Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

This is a little embarrassing… I hadn’t tried pumpkin macaroni and cheese up until this point…. I think I’m seriously the last one to try it.  I’ve been seeing everyone raving about it for ages now.  And it’s embarrassing because this stuff is freakin’ amazing!  I can’t believe I left it so long before trying it.  If you haven’t tried it, do it!  It’s so good 🙂

I got my inspiration from Marina’s lovely Baked Brussels Sprout Mac and Cheese, but in full Food Doodles fashion I packed a little more veggie power into this mac and cheese.  Did I mention it’s awesome?  It totally is 🙂  My son loved this.  And my picky little girl only left a couple of the Brussels sprouts in her bowl.  Score!

If you’re going to reheat this for leftovers, just add a splash of milk, warm it up and stir thoroughly to combine it.  It will be as good as it was when it was fresh.  I’ve been enjoying it for lunches for a couple days now.  I’m sad to see it almost gone 🙁  But actually not, because this opens up so many different ideas that I cannot wait to try!

One more thing… My facebook page seems to be acting really weird lately.  Besides the “normal” thing for facebook pages now to only show content to a small percentage of people that like the page.  My last post seems to be disappearing and reappearing randomly.  I have no idea why and I have no idea how that’s effecting who gets to actually see my updates.  Anyone else with facebook pages having the same problem?  Hopefully this post wont be like that.  In case you missed the last post, go ahead and check it out.   Pumpkin Cheesecake Swirl Bread.  You don’t want to miss it  🙂    If you want to be 100% sure you don’t miss any posts, since facebook is so unreliable now be sure to subscribe by email.

Oh, and sorry for the pumpkin overload lately.  I can’t help myself, I just love the stuff.  I hope you’re not burnt out on pumpkin yet 🙂

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Pumpkin Mac and Cheese with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Prep Time

20 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

The ultimate healthy comfort food - creamy pumpkin puree and roasted Brussels sprouts in delicious mac and cheese.

Course: Main

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Heidi @ Food Doodles

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 1/2 tbsp white whole wheat or all purpose flour
• 1 C milk plus more as needed
• 1 C pumpkin puree
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• generous pinch ground nutmeg
• 8 oz aged cheddar cheese grated or thinly sliced
• 1 – 375 g whole grain macaroni
• 2 C fresh Brussels sprouts

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
2. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Once it starts to boil, add a generous amount of salt and add the pasta. Cook for the recommended amount of time and then drain and set aside until ready to use.
3. Prepare the Brussels sprouts by removing the stem end and the outer leaves. Slice the sprout in half and place on a baking sheet. When done slicing all the Brussels sprouts, lightly spritz with oil and sprinkle with salt and place in the oven for 10-15 minutes until tender with golden edges.
4. While the Brussels sprouts are cooking, in a small pot melt the butter over medium low heat. Stir in the flour and whisk while cooking for a couple minutes. Add the milk and pumpkin and whisk while cooking until thickened. Add the salt, nutmeg and cheese and reduce the heat to low. Once the cheese has melted, stir well. Add macaroni to the sauce, along with the roasted Brussels sprouts. Thin with a splash of extra milk and season with extra salt if needed and serve while still hot.

Recipe Notes

This stores really well in the fridge. To enjoy as leftovers, add a splash of milk while you’re heating it up to loosen up the sauce.

Tagged as: brussel sprouts, cheddar, mac and cheese, pasta, pumpkin, recipe, whole wheat, winter squash