the review: butternut squash mac and cheese

We were scheduled to have mac and cheese tonight. The morning’s snow changed that plan. Comfort food on a snowy day? Yes, please.

I’ve made this recipe several times and it is always a winner. Tonight, I made two batches, one with bacon and regular pasta, and another with brown rice pasta and no meat. The nice thing about this recipe is that the squash cooks in the milk, which thickens the milk. This mixture is then further thickened with a little milk-flour mixture (except in the gluten-free version). The cheese is added and everything is tossed together to bake. There is no béchamel to make, nothing technical to do.

I cheat on a few things. I cook my bacon in the microwave to get rid of some of the fat, and cook my onion in a small amount of olive oil. The recipe calls for two medium onions, but I have found that one large onion is plenty. This is a very flexible recipe. Increase the pasta, cheese, and milk a little bit and you’ve got leftovers for lunches. This also freezes pretty well. Don’t skimp on the salt and pepper. Nutmeg is also a nice touch. And don’t bother with making breadcrumbs. Premade breadcrumbs will do just fine. Overall, this is great comfort food for a cold night.