It’s been, uh, quite a while since I’ve posted anything, so I thought I would give you this tasty little nugget of a recipe.

Almost-Good-For-You Mac and Cheese 

Ingredients
1 small or 1/2 large acorn or butternut squash (I used acorn)
1 lb. pasta shapes, i.e. nuggets, elbows, rotini
2T butter
1ish T flour
2ish cups milk
3ish cups shredded cheese
1t salt
Other spices to taste — I used nutmeg and cayenne and black pepper – tasty!

Instructions
1. Cut squash into large chunks. Place it in a covered ceramic dish and microwave for 15-20 minutes, until squash is thoroughly steamed and is soft. When the squash is cooked, very carefully scoop out the meat into a small bowl.

2. Meanwhile, start your pasta. You know, boil water, salt it, cook that pasta, and whatnot. When it’s done, drain it.

3. Make a roux: Melt the butter in a heavy saucepan. Whisk in flour until you have a nice little paste. Slowly, SLOWLY add in the milk, little bit by bit, until you have a what looks like Elmer’s glue.

4. Add a few good spoonfulls of the roux you just made and then mash the squash with a fork or potato masher. Make sure there aren’t any big chunks, then pour the mashed squash back into your roux. Mix well. Pour your cheese in and mix that up too. (I started with 2 cups, but it wasn’t cheesy enough. Just trust me and go for 3.)

5. Mix in the pasta, and if it has cooled at all, rewarm. You can mix your spices in now too, to taste. You could also bake it if you like that baked mac and cheese style.

This recipe is nice because the squash lends just a little sweetness and texture, but you can still hide it pretty well. It turned out to be a tasty meal!

Eat well, friends.