This recipe is from Janie at janieskitchen.com.
I was turned onto Janie by watching an episode of “My Family Recipe Rocks”, hosted by Joey Fatone. Her motto is “everything in moderation” and she loves to tweak recipes to make them healthier. She also loves to make things from scratch, vanilla extract, buttermilk, ect. Personally, I can’t wait to make my own vanilla extract! It’s simple, check out a google search here and try it! It’s basically seeping your vanilla bean in hard alcohol.
Whoops, sorry, I get monkey mind when I start talking about hard alcohol and vanilla……guess I took one to many sips as my bean was seeping (wow..that sounds perverted….HA!)
Anyhow, Mac and Cheese is one of my favorite indulgences. If I ever had to choose a last meal, Mac and Cheese would be one of my side dishes. This recipe is fantastic because you sacrifice calories instead of flavor! Note, in step 7 I thought I ruined the recipe when I first tried it. The cheese began to clump up and look like mozzarella. Rest assured, just keep stirring, and it will un-clump and blend nicely.
I made this recipe for my friend and husband and they were BOTH blown away at the taste. It tastes like normal, fattening, ooey-gooey Mac and Cheese, but it’s healthier for you since you are not adding flour, milk, and butter as your base!
This has the potential of being gluten free, just double check the labels of the cheeses to ensure it’s safe! And you can sub gluten free pasta. It will have a different texture, but still should taste delicious!
Ingredients
1 (16)oz Container of Low-Fat Cottage Cheese
1 cup Grated Extra Sharp White Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Grated Reggiano Parmesan Cheese
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Black Pepper
1 packet Whole Wheat Pasta
1 tablespoon Salt (for the pasta water)
Directions
1. Place cottage cheese in a blender or mixer and pulse until the curds turn creamy.
2. Grate the cheeses and in batches add to the cottage cheese mixture.
3. Add apple cider vinegar and black pepper.
4. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling add salt and follow the pasta instructions on the package.
5. Before draining the pasta save 1 cup of the starchy pasta water.
6. Drain pasta and place back in the large pot.
7. Add ½ cup of the pasta water back into the pasta and 1 large scoop of the cheese mixture and stir. Add another scoop of the cheese mixture and more pasta water if needed. The starchy water allows the pasta and cheese to melt together to create creaminess without butter or milk.
8. Stir in the last cheese mixture and place pasta in a serving bowl.
9. Optional: Add breadcrumbs on top of pasta and place in the oven on broil until the crumbs turn golden brown. Serve Warm.
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