I try not to cook with cheese too often because it can be so bad for you, but it is SO delicious. This is based on a recipe from Cooking Light magazine and doesn't use too much cheese but gets a creamy texture from a surprising ingredient - sweet potatoes.
First, roast two large sweet potatoes until soft, about an hour.
Scrape the flesh of the sweet potatoes into a bowl and mash.
Take a few chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. I used one too many for my tastes - this was super spicy - but it was perfect for my spice-loving husband.
These can be kind of a mess to chop, they tend to stain the board, so I put them in a measuring cup with the milk for the sweet potato mash and used an immersion blender to chop them. It worked perfectly!
I poured the milk and chipotles into the mashed sweet potatoes and mashed it all together until mostly smooth.
Then add a few ounces of shredded monterey jack cheese. Not too much at all.
Next, add the cooked (whole wheat) macaroni and mix together.
And spread it in a 9 by 13 casserole dish. You can go ahead and serve this as a vegetarian entree, or...
... cook up some spicy sausage to top the macaroni. You can use Mexican chorizo, or use spicy Italian sausage.
Crumble and brown the sausage in a pan and then spread it over the top of the macaroni casserole.
Now broil it in the oven until the sausage is sizzling.
Top with sliced scallions before serving.
The sweet potatoes make it so creamy and the chipotles really pack a punch. Next time I'd add less spice and probably skip the sausage for a lighter, milder meal. But this was a big hit with the spice and meat loving contingent!
Soo, I'm just the "spice and meat loving contingent" now, eh? Oh well, I've been called worse... And it is true. :)
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