Mac and Cheese Alternative

I adapted a recipe from Cooking Light for Squash-Rice Casserole and it was really good. It will become part of our rotation and fall under the category of "comfort food." The original recipe called for cooked rice and 8 cups of zucchini (along with the other ingredients that will follow). I adapted the recipe because I didn't have any zucchini and I had orzo I wanted to use up instead of rice.

So roughly, my adaptation was about 2 cups of cooked orzo, chopped asparagus, broccoli, and onion, steamed in vegetable broth, all mixed in a 9 x 13" casserole with 1 cup of cheddar cheese, 1 cup of sour cream, 2 Tbsp of parm cheese, salt, and pepper. This is baked for 1/2 hour and then put under the broiler to brown the extra parm cheese on top. Matt and I put some hot sauce on our servings.

It was really good. Creamy, cheesy, salty, and slightly mushy - just like good macaroni and cheese should be. All that without the fuss of making a roux and stirring milk on the stove for ages. The meal was still a little labor intensive, but worth it for 2 people because there will surely be leftovers so you won't have to cook the next day. And because the veggies are in the casserole, you don't need any side dishes.

One day, if I happen to have the ingredients, I'll try the original recipe. Anything baked with cheese and sour cream is guaranteed to be yummy.