Better than the Blue Box!

Where the heck did the weekend go?? Seriously! It feels like just hours ago that I was at Woodfield chatting with Fancy! Oh well… sometimes the uneventful weekends are just what I need to feel refreshed for the week ahead.

Yesterday, Adam and I tried something new… rather than blindly going to Woodmans and seeing what looked good, we did what a lot of people do: we made a list and shopped off that. We planned out 3 dinners for the 3 nights this week that we’re together, and one of those meals will make enough so that Adam can have leftovers after work on Thursday. Planning was oddly kind of difficult! Usually, I’ll see what looks good, or piques my interest (Chavrie gnocchi anyone?) and then cook off of what I have. This was like my “normal” in reverse… but we did well!

Tonight’s planned dinner was something I hadn’t made in a LONG time. In fact, it was THE FIRST recipe I made the FIRST week I cooked for myself while on Weight Watchers: Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes. My friend Meghan gave me the recipe, which originally called for full-fat everything, and said “You can easily lighten this up.” Lighten it up I did, and it was, well… eh. There’s something about the over-processed weirdness of fat free cheddar cheese and the nuttiness of whole wheat pasta that just made for a weird dish. Sure, I ate it, but I didn’t love it.

About a month later, I tried it again, this time with soy cheese. It tasted great… but lets just say it made for some unpleasantness later. The recipe got shoved to the back of my “archives” until I remembered it yesterday. I did some calculating and found that if I used reduced fat 2% cheese instead of weird fat free, and Ronzoni Smart Taste instead of whole wheat, it wouldn’t change the Points® value that much, and I figured it would taste better. I ran the idea past Adam, he seemed willing to try it, so we got the ingredients yesterday.

Now, let me tell you… I’m a HUGE macaroni and cheese fan. HUGE! Give me Kraft, Annie’s, Lean Cuisine, and of course Noodles & Company mac and cheese, and I’m a happy camper. Not that I don’t appreciate the great stuff that my coworkers make, or the gourmet stuff I had at a fancy restaurant, but really? Noodles and cheese are just a great combo. This recipe is NO EXCEPTION! It was super satisfying, and had the creaminess that many of the low-fat macaroni and cheese recipes lack.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese with Roasted Tomatoes

(originally from Allrecipes.com)

8 servings,  7-Points®  each, as calculated by the WW Recipe Builder

Ingredients

1 box Ronzoni Smart Taste pasta, cooked and kept hot

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1 12-oz. can fat free evaporated milk

2 c. shredded 2% milk cheddar cheese

1 egg

1/4 c. panko bread crumbs

2 tsp. olive oil

1/8 tsp (or more) cayenne pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425°. Place the halved tomatoes in a shallow pan, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven until lightly browned, about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, stir the evaporated milk and cheese into the hot pasta in a pot over low heat. Stir constantly until the cheese is melted and the milk is reduced and thickened a bit. Crack the egg into the pot and stir until the sauce is thickened farther further even more. Add the cayenne, and more salt and pepper, and then remove the tomatoes from the oven. Stir the tomatoes into the macaroni, serve, top with panko, and enjoy!

Both Adam and I were quite thrilled with the results of the recipe makeover (from way caloric to pretty gross to super-delicious) and each had 2 bowls… and there’s still leftovers! I swear, I can’t cook for a small group.

To officially end the weekend, and get my week off to a good start, the amazing Rose at On A Lobster Placemat tagged me in the “Survey of 8s” so I’ll leave you with that today. Make sure to read to the end… you might be tagged next!

8 Things I’m Looking Forward To:

1. OUR WEDDING!!!!!
2. Camp starting in approximately 40 days
3. many of my close friends having babies
4. Farmers markets opening
5. Warm weather EVERY day
6. Cubs Games!
7. The end of the school year
8. eating dinner outside

8 Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Had lunch with Kristin
2. Got my nails done

3. ate entirely too much
4. got a cute top at Anthropologie (still a big deal for me!)
5. grocery shopped
6. cleaned a bit
7. bought some stuff to send to another blogger

8. Obsessively checked blog stats

8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Have a classroom with windows
2. get over my fear of the dentist

3. have a “normal” attitude about food
4. keep my house and desk organized
5. lose the rest of my weight that I need to lose to be healthy
6. win the lottery
7. sleep as much as I need every night
8. Be in multiple places at once (sorry Rose, I stole that one!)

8 Shows I Watch:

1. Grey’s Anatomy
2. Private Practice
3. Top Chef
4. ANTM (guilty pleasure)
5. Big Bang Theory
6. House
7. The Office
8. United States of Tara

8 People I Tag: (Hope these aren’t repeats!)

1. Healthy Twists
2. BranAppettit
3. Run Live and Enjoy
4. French Fries to Flax Seeds
5. Kristas Kravings
6. Hey, What’s For Dinner Mom?
7. Tales of Expansion
8. Raspberry Runner

So that’s me… in a nutshell. Wait, this is a very big nutshell! How do I get out of this nutshell? (anyone? anyone?) That was fun! Thanks Rose!

I’m starting a new feature hopefully tomorrow, (right Matt?) called “Guests for Dinner” where fellow bloggers and/or readers can send me pictures and recipes about what’s for dinner at their house! Did you make a particularly good dish or take an amazing photo? Send them my way at mara@imadedinner.net!

Off to relax… have a great night and a great Monday!

Tagged as: pasta, simple recipe, vegetarian