Mac & cheese has always been a childhood favorite. Growing up a child of the 80s, I can never forget those ever-present blue boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese with the packets of fluorescent-orange powdered cheese, with easy-to-follow directions that my eight-year-old self could follow without much difficulty. Even though those infamous boxes of mac & cheese were the beginning of my love/hate relationship with food, it also began my interest in cooking...
This updated version is very similar to most American-style mac & cheese, except for a few things - the inclusion of ground turkey (to add protein and texture), non-fat Greek yogurt (to add creaminess to the sauce and increase the protein content), and nutritional yeast (to enhance the cheesy flavor and increase the protein content). Although my better self fought bitterly with my taste buds, I couldn't resist throwing in the all-American processed cheese in the mix - as it turns out, American cheese makes a mac & cheese creamier compared to other traditional cheeses - and so I had to throw in a little "sinful pleasure" in the end. So this recipe has a little bit of both - a little healthy, a little sinful, and all-around oh-so-delicious!
(makes 7 servings)
1 box whole wheat penne pasta (or 14 oz.)
1 package 93/7 ground turkey (or 20.8 oz)
1 can evaporated milk (or 12 oz.)
6 slices American cheese
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
Salt & pepper to taste
1. In a large pot, cook pasta until desired firmness. Drain and set aside.
2. In a large skillet under medium heat, spray pan with cooking oil and saute ground turkey. Season as desired with salt and pepper and cook until no juices appear in the skillet. Set aside.
3. In a saucepan under medium-low heat, simmer evaporated milk and nutritional yeast. Gradually add cheese and stir constantly, only adding one slice at a time until all cheese is melted and fully incorporated with the milk mixture.
4. Add non-fat Greek yogurt into cheese sauce mixture and stir until the yogurt is fully incorporated and the texture is smooth.
5. Combine ground turkey and cheese sauce with pasta and stir until well-combined. Salt & pepper to taste.
Labels: cheese, ground turkey, mac & cheese, milk, non-fat Greek yogurt, nutritional yeast, recipe
