Mac And Trees

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 2.5 quart casserole dish with vegetable spray.

In a large pasta pot bring water and the garlic to boil. Add kosher salt. Add whole wheat pasta, cover partially with lid and set timer for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes add broccoli florets and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Drain, remove garlic and return to pot and stir in the chopped bell peppers.

In large sauce pan over medium heat add milk, flour and butter. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Add nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat and stir in shredded cheese. It will be very thick but verrrrry cheesy. Pour cheese sauce over pasta and veggies and stir to coat well.

Pour mixture into greased casserole dish. Put Italian bread crumbs in small container and add melted butter. Mix with fingers until it resembles wet sand. Sprinkle liberally over top and place on middle rack of oven. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.

You can garnish with chopped parsley or cilantro, but I like chopped basil.

cook's notes

I used to get my kids to eat broccoli by calling them trees and dousing them with cheese sauce. It seems like adding cheese to anything makes it more pleasing to kids. So when I was thinking of a "new" kind of mac and cheese I thought you still have to have a lot of cheese but go with the healthier whole wheat pasta and the "trees". I wasn't disappointed. It turned out so well that my husband didn't even realize he wasn't getting meat in his dinner tonight. Hope you enjoy.