Grown up Mac 'n Cheese

Moving day is over and all of our belongings are in one place---not necessarily their appropriate organized place--but they're all at least under one roof. It's exciting to have natural morning light streaming in through the kitchen windows and to see Ranger frolicking free in the backyard (even if he did find a hole slightly bigger than him in the fence and try to make a run for it).

 I don't know about you, but sometimes during a major change I crave familiar things and in this case--it was mac and cheese (and chocolate chip cookies, but I didn't make it that far yesterday).  As I've grown up I've tried to stay away from foods that come in questionable form (like bright orange, powdered cheese), so I opted instead to dress up mac n cheese for the big kid world. The added nutrition of veggies and shrimp makes it possible to guiltlessly indulge in a childhood favorite.

Make this for a party of one, or enough to feed an army--it's super quick, packs tons of flavor without a whole lot of fat and is just as good a room temperature as it is fresh from the pot. This is definitely labeled under 'go-to' in my recipe book (it only takes as long as it takes you to cook some pasta!)

Grown Up Mac n Cheese (serves 4 as an entree)

• 2 cups medium shrimp, peeled and devained with tails off
• 1 crown chopped broccoli florets (about 1 1/2 c)
• 10 sun dried tomato halves chopped
• one lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 4 oz cream cheese (go for the reduced fat--you can't tell the difference in this recipe!)
• 1 cup non fat, low sodium chicken broth  
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 8oz elbow macaroni
• salt + pepper
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated

Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the macaroni. 

In a deep skillet add 2 tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add the broccoli, season with salt and pepper, and cook about 5 minutes until softened. Remove the broccoli and set aside. Add the additional olive oil, garlic and shrimp. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper and cook for about 3 minutes until just shy of done. Add in the sun dried tomatoes and the broccoli back into the skillet and sprinkle with dried basil. Melt in the cream cheese and slowly add the chicken broth while continuing to stir. Add the cooked elbow macaroni and combine with the sauce. Finish by stirring in grated cheese and lemon juice.