Healthier Homemade Mac and Cheese

At Sissy's request, I tried to "healthify" Mac and Cheese.  I love me some ooey cheesy goodness, so getting it healthier means I can have it more often!

Rachel Ray had done a segment on her show.. last year maybe? and had put squash in mac and cheese to get kids to eat veggies. So I thought I'd try that too.

I used Betty Crocker's recipe for macaroni and cheese from an old cookbook of hers.

Macaroni and Cheese from Betty Crocker's Cookbook, 40th Anniversary Edition (1991)

2 cups uncooked pasta ( I would change to using a whole pound of pasta)
2 Tbsp margarine or butter ( I used 1 Tbsp olive oil, and 1 Tbsp margarine)
1/4 c chopped onion
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups milk ( I used skim)
8 oz shredded cheese ( I used 2% cheddar)

Plus I added:
4 oz grated mozzarella blend (leftover)
10 oz packaged cooked squash, thawed (Not in Betty's)


Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions. Melt the margarine in a saucepan ( use a saucepan, this is what you make the cheese sauce in!) over not too high heat (medium at best!) Cook the onion until soft.  Add flour, salt , and pepper. Cook until bubbly and looks like this:

 Remove from heat, stir in milk. Return to heat and stir constantly until boiling. Keep stirring and boiling for about a minute, it will thicken up. Take it back off the heat, and stir in the cheese and squash.  Add the macaroni and stir it all together.

Pour into an ungreased casserole and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes or until bubbly. Enjoy!
I added about 12 oz of cheese in total. The squash flavor was still pretty apparent. I'd recommend half the squash next time, or double everything else. 

Overall, it was very cheesy and creamy, and very filling. I ate this with some roasted veggies and didn't miss meat at all!