Grilled Mac n Cheese

Here is the grilled mac n cheese I was talking about the other day. I hope you try it, it’s really is delicious. Normally I would grill all the vegetables but it was just too hot outside not to mention the grill wasn’t set up. So I decided to broil the vegetables and cook the peppers and corn on the stove top.

You will need the following ingredients. As usual it is best to get everything ready “mise en place” then put the casserole together.

This makes 8 servings

2 cups (about 8 ounces uncooked) whole wheat elbow macaroni

2 ears sweet corn,

1 medium red onion, peeled and quartered

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

fresh ground pepper

6 anaheim green chiles

2 to 4 poblano peppers(I used 3)

1 yellow bell pepper

1 red bell pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 shallot, minced

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups non-fat half and half or fat-free milk

2 tablespons Dijon mustard

6 ounces smoked cheddar (lite) or you could use lite cheddar cheese

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs (I like to take 2 slices of whole wheat bread) and put through the food processor.

Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water. It should take about 10 minutes.

In a broiler blacken the Anaheims, poblanos, yellow and red peppers, red onion. When blackened, put in a plastic bag to steam. Steam for approximately 20 minutes.This makes it easy to peel the blackened skins. Blacken the corn on stove top (see picture). Careful not to burn.

Scrape the skin off the cooled peppers, core and seed them. Dice them in 1/4” dice and set in a bowl. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs. Add to the bowl. You can make the dish to this point up to 2 days ahead.

Melt the 2 teaspoons of extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and shallots and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the corn and peppers and onions. Stir in the flour and cook for 1 minute.

STIR in the non fat half and half and let the mixture boil for 3 minutes; stirring well; it should thicken. REMOVE the pan from the heat and stir in the mustard and cooked macaroni, then the cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste; THE MIXTURE SHOULD BE HIGHLY SEASONED. Spoon the mixture into a prepared casserole dish. Sprinkle the top of the macaroni with the bread crumbs and spray with Pam spray.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Per Serving: 297 calories; 3.4 fat; 5g fiber