Veggie Mac N' Cheese

Mac N' Cheese, need I say more? Being a college student (or any person for that matter) and wanting some comfort food Mac N' Cheese is the way to go! I decided to make it a bit "healthier" by adding some veggies. Here is my take on Mac N' Cheese. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 box of medium pasta shells 
• 2 cups of mild cheddar cheese 
• 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese 
• 2 cups of mozzarella
• 1 cup of Parmesan ( not shown in picture) 
• 1/2 stick of butter 
• 1 medium white onion 
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves 
• 5-8 mushrooms sliced (doesn't have to be any certain kind) 
• 3 cups of milk 
• 1 cup of flour 

You'll want to start out by chopping 1 medium onion and the mushrooms. You will also want to melt the 1/2 of stick of butter in a medium pot over medium/medium high heat and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Throw the chopped onion and mushrooms into the pot. Saute the veggies for about 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. 

Once the veggies are cooked, add the cup of flour. Let the flour cook down for about a minute. 

Now add the 3 cups of milk. Make sure to stir the mixture well. 

Keep stirring until it starts to thicken. It should take about 2-4 minutes, once it starts to thicken add the 2 cups of mild cheddar, 2 cups of sharp cheddar, 2 cups of mozzarella, and just 1/2 of a cup of Parmesan. Leave the other 1/2 cup for later. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the cheese sauce simmer while you cook the pasta shells. Follow the directions on the back of the pasta box. 

After the shells are cooked strain the water. Mix the creamy cheese sauce and shells together. You'll want to add the handfuls of spinach leaves and stir them in as well. 

Divide the mac n' cheese up into baking dishes. Bake the mac n' cheese for 20 minutes. 

After the 20 minutes of cooking, add the extra Parmesan on top and bake for another 5 minute or until golden brown.  

Pull out of oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. If you can wait that long...

Enjoy my take on some tasty veggie Mac N' Cheese! I will have the recipe for the stuffed mushrooms pictured below in my next blog post! Check it out!