Roasted Vegetable Mac & Cheese {recipe}

Who doesn't love a good homemade macaroni and cheese?  It's one of my favorite things. The ultimate comfort food.  This particular recipe is so, so simple... with a fun twist of roasted veggies... that also gives it some pretty color!

My daughter loves macaroni and cheese also, so I tried to sneak in some veggies as well for her - but who am I kidding, she just picked around the vegetables.  Other than that, this was a hit in our house.  It would be good for a meatless meal, or a side.  But since my husband can't do a meal without meat, I added in some shredded chicken that I had in the freezer.  It would also be good with some cut up sausage/kielbasa rounds (like a grown up macaroni and cheese with hot dogs?).. I think I'll use kielbasa next time.

The recipe is actually a lot quicker than it looks to make, not very time consuming at all.  You can add in some red pepper flakes for an extra kick, but I didn't just because I had a little one eating it.

Roasted Vegetable Mac & Cheese
 recipe from The Comfort of Cooking

• 1 cup broccoli florets, chopped into small chunks
• 1/2 red pepper, diced
• 1 yellow squash, quartered and diced
• 10 baby carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 cups whole wheat pasta
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 3 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 cups (8 oz.) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional, to add spice)
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. panko breadcrumbs

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Set a medium pot of salted water to boil.   Prepare a large baking sheet by lining with aluminum foil and coating with a little olive oil or nonstick cooking spray.  Toss broccoli, red pepper, squash and carrots onto the baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, or until vegetables have softened. Remove from oven and set aside.

Once water is boiling, lower heat slightly and add pasta, cooking according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.  Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Whisk in flour and cook 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk, stirring constantly until mixture is slightly thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in cheddar cheese until well distributed and melted. Add (optional: red pepper flakes), cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Add macaroni and vegetables.

Place mixture in a large casserole dish (or keep in skillet if it's oven proof) and sprinkle with panko breadcrumbs. Place under the broiler in your oven (500 degrees) for 3-4 minutes, or until the top is golden brown.