Kale Pesto and Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese

I've borrowed heavily from Rachael Ray this week, but I usually modify her recipes to be vegetarian or to use what I have on hand. 

The first recipe was inspired by her recipe for a Caesar-style Kale Pesto.  After looking the recipe over again, I don't know that I really followed the recipe at all.  I blanched the kale in boiling water as directed and subbed it for the basil in my usual pesto recipe (minus the pine nuts, which I didn't have).  I tossed it with penne and tomatoes for dinner last week.  I froze the left-overs, which we used for pizza this week.  The kids loved it both times and it used up a bunch of the kale that is still going strong in our garden.  Be prepared for more green recipes in the coming weeks...

We'll file this next recipe under yellow.  It was adapted from Rachael's Pumpkin Cheddar Mac and Cheese recipe.  I omit most of the seasonings and sweetness that play up the pumpkin and just use this as a way of sneaking a veggie into mac and cheese.  I used 2 cups of pureed butternut squash that I froze from the last time I made this.  One large squash should easily get you 2 recipes worth of puree.  I omitted the cloves/allspice and honey, subbed skim milk and topped it with reserved cheddar and panko.  It's creamy with just a hint of sweetness from the squash.  This one gets requested every other week by our pickiest eater.

I like this recipe because the sauce doesn't "break" on me like a lot of other mac and cheese recipes I've tried, even though I use skim milk.  It's a good base recipe to play around with and customize since it seems to be pretty forgiving.