Slightly Less Sinful

Creamy Stove-Top Macaroni and Cheese
(adaptation from a Cooking Light recipe)

I really enjoyed this recipe as it had a more sophisticated flavor that traditional mac&cheese. I'm not a big fan of reduced-fat cheddar, so instead, I used 4 ounces of a full-fat cheddar, monterey jack, and colby blend and 1 ounce of asiago. I would have liked the cheese flavor to be a bit more pronounced, so next time I will experiment with more pungent cheeses....I'm thinking of even using a bit of blue cheese. I used about 1/2 cup less pasta as I was afraid there wouldn't be enough sauce but I probably would have been fine using all of it. A drizzle of white truffle oil would be fabulous in this...I might omit the worcestershire sauce, however.

Ingredients
4 cups uncooked medium elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup (2 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
1 1/4 cups (5 ounces) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese

Preparation
Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain and set aside.
While pasta cooks, place flour, salt, and pepper in a large saucepan. Add milk, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Drop cream cheese by teaspoonfuls into milk mixture; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer 2 minutes or until thick and cream cheese melts, stirring occasionally. Stir in mustard, Worcestershire, and garlic; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add cheddar cheese, stirring until cheese melts. Combine pasta and cheese sauce in a large bowl; toss well.

6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

Nutritional Information
CALORIES 252(29% from fat); FAT 8.2g (sat 5.1g,mono 0.1g,poly 0.3g); PROTEIN 14.5g; CHOLESTEROL 27mg; CALCIUM 312mg; SODIUM 536mg; FIBER 1.1g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 30.9g