Last night when I was gathering supplies to make macaroni and cheese, I seriously considered using egg nog in place of the milk. I managed to convince myself that was a horrible idea, but the combination of almond milk, acorn squash puree and white cheddar came out tasting a little like egg nog anyway. In a good way. I decided to go with it and add nutmeg. That seems to be a common spice in mac and cheese but usually I use mustard instead.
My daughter claimed she didn’t like this after hearing there was squash in it. She ate it anyway, so it obviously wasn’t too bad. She requested kale to go with it, which I sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper. She ate that all up and each bite she exclaiming, “Mmmm!”
Acorn Squash Macaroni and Cheese
1 package of penne pasta
2 cups grated white cheddar
1 cup almond milk
2 T butter
1 1/2 cups acorn squash puree
1 t nutmeg
salt and pepper too taste
Preheat oven to 350.
Cook the pasta to slightly less then al dente. Drain pasta and put in in an oiled 9×13 casserole dish.
Melt butter in saucepan on medium low. Add squash and milk and stir until they are combined. Add cheese in small batches and stir until melted. Stir spices in. The sauce should be thick and creamy. Pour on top of pasta.
At this point, if you prefer creamy non baked mac and cheese, you can serve it. I like it baked, so I pop it in the oven for 20-30 minutes, depending how patient I am. I usually sprinkle grated cheese on top before I bake it, but I didn’t feel like grating more cheese last night.
