Healthy Mac and Cheese

For tonight's dinner I decided to try a healthy, and gluten free, spin on a comfort food favorite, macaroni and cheese. I used gluten free rice shells for the pasta and created a lower fat and calorie cheese sauce utilizing cottage cheese as the base. For added flavor and color I included fresh vegetables in the mix. The result was a delicious yet light dish that I will definitely make again!




Ingredients:

16 oz brown rice pasta shells ( I used tinkyada brand)
1.5 cups 2% cottage cheese
1/4'' slice of 2% velveeta
1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1-1.5 cups broccoli florets
1-1.5 cups cauliflower florets
1 cup cherry tomatoes
3/4 cup sliced mushrooms
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Bring water to boil and boil pasta for 12-15 minutes, then drain and rinse the pasta and set it aside.

2. In a food processor, combine the cottage cheese, velveeta, parmesan cheese, and coconut milk and blend until a smooth, creamy consistency is attained. *You can adjust the amount of coconut milk to make the sauce thicker or thinner as desired

3. Combine the pasta and cheese sauce in a large bowl and stir together. Add desired pepper and salt to taste (I used ~ 2 tsp pepper and 1 tsp salt)

4) Place the broccoli, cauliflower, and mushrooms in a large skillet with 1T olive oil. Cover the vegetables and allow to cook over medium heat just long enough to soften them (~10 minutes). During the last 5 minutes, add the cherry tomatoes

5) Add the vegetables to the pasta and stir well to coat with the cheese sauce.

Enjoy!

-Brought to you from Lindsay's Kitchen

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