Lent Week Two Meatless Meal

Tonight I'm trying Becky's slow cooker chili recipe that she posted in my comments last week, but here's another meatless favorite from my recipe files. This one is guaranteed to be 100% kid friendly! It's the easiest homemade mac & cheese I've come across. I first made this for Nathaniel's birthday dinner last summer, as his special meal request was mac & cheese. These days I very rarely buy Kraft mac & cheese for weekday lunches, I like to cook up some noodles and just stir in butter, a little milk, and whatever cheese (finely shredded first) I happen to have on hand. Our current favorite noodles are the Barilla Plus brand, it's multi-grain and has a lot of protein and Omega-3's. I also like to experiment throwing in different spices and occasionally leftover broccoli or cauliflower. The kids still like it, and it's healthier and cheaper too!

Homemade Mac & Cheese

Ingredients:
1 8oz package elbow macaroni (or any pasta you want, really)
1 8oz package shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 12oz container small curd cottage cheese
1 8oz container sour cream
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp ground mustard
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil, add pasta, cook until al dente, and drain. In 9X13 baking dish stir together macaroni, cottage cheese, sour cream, parmesan cheese, ground mustard, salt and pepper. In a small bowl stir together bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle topping over macaroni mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown.