low in saturated fat! It's important to use extra sharp cheddar cheese for this dish so you can use less cheese.

Here's the recipe: (Serves 3-4)

1/2 box Barilla Plus Pasta (elbows)....I like this one, it has fiber and omega 3's.
2 cups 1% milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
1 tsp dried mustard powder or ready made hot mustard
sprinkle freshly grated nutmeg
salt and pepper (white pepper if possible)
1 slice stale bread made into crumbs (whole wheat or white)
sliced tomatoes or cooked sliced zucchini (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Cook the pasta for 1 minute less than stated on the box (about 8 minutes).
Drain and set aside.
Heat the milk (minus 1/4 cup) in a saucepan until bubbles form.
Mix the cornstarch with the reserved milk to make a slurry then add to the warmed milk. Stir constantly until thickened.
Then add the mustard or mustard powder, grated nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste to the sauce. Stir to evenly distribute.
Add half the grated cheese to the sauce.
Tip the cooked pasta into the sauce and stir to evenly coat the pasta with sauce, then pour into a shallow oven proof dish.
Whizz the bread in a food processor or blender to make crumbs then mix with the remainder of the cheese and some extra nutmeg and pepper.

To make this extra healthy cook sliced zucchini until golden brown in frying pan with some cooking spray then arrange on top of the mac and cheese before adding the breadcrumb mixture. The tomatoes can be used raw (just pat them with a paper towel to remove extra moisture) in the same way.
Once the breadcrumb mixture is on top of the pasta and sauce place in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the top is golden brown and the cheese melted.

Serve with a green salad on the side.