Greek Macaroni-n-Cheese (And A Giveaway!) (CLOSED)
BlogHer recently contacted me with a mission--redo a classic recipe using Country Crock, but ramp up the vegetables so that the recipe meets the USDA recommendations for vegetables to take up half of your plate.
Now THAT is my kind of mission. I've spent the majority of the summer reveling in the joy that is the farmers market. We've been enjoying tons and tons of fresh eggplant, spinach, onions, zucchini . . . you name it. We're all about the vegetables these days.
The whole Vegetable-palooza was exactly why I hadn't made macaroni-n-cheese from scratch recently. As much as I love making it and as much as everyone loves eating it, the whole pasta-with-cheese thing wasn't really cutting it as a balanced meal. If there is one thing macaroni-n-cheese needs, it's vegetables.
Hello, Use More Veggies Mission! Meet my friend macaroni-n-cheese!
Of course, I couldn't just throw some broccoli in my standard macaroni-n-cheese recipe. That wouldn't be any fun. Instead, I decided to try making a Greek-influenced macaroni-n-cheese.
You guys.
YOU GUYS.
This stuff turned out AMAZING. It's packed with veggies and perfectly balanced with the right cheeses and OMG. SOOOO GOOD. My husband even admitted that it might be the best thing I've ever made up. I might be willing to admit that he was right.
It's a multi-step process, and worth every second of the effort. You'll make the macaroni, sauté the vegetables, and make the cheese sauce. Then you'll throw it all together and put it in the oven for a bit. I made enough to serve 6, which means we'll be reheating it for leftovers later in the week. You gotta love a dinner that gives twice.
Greek Macaroni-n-Cheese
For the pasta and vegetables you'll need:
2 cups macaroni
1 tablespoon Country Crock
1 small red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound spinach
1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
1 2.25 oz can sliced black olives
1 can quartered artichoke hearts
1/2 cup Feta cheese
Optional: sundried tomatoes
For the cheese sauce you'll need:
2 tablespoons Country Crock
1 teaspoon flour
2 cups nonfat milk
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1 cup shredded Provolone cheese
Start by cooking the macaroni according to the instructions on the box.
While you're waiting for your water to boil, melt 1 tablespoon of Country Crock in a skillet over medium heat. Add the red pepper, onion, and garlic and sauté until softened. Toss the spinach on top. Don't worry if it doesn't fit at first. The spinach will shrink. A LOT.
Stir occasionally until the spinach is sautéd. Add the tomatoes, olives, artichoke hearts, and sundried tomatoes (if you're using them). (I couldn't not use sundried tomatoes. They make my husband a very happy man.)
So much good stuff going on there.
By the time your veggies are sautéd, your macaroni is probably done. Drain it and then toss it in your skillet with the veggies. Stir it all up and set it aside while you make your cheese sauce.
Now for the sauce. Melt your 2 tablespoons of Country Crock in a saucepan (I used the same pan I used to cook the macaroni--I just wiped it dry with a towel) over medium heat. Slowly add the flour while stirring constantly with a whisk. Then slowly add the milk, all the while still stirring and stirring with that whisk.
Allow the milk and Country Crock concoction to gently boil until it begins to thicken slightly (about 5 minutes), stirring constantly. Then begin slowly adding your shredded Asiago and Provolone. Keep stirring with that whisk and you'll end up with a creamy cheese sauce.
It doesn't photograph well, but it tastes AMAZING.
Put your pasta with veggies in an oven safe dish then pour the cheese sauce over the top. Add a little bit of shredded Provolone or Asiago to the top if you want, but definitely be sure to add your feta to the top.
In a perfect world, the whole dish would go in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. I don't live in a perfect world, though, so I cheat. I turn the broiler on high and cook it until the cheese just starts to brown on top.
Nobody in my house has the patience to wait for anything to bake more than five minutes. It just is, so I use the broiler a lot. It seems to do the trick just fine.
What you end up with is a macaroni-n-cheese that tastes AMAZING and has a ton of vegetables in it.
And, as she said, "It's so yummy!"
Wait! There's more! Tell me what you think about this recipe, and you can win a $100.00 gift certificate from Cooking.com!
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Recipe
Reader Comments (341)
The dish looks so yummy. I like the amount of vegetables, and the green and red looks so appetizing, drool.
songyueyu at gmail
tweet: https://twitter.com/#!/syytta/status/117016548933255168
songyueyu at gmail
This is a new spin on macaroni and cheese, I'm going to have to try it out! Just like you have to broil I think that it will make a meal so much easier! Thanks for the blog post and delicious looking recipe! =)
i think your husband is right -looks delish and healthy
That. Looks. Ah-freakin-mazing.
I printed this recipe to try. I don't care for olives so I hope it turns out asgood as yours looks!
Patti
i like the recipe but would omit the peppers, onions and the black olives. Would love to know a great sub for these items.
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/ChelleB36/status/117646726122307584
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
It sounds really yummy! Feta, olives and asiago? What's not to love?
Throw feta cheese on anything and I'm game to try it! That looks soooo good.
This does look yummy! Do you see a difference using "good" cheese vs. bagged generic cheese?
Seriously?! I'm making this tomorrow. Looks amazing!
OMG....my fav combination (except for the olives). I know....I guess I'll never be greek cause I detest olives :p
This sounds delicious. My husband would love it.
Tweet.
http://twitter.com/#!/mgoss123/status/118010801868111872
Yum! Gotta try this. I think my girls and husband would love it!
This looks delicious, and could be easily adapted for a gluten free version. I would use Tinkyada rice pasta, and thicken the cheese sauce with a bit of cornstarch rather than flour....might up the garlic, too, but that's just my taste.
I would love this. If only my hubby could have dairy...... Bummer for me.
This looks totally yummy! I think I'll have to give it a try.
IT SOUNDS REALLY GOOD, BUT I'D LEAVE OUT THE OLIVES
nannypanpan at gmail.com
It sounds AND looks delicious. I will definitely try this since I love mac and cheese in general! :)
tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/DeeGee13/status/118552684449103872
This looks so yummy!
It looks really yummy! I definitely will be trying this recipe.
I love it, i just love macaroni and cheese.
This is worth, what, all of my ww points for a day.... But it looks SO SO WORTH it! Can't wait to try this one.
I think this recipe sounds amazing and full of flavor! I will say that I would probably use the sun-dried tomatoes in place of the fresh, kill the olives for my hubby and the artichoke for me...but other than that...yummers...LOL (sorry...uber picky eaters here).
sorry if you get a bunch of these, but my comment is not showing up....I tweeted here:www.twitter.com/#!/FotoMacro/status/119424230348697601
I am a huge carnivore, but this looks so delicious I don't even think I would miss the meat! I just mightmake it this weekend!
i am definately gonna try this. I am going with Megrcam idea of whole wheat pasta
Blog http://sodahoney.blogspot.com/2011/09/country-crock-makes-veggies-more.html
I know this is going to be absolutely delicious. I can't wait to try. It has all the veggies we love. Thanks!!
I tweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/Allhoneyhere/status/119590716753182721
Wow, I just love this colorful, healthy version of mac and cheese! This is like mac and cheese for date night or celebrating the weekend night or just a great reason to enjoy mac and cheese. :-D creedamy [at] yahoo[dot] com
This looks like a tasty recipe for vegetarians.
(http://twitter.com/#!/LuckyDuckyToo/status/119867308129787904)
tweeted
Love this! I'm totally making it this weekend :)
I am looking for recipes and this looks delicious. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I tweeted http://twitter.com/#!/rsmstahley/status/120278211618799616
That looks awesome! I don't know if I would ever manage to have all those different ingredients on hand at the same time, but I think I'm going to try.
This recipe looks amazing! I want to try it asap!