Baked Macaroni with Cheese
- Cuisine: American;
- Category: Side Dish;
- Serves: 4 to 6;
- Prep Time:15 min;
- Cook time:45 min;
- Nutrition Per Serving: 395;
Ingredients:
- 2 cups macaroni
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup low-fat cottage cheese, optional
- 2 cups shredded cheese
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 package fresh or frozen spinach, optional
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1 3/4 cups low-fat milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3 tablespoons plain dry breadcrumbs, optional
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 450°F.
In a small bowl whisk 1/4 cup milk and 3 tablespoons of flour until smooth. Heat 1 1/2 cups milk in a saucepan until steaming, add your milk-and-flour mixture to it and cook, whisking it, about 3 minutes or until it simmers and thickens. Turn off the heat, stir in cheese and cottage cheese until melted. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to your sauce.
Place a pot of water on to boil and cook macaroni for 4 minutes. Drain well, add to your sauce and mix well.
Coat an 8-inch-square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Spread half the macaroni mixture, place the spinach on top, and then spread the remaining macaroni. Mix paprika, olive oil, and breadcrumbs in a small bowl, and sprinkle your macaroni with this mixture.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bubbly and golden.
