Its (finally) turned cold here in DC – which signals my poor body to crave carbs, carbs and more carbs. If only my behind craved them as much as my brain. Luckily, my sous chefs were more than onboard with making some from-scratch cheesey noodly (that’s totally a word, btw) goodness.

This recipe uses mozzerella, parmesan, and whatever italian cheeses you have hanging around your fridge so its a little non-traditional in that area – as well as using vegetable stock in place of milk. Not all the milk mind you – you can’t have mac and cheese without milk, but this helps cut down the fat content a bit.

Using a traditional roux, and a bit of pasta water keeps the sauce thick, and the veggie stock imports a nice bit of flavor.  Read on to see how you too can make some healthy’ish mac and cheese.

Recipe:

• 4 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup flour
• 2 cups mozzerella cheese
• 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 2 cloves of garlic – minced
• 1 lb noodles (I used Rotini, but you can use whichever you want)
• 2 cups veggie stock
• 2 cups milk

Make a roux by melting the butter in the pan and adding the flour. Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium until roux is brown, toasty and a little nutty smelling (do not let it burn). Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 minute. Slowly add in veggie stock and stir to combine. Once stock is incorporated, add milk and bring to almost a boil. Once everything is heated through, begin adding the cheeses until all are melted and sauce has thickened.

While the sauce is cooking, boil the noodles until al dente. Before draining noodles, reserve 1 cup of pasta water.

Mix together noodles and sauce until everything is coated and creamy. Feel free to dig in and eat now – OR – if you want to bake the mac and cheese – add in some pasta water and bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 until brown and bubbly. For added healthy goodness I poured some riced cauliflower in before I baked it but broccoli would work too!

Bon Appetit!