Whole Grain Corn Chowdah Mac & Cheese Inspired By @RachelRayShow #SundaySupper

Whole Grain Corn Chowdah Mac & Cheese Inspired By @RachelRayShow #SundaySupper

 

 

Whole grain Mac &’ Cheese and Creamy Corn Chowder ! Perfect for a cold winter evening. Mix the two together in one dish to make Corn Chowder Mac  & Cheese and you have some serious comfort food.  My Sunday Supper Team is doing a celebrity chef theme  this week where we all blog recipes from a favorite celebrity chef and I am doing Rachel Ray ! I love to eat fancy food, but when it comes to cooking I need simple !  One of the reasons I love Rachel Ray  is the fact that she does fancy and simple ! I gawk at the fancy and make the simple. Occasionally I catch her shows on TV and love her zest,  energy and the way she just glows when she talks about food!  I get her magazine every month and it’s one of my favorite reading materials on the train en route to DC.  My kids love mac ‘n’ cheese and corn, so I figured a dish which had both would be a winner with them.  The recipe was pretty simple but the  end result was a gourmet Mac & Cheese ! Adult mac & cheese !!   I made a few modifications to the recipe. I used whole grain pasta, and low-fat milk. I also substituted the butter for ghee which is clarified butter. I  just like using ghee  and since the recipe only called for just 3 tbsps , hey indulge a bit 🙂 ! I used 2 tbsp of ghee. I used turkey bacon just because I happened to have some in my freezer 🙂 ! I also used a lower fat version of cheese. The dish  tasted so yum my kids didn’t even know it was made with whole grain pasta. I like that it had some spices like cayenne pepper, dill, mustard which give it  an extra spicy touch. I also love the addition of celery, potato and peppers which gave it more body I thought and I absolutely love that it uses corn.  I  made mini pans …well I  did want to show off my black and white dotted dishes that I  picked up for just a few cents during black Friday. I like using mini pans because it makes it easier to personalize  dishes. My youngest doesn’t like her food spicy, so while I sprinkled some extra cayenne on the mac &  cheese for my  husband, oldest and myself, I left hers a little bland. We had it for dinner and literally licked the platter clean. I know this is one dish I will be making again soon !

 

 

 

 

Nutrition Wise!

 Whole grain pasta is a good source of fiber and B vitamins.  milk and cheese are good sources of calcium and vitamin d ! corn adds to the fiber and the very fact that its made from scratch mac n cheese with real cheese makes it a wholesome dish that is in my opinion  healthy comfort food ! Omit the bacon to make this a veggie dish.

 

Whole Grain Corn Chowdah Mac N Cheese

Serves 8 -10 servings
Dietary Diabetic
Meal type Main Dish, Side Dish
Misc Child Friendly, Freezable, Gourmet, Pre-preparable, Serve Cold
By author Rachel Ray

Ingredients

  • 1 Lb Whole grain Penne Rigate
  • 4 ears of corn (husked)
  • 1 Tsp Olive oil
  • 1/ 4 Lb turkey bacon
  • 1 baking potato
  • 1/2 Tsp old bay seasoning
  • 2 Stalks celery (chopped)
  • 1 jalapeno (chopped)
  • 1 bell pepper (chopped)
  • 1 red onion (chopped)
  • 4 Cloves garlic (finely chopped)
  • 2 Tbsp ghee (or butter)
  • 2 Tbsp flour
  • 2 Cups low fat milk
  • 1/2 -1 Tsp cayenne
  • 1 cup low fat parmigan - reggiana cheese (grated)
  • 1 cup Low fat sharp cheddar cheese

Note

Omit bacon to make this dish veggie !

Directions

Boil penne pasta, add salt and cook al dente and drain. Husk the kernels off the corn and keep aside.
Heat skillet. Add olive oil and cook bacon till crisp/ break into small bits.
Add corn , potato, onion, diced pepper, jalapeno, garlic and saute for 8-10 minutes till soft
Melt ghee, whisk in flour , then the milk. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook till mixture coats the spoon. Add grated parmigiano cheese.
Add the corn potato mixture to the pasta. Add the white sauce mixture to the pasta,. Transfer to casserole. Top with cheddar cheese and bacon bits and broil 3- 5 minutes. Serve hot

 

My Sunday Supper Team had cooked up a storm, all inspired by their favorite celebrity chefs ! Make sure you check them out ! 

FAVORITE CELEBRITY CHEF SUNDAY SUPPER RECIPES

Starters or Snacks :

The Main Dish:

Amazing Sides:

Sweet Endings:

Please join on us via Twitter for #SundaySupper on December 2, 2012, throughout the day. In the evening, we will meet at 7 PM EST for our weekly #SundaySupper live chat All you have to do is follow the #SundaySupper hashtag or you can follow us through TweetChat.
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