Gluten Free Butternut Squash Macaroni & Cheese

I think that technically, this is an incredibly healthy dish.

You have the quinoa pasta, which has a bunch of protein, and you have a whole butternut squash in here, which is awesome.  I’m just going to call it: this is healthy.  BOOYA!
Ingredients:

• 1 sliced, baked butternut squash
• 1 box quinoa elbow macaroni
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg plus more for sprinkling
• heaping 1/4 teaspoon of paprika
•  4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 cup chicken  stock
• 1  1/2 cups of gluten free bread crumbs

Hold On To Your Hats, Folks!:

1. Get your oven to 350 degrees F, pronto, Jack.
2. Take your butternut squash and use a vegetable peeler to peel the skin off.  Slice it in half, scoop the seeds out (you can plant these in your garden, fyi) and place them in your pressure cooker.  Add 2 cups of water and cook on high for 4 minutes.
3. When squash has cooled, set aside 1 cup of it, and use a stick blender to get the rest to a good, smooth consistency…with out turning it into a smoothie.
4. While all this is going, cook the macaroni in boiling water for 8 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
5. Now, Melt 3 Tablespoons butter in a pot and slowly stir in the 1/3 cup of flour to form a paste.
6. Take it off the heat, and gradually whisk in 1 1/2 cups of milk. Return to medium low heat until the sauce  is fully blended and thickens.
7. Then, add pureed squash to the thickened sauce.
8. Add all your mustard, salt, nutmeg, and paprika. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of cheese (set aside 1/2 cup for the topping) and 1 cup of stock, alternating cheese and stock by cupfuls. Make sure you taste it during this stage to see if you need more nutmeg, mustard or paprika for your taste!  This is your dish…own it!
9. Okay, finally combine pasta, squash chunks, and cheese sauce in a large baking dish, toss to coat evenly.
10. Melt the remaining Tablespoon of butter and blend it with the rest of the  1/2 cup of cheese and the breadcrumbs to make the topping. Spread this over the macaroni.
11. Now, place that casserole dish into your oven and bake it for 20 minutes at 350F.
12. Take that steaming dish out and let it cool, because baby, it’s hot in here…and it’s not just you this time 😉

This is an AWESOME dish that will be a big hit every time!

Enjoy!!