Guiltless Mac & Cheese

The ultimate comfort food! Go ahead, indulge a little, without all the guilt a normal bowl of mac and cheese brings... :) This mac and cheese is a bowl full of creamy, hot, bubbly goodness...delish!

• 1 package whole wheat elbow pasta

• 1 egg (beaten)




• 1/2 stick butter (I use smart balance)




• 1/4 cup all purpose flour




• 2 1/2 cups lowfat milk




• 1 lb. 2% sharp cheddar cheese




• 2 tsp. powdered mustard




• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste




• 1/2 tsp. seasoned salt, plus more to taste




• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Method:

Cook macaroni al dente, set aside. Beat egg in a small bowl, set aside.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour, whisk together and cook over medium-low heat for five minutes, whisking constantly, don't allow this mixture to burn!

Pour in milk and powdered mustard and whisk together until smooth, continue cooking until very thick, around five minutes, reduce heat to low.

Temper your egg mixture, take a 1/4 cup of the milk mixture and whisk vigorously into the egg mixture, pour the egg mixture into the pot, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add cheese, stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper, season to taste, you don't want to under salt.

Stir in cooked macaroni.

(if you love a crust on your mac and cheese, you may bake this dish. Simply follow all of the steps, but this time, cook your macaroni until just very firm to the bite. Pour finished mac and cheese into buttered baking dish, top with grated cheese and bake until top is golden brown. However, I don't bake mine because I LOVE the creamy consistency I get, super comforting!)

Enjoy with a crusty piece of bread, curled up under a blanket by the fire. This is how I imagine eating this creamy delicacy, however, in reality, I'm usually found eating it right out of the pot with my children in background saying "Uhhh, Mom, can we eat dinner now?"

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of my family's favorites! They go nuts when I make this, and I haven't made it all summer, I save it for this time of year, so when I surprised them with it two nights ago they were very excited! Noah even took leftovers for his lunch to school ;)

Ingredients

• One whole chicken or one pack of boneless skinless breasts (this is what I prefer, less fat!)



• Four cups reduced sodium chicken broth



• 2 cups water



• One can black beans (no salt added) undrained



• 3/4 bag of frozen corn (or you can use one can of corn or 3 ears of fresh corn, I use fresh if I have it!)



• One can diced tomatoes and green chili's (I prefer to use hot) undrained



• One bell pepper (roasted/broiled in the oven, seeded, skin removed and chopped)



• One small to medium sweet yellow onion chopped and carmelized in 1 tbs olive oil
  


• One hatch green chili pepper, or different pepper of choice (roasted/broiled, seeded and skin removed and chopped)


• Two cloves garlic, minced


• 1-2 tbs cumin


• 1 tbs chili powder


• tsp of chili flakes (put more if you like it spicy!)


• sea salt and pepper to taste


• Optional Toppings: I use them all! Diced fresh avocado, fresh lime slices, reduced fat cheddar or jack cheese, reduced fat or fat free sour cream, cilantro, crunched tortilla chips (I use sea salt blue corn, or whole grain baked tortilla chips, pita chips work great too!)

I season my chicken with cumin, chili powder, garlic powder, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper and lime and usually grill it for that added smoky flavor, you can prepare as you like! Dice the chicken once cooked. Combine all ingredients, bring to a boil, and allow to simmer for about 45 minutes to let the flavors combine!

This soup is fabulous! I use the no salt added items because I want to control the salt that goes into my food! This soup is very low in fat and calories and is packed full of veggies and protein! Remember to season to taste with all spices, I make this from heart and season as I taste it, this is just a general rundown of about how much you should use! Enjoy!