Hidden Veggie Baked Mac and Cheese

I made this mac and cheese for my family for dinner and everyone really liked it! Not a single person noticed there was a little boost of butternut squash in there!

I added chicken and broccoli to mine to round it out, but it is yummy solo. Use one yellow to measure a serving. The 21 Day Fix containers used with just the mac and cheese are: 1 yellow and 1 blue. If you serve it with broccoli and chicken it would add 1 red and 1 green.

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat elbow macaroni, dry (or 4 cups cooked)
• 2 eggs
• 10 oz bag frozen butternut squash
• 1 cup almond milk
• ½ tea salt
• 3 cups sharp cheddar (yes, sharp!)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 pan.
2. Cook macaroni according to package directions, drain.
3. Thaw butternut squash in the microwave. 
4. In a blender, combine eggs, butternut squash, milk, and salt until smooth.
5. Put half of the cooked macaroni in the bottom of the 9x13 pan.
6. Cover with 1 ½ cups of cheese.
7. Put the other half of macaroni on top of the cheese.
8. Cover with the rest of the cheese.
9. Top with the milk mix.
10. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Honey Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

This recipe comes from a blog called The Prairie Homestead. I made these using my bread maker to do the dough. The directions below are for mixing by hand. It takes some practice to get the size right when shaping the buns. They turn out really soft, too!

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup butter or coconut oil (If using coconut oil, select the refined kind that doesn't taste like coconuts)
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or one packet)
• 2 to 3.5 cups of whole wheat flour (it was 3 for me)

Instructions

1. In a small saucepan, gently heat the honey, butter, and milk over low heat until the butter is just slightly melted. Don't boil or simmer this mixture-- you want it just barely warm.
2. Place the yeast in a mixing bowl.
3. Mix the lukewarm honey/milk mixture into the yeast and stir well. Add the egg and salt. Gradually add in the flour, mixing and kneading as you go.
4. Once the dough gets to the point where it is forming a ball, I let it rest for 2-3 minutes. The whole wheat flour tends to soak up liquid over time, so giving it a few minutes allows the flour to soak up liquid and helps to prevent you from adding too much. After this resting period is complete, I go back in and add more flour if needed.
5. Knead 6-7 minutes, adding flour as needed. Cover the dough ball and allow it to rise in a warm place for one hour.
6. Punch down the risen dough and divide it into 8 portions (12 if you like smaller buns). Roll each portion into a ball, then flatten it.
7. I flatten mine so they are pretty close to the size I want my finished buns to be -- during the rising process, they will mostly rise up, not out.
8. Cover the dough circles and allow them to rise 30 minutes in a warm place.
9. Bake at 375 degrees in a preheated oven for 12-18 minutes.
10. These buns are best if served on the same day they are made.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

This recipe comes from the 100 Days of Real Food website. I was amazed at how freaking good these tortillas were with so few ingredients. Mine haven't held up super well with rolling into burritos and enchiladas thus far, but I'm willing to keep giving it a try because of the simple ingredients and because they're tasty. It takes some practice to figure out how to make them though, so be patient. I have enjoyed using them as a lunch wrap (cream cheese, mustard, cheese, lunch meat, spinach).

Ingredients

• 2½ cups whole-wheat flour
• ½ cup oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup warm water (heat in the microwave for 1 min)

Directions

1. In the bowl of a heavy-duty mixer set with a dough hook, pour in the flour, oil and salt. Beat with the paddle until crumbly, about 3 to 5 minutes. Scrape the sides as needed. If your hand-held mixer comes with dough hooks those can be used as well.
2. With the mixer running, gradually add the warm water and continue mixing until the dough is smooth, about 3 minutes.
3. Take out the dough and divide it into 12 equal sized pieces. I do this by making the dough into a big log shape that is about 8 – 10 inches long. Then I cut it in the middle. Then I cut each of those pieces in the middle and so on until you have 12 pieces.
4. Using the palms of your hand roll each piece into a round ball and flatten it out on a baking tray or board. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to one hour.
5. Heat a cast iron skillet, griddle or 12-inch skillet over med-high heat. The pan should be fairly hot before you begin cooking the tortillas.
6. On a lightly floured board or counter top, use a rolling pin to turn each ball into a 8 to 10 inch flat circle (measure against your recipe if printed on a 8.5X11 sheet of paper). Be careful not to use more than a teaspoon or two of flour when rolling out each ball into a tortilla because too much excess flour will burn in the pan.
7. Grease the pan with a touch of oil (or ghee) and then carefully transfer each tortilla, one at a time, to the pan and cook until puffy and slightly brown, about 30 to 45 seconds per side. Set aside on a plate to cool slightly. Eat within an hour, refrigerate or freeze.

Whole Wheat Waffles

Whole wheat waffles topped with plain yogurt, nectarines, and a drizzle of pure maple syrup.

This recipe comes from the King Arthur Flour recipe website. These are hands-down my favorite waffles. And they're even made with 100% whole wheat flour. I will sometimes double the recipe. That way, if there are leftovers, you can freeze them for another day. Also, I always use butter.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
• 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil

Directions

1. Preheat your waffle iron.
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter or oil.
4. Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring until just combined. The batter will be a bit lumpy and that's okay. Do not overmix the batter or it will get tough.
5. Cook the waffles as directed by the instructions that came with your waffle iron.