Southwestern Pasta and Cheese

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Southwestern Pasta and Cheese

Before the baby came I made several meals to freeze for days when I just couldn't make dinner. This was one of the meals that I made, figuring it looked like something that would freeze nicely. Now, for some reason it didn't connect to me that "pasta and cheese" was essentially "macaroni and cheese." I was shocked when I saw the end results, which really is quite scary on my part since the title is pretty self-evident. Yes- I know, it's sad that I was shocked considering the title and the method of preparation, but I was. For some reason I thought the sauce would be lighter. However macaroni and cheese is never a bad surprise, right? This was very filling and hearty- John and I both could only handle a small portion of it. With that said, the leftovers were great and we're both looking forward to when I pull the tray of this out of the freezer.

Source: Slightly adapted from Krista's Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 3-1/3 cups uncooked bow tie pasta
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, chopped
• 8 green onions, chopped
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2-1/4 cups milk
• 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Directions

1- Cook pasta according to package directions.

2- Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute pepper and onions in oil untiltender. Stir in the flour, chili powder, chipotle pepper, salt and cumin until blended. Gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Stir in 1/4 cup cheeseuntil melted.

3- Drain pasta; toss with sauce. Stir in cilantro. Transfer to a 2-qt. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until bubbly.