Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese

From Food Network Kitchens

Rated: 3 stars out of 5Rate itRead users' reviews (10)

RECIPE
COMMENTS & REVIEWS(10)

Cook Time:
20 min
Level:
Easy
Yield:
4 servings

Times:

Prep: 8 min
Inactive Prep: --
Cook: 20 min
Total:: 28 min

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Ingredients

1/2 pound dry elbow macaroni, (2 cups)
1 cup skim milk
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 cups low-fat cheddar cheese, grated (about 8 ounces)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 to 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly grated nutmeg
Cayenne pepper
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Bring a large pot of cold water to a boil and salt it generously. Add the noodles, and cook, stirring occasionally, until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Mix about 1 tablespoon of skim milk with the cornstarch and set aside. Heat the remaining skim milk in a saucepan over medium heat with the parsley, thyme, and bay leaf. When fragrant, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil over high heat, and simmer until the milk thickens. Remove the herbs and stir in the cheese, until melted. Whisk the butter, mustard, salt, nutmeg, and cayenne into the sauce.

Drain the pasta and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with the cheese sauce and season with salt and black pepper. Serve.

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Comments & Reviews

recipe Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese
Charlie & Erica Troutdale, OR 11-07-2009
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Bad Texture
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

As I was making this I thought it was odd that there was no rue as part of the recipe, but followed directions and then added... some of my own extra flavors for some more kick. The flavor overall was great, but the texture...you could literally see the cheese falling off the noodle. Ironically it stuck to everything else! My wife was worn out after scrubbing all the silverware and dishes to remove the cheese which had started to form almost a paste on the plates; even though she washed them right away to prevent that from happening! The pot that the cornstarch has been put in was the worst. She couldn't clean it, then she boiled water in it to loosen some of the cornstarch. She still couldn't clean it. Literally tried scrubbing for half an hour before we soaked it overnight. I was able to eventually get it off, but mac and cheese should be something fun to make, not a nightmare to clean up! I'll use some of the flavoring ideas again, and I'll use some of these shortcuts, but sometimes the extra fat is worth the price! I'll never make this recipe as-is again.Read more
recipe Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese
Julie Marlton, NJ 12-09-2008
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Tastes more like squash cassarole
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

Yuck. Tastes like squash and macaroni, not like cheese at all. If you want anything that resembles old fashioned Mac and... Cheese, look elsewhere.Read more
recipe Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese
Anonymous 02-19-2008
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Great Easy recipe
Rated: 5 stars out of 5

This recipe was super tasty and easy to make! A lot of flavor!
recipe Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese
Anonymous 01-21-2008
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Slim Mac and Cheese?
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

How can this be slim when I can have a packet of EasyMac for 64% of the calories of this recipe? Why more work for more... calories? I agree that the taste is probably better but for my effort I?m going with EasyMac.Read more
recipe Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese
Russ Marana, AZ 01-02-2008
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Cut it out...
Rated: 2 stars out of 5

I'm an amateur, and I can do better than this. Low fat cheese generally is tasteless, so forget it. And you might as well use... water as skim milk. Grate 6 ounces of the very sharpest regular cheddar you can find. Omit the butter, herbs and nutmeg and use 1% lowfat milk. The results will be MUCH better and the nutrition profile will be similar.Read more
recipe Slimmed Down Macaroni and Cheese
Anonymous 05-24-2007
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Not so great
Rated: 1 stars out of 5

This recipe had an ok flavor but the texture was awful I ended up feeding it to my dogs