Adventures in Zucchini- Challenge 4

My top five comfort foods:

1.) Cereal and Milk (preferably Golden Grahams)
2.) Pretzels and Milk
3.) Chocolate Milk
4.) Peanut Butter and Jelly (crunchy peanut butter, grape jelly, wheat bread.  mmm) and a nice, cold glass of milk
5.) Macaroni and Cheese (with peas, especially)

Fact: Until right this second I had no idea how much I really do love milk.  You know, milk really agrees with me.  I hear people complain about milk so much and I even have a daughter who suffers with casein allergy.  I can tell you honestly that when I eat milk and cheese I both feel better and lose weight.  Same with Butter.  I mean, if I were slathering a piece of sourdough bread with a big, glob of soft butter and ended up with a bellyache, I can promise you this- the culprit would certainly be the bread and not the butter.

But that's beside the point.

Goodness, for most of my early 20's I ate macaroni and cheese for dinner at least four nights a week.   The kind from the box too.  And I never tired of it.  Come to think of it, if I thought that I could get away with doing this now, I would.  I, however, sadly am no longer 20 years old.  My 30's have not been so kind to me, unfortunately.

That said, I made a nice, big, homemade macaroni and cheese casserole to accompany dinner tonight.  And I thought, why not incorporate a little zucchini in this!

When I make mac and cheese I like to use a few different types of pasta, different shapes and both whole wheat and plain white pasta.  I cooked and then mixed in freshly sautéed and seasoned zucchini and onions.

Then, you mix up your favorite cheese sauce.  Mine is not for the lactose intolerant or the casein sensitive (though, I do plan on letting Bunny have a small portion of this tonight).

So, I'm not entirely sure about measurements here, but I'll estimate.

I usually mix 1/2 stick butter with 1/4 cup flour to make a roux.  Add around 2 cups of milk and let thicken, whisking constantly.  Add 1 package of cream cheese (cubed) and then around 2 cups cheddar cheese.  I might add a bit more milk here and there if it gets too thick.

Then, pour the cheese sauce over top of the macaroni.  Cover with shredded cheddar and bake at 350 for around 45 minutes.

Lila just passed by this and informed me that "dinner looks gorgeous."