#RecipeFriday - Light Mac N' Cheese

Whew, today's and yesterday's morning runs were a nice kick in the pace.

(24:57) Thursday's run

I used this morning's run to count as my first run in the virtual run series for #13in2013 (there is also a cute pink button on the right) hosted by Jill Conyers and Marathon Mom.

I kept my mileage pretty low this week since I have the Rock N Roll half marathon coming up on Sunday. I'm pretty excited about it, but have been flip flopping on how to approach it. As much as I'd love to run with Tori and Meghan for Tori's sub-2 goal, it may be a bit of a push in the not so smart direction if I hung with them for the whole race or even if I pushed myself for another PR. I'm cray cray.

Two 13.1 runs within 8 days and racing both... hmmm... so what are your thoughts, runners?

------------

I'm joining Kierston over at CandyFit for her #RecipeFriday!

For super bowl I decided to bring a Mac N' Cheese bake to the party. We were expecting around 20 people to attend, so I needed to make a pretty good sized dish. I searched around the internet for a recipe that incorporated greek yogurt. I wanted the dish to be a little lighter, considering that most of the spread would be artery clogging dips and ribs and cakes.

I ended up finding this recipe, but tailored it a little to what I had on hand.

Ingredients: (To be able to feed 20 people I doubled the below ingredients and used a lasangna size pan) but this is more than enough for 2-4.

• 8 oz macaroni
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 very small diced onion
• 1 small red bell pepper diced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup butter room temperature
• 1  cup of skim milk (warmed)
• 1 cup Chobani plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp of red cayenne pepper
• 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• generous sprinkling of panko bread crumbs

1. Cook the macaroni in salted water for about 4 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water, and set aside.

2. In a medium high heat skillet - add the 1 tblsp of e.v.o.o and sautee the onions and bell pepper until soft.  Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a small casserole pan (8x8").




4. In a medium to large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour, stir to combine, and continue to cook for 2 minutes. (Wuhoo we are making REAL cheese sauce!)

Tip: It may seem like you are making A LOT of sauce for a small dish, but don't be fooled. During the baking the sauce will soak into the noodles. I actually wish I had made more of the sauce to make the texture a little more creamy.

5. Whisk in warm milk and 1/2 cup of Chobani greek yogurt Don't stop whisking! It needs to be a smooth mixture.

6. Add the 1/4tsp of nutmeg. (If you really like nutmeg you can add a little more if you like)


Have you seen anything so glorious?



7. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and remove from heat. Add the remaining Chobani greek yogurt .Stir in 1 1/2 cups of the grated cheddar cheese and add the red cayenne pepper.

8. Combine macaroni, onion+pepper mix, and the cheese sauce and transfer to greased dish.

9. Bake for 30 minutes.

10. In a dry bowl, lightly combine the remaining grated cheese, a generous amount of panko bread crumbs, and feta cheese. At the end of the 30 minutes, add this topping to the macncheese bake and put back in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the top is golden brown and slightly bubbly.

I loved this recipe even though it required just a little more arm work and prep than most mac n'cheese(out of a box). I did think that it needed a little salt, even after all that cheese. A quick sprinkle and it was perfect.

One of the guys at the party brought a delicious buffalo chicken dip. We accidentally mixed some of the mac n' cheese with the dip and I was pretty much over the moon.

BUFFALO CHICKEN MAC N' CHEESE.

I'm thinking this needs to become a dish in it's own.

The entire pan was gone by the end of the evening, leaving me just a little sad that there were no leftovers. But that is a sign that everyone enjoyed it!

 

No one had a clue that this was a lightened up version nor could they taste the greek yogurt. Even a couple of people who pulled up their noses at the mention of greek yogurt went back for seconds. ;)

I also happened to get a belated birthday/Christmas gift from the host/one of my best friends at the SB party. Totally acceptable since she was planning a wedding for Jan 4. I've had it for almost a week now and have used it at least 5 times. I plan on picking up lots of fruits and veggies at the grocery and giving the juicer attachment a try this next week!

Do you ever run back to back weekend races?

Have you ever made a "light" version of a normal indulgent food without telling anyone? Did they notice?