Hello friends!
Though I believe I’ve mentioned it before, in case you missed it:
I love mac and cheese.
It can be simple Easy Mac in my microwave or Five Cheese Penne from the Barefoot Contessa; no matter what the recipe, Macaroni and Cheese always screams comfort food to me.
Happily enough I’ve been finding wonderful recipes to keep me away from the Blue Box and focused on cooking from scratch, like this Broccoli Chicken Mac & Cheese from Damn Delicious and now this out of sight Roasted Veggie Mac & Cheese from The Comfort of Cooking.
Look at all the vegetables!
Heehee never thought you’d read that sentence on my blog, did you? 
Roasted vegetables are a godsesnd in my book – crisp, healthy veggies baked in my oven with just a splash of oil, I could eat these alone for dinner and be perfectly content.
Well, sort of.
Happy with just roasted veggies, more happy with roasted veggies covered in cheese sauce and surrounded by penne…
Let’s take the “more happy” option for tonight’s dinner, shall we?
This dinner comes together in a flash as long as you can multitask and chop vegetables. If you can chop them quicker than I can (not very hard I might add) you could even possibly have this on the table in under 45 minutes.
Dicing zucchini to the beat of “I Will Wait For You” by Mumford & Sons seems to keep me going at an even pace in case you need help.
Other than dicing veggies, all you need is to boil a big ole’ pot of water for your penne and then, while the veggies are roasting and your penne is bubbling away….
Make a dynamite cheese sauce!
Warning: this is a spicy sauce. I’m not kidding – I think I drank my recommended 8 glasses all in one sitting the first time I had this. It’s always those darn red pepper flakes. If you, like me, can’t handle them, I’d just omit them entirely. The cayenne still brings the heat and you won’t be sweating over your dish.
Oh and did I mention you get to cover everything with breadcrumbs and then bake it again? Make sure you have panko handy – the italian breadcrumbs don’t do the pasta justice here and I bet the former browns much more evenly than the latter.
Who knew Mac & Cheese could be so good for you?
By good for you I mean good for my emotional well-being heehee. We’re coming down to the end of the road here in terms of my days as a college student, and nothing beats stress better than a giant helping of Mac & Cheese.
You know what else is great for stress? Chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate.
Wait, are you confused as to why I’m talking about chocolate?
Right after a giant rant about Mac & Cheese?
Well I guess you’ll have to pop over tomorrow to see what I’ve got ready to share then!
Happy Baking!
Spicy Roasted Veggie Mac & Cheese
Slightly Adapted from The Comfort of Cooking
- 1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
- 1 small red pepper, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- 4-5 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 cups whole wheat pasta (I used penne)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (omit if you don’t want it too spicy!)
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp panko breadcrumbs
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and line a cookie sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray, then toss first four ingredients together onto the cookie sheet (broccoli through the carrots). Meanwhile, set a pot of water to boil for pasta. (Once water is boiling, cook pasta according to package directions, then drain and set aside til ready to use).
- Sprinkle veggies with a little salt and pepper and a small drizzle of olive oil, then roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until veggies have softened. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While water is boiling and veggies are roasting, make your sauce. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium/high heat, then add garlic and cook until fragrant, about half a minutes. Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.Slowly (and carefully!) whisk in milk, stirring constantly until mixture thickens slightly. Reduce heat to low and whisk in shredded cheese until melted. Remove from heat.
- Add pasta to cheese mixture , and stir until well coated. Stir in roasted veggies, followed by salt and pepper to taste if needed.
- Pour pasta mixture into casserole dish, then cover with breadcrumbs.
- Set pasta under broiler for 2-4 minutes or until golden brown.
