Mmmmm

Yesterday  Oops!  Started this post and never finished it.  LAST WEEK... I made my "healthy" homemade mac 'n' cheese casserole for dinner.  Both Andrew and Gabriella LOVE when I make it.  Okay, I enjoy it quite a bit too.  It really is comfort food.  Plain and simple.  With a *bit* of a healthy twist though I guess you could say.  But it's certainly not for the lactose-intolerant.

Anyway, I've been asked for my recipe several times before and Andrew always raves about it and says I should really post about it on the blog.  Basically, it started as the recipe from the Livestrong website but with my own minor modifications (plus I think they forget to tell you to add milk)  So here goes my version:

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk (skim for healthiest version, whole for creamiest, or anywhere in between - I used whole this time because it's what we have on hand with a 15 month old)
2 tbs whole wheat flour
1.5-2 tbs butter
2 cups cheese (any type you choose - I usually use sharp cheddar + pepper jack just for stronger flavors but I'm sure there are healthier options that would taste fine)
1 package whole grain noodles (this last time I used 1/2 box macaroni and 1/2 box mini shell, because that's what I had)
2-3 peppers of your choice (I like a mix of various colors to help achieve our "rainbow" or fruits and veggies for the day)
1 onion
Ground flax seed to top it off (instead of bread crumbs)

Just cook the noodles according to the package and while you wait for the water to start boiling and then for the noodles to finish, chop up your veggies to the size you desire.  For us that's a toddler-size dice ;-)  Saute the veggies in just enough olive oil, and set aside.

Then get the sauce going: Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Whisk in flour.Stir in milk, letting it thicken a bit.  Add the cheese and let it melt.  Mix the sauce into the noodles.

Now all you have to do is assemble and bake.  I like a layered look to the casserole.  Pour half of you cheesy noodles into the casserole dish for the bottom layer.  Then add your sauteed peppers and onions.  Next layer in the rest of the cheesy noodles.  Finally, top with the ground flax seed.

Cover with tin foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Uncover and bake 10 more minutes.  If the flax seed hasn't gotten a perfect golden crisp, broil on high for a couple minutes.

And that's all folks.