Gastronomous

This is a sophisticated  and tastier version of macaroni and cheese, one of our all-time favorite comfort foods! Tomatoes update and brighten the dish, they extra serving of vegetables and boost lycopene content. Use low fat/ part skim cheeses to reduce calories. It is a great side dish for the holidays or main dish for  quick  weekday dinner. Definitely , not your typical mac & cheese.

Ingredients:

1 lb pasta such as shells, rotelle or penne, cooked “al dente”
1 cup tomato pasta sauce
1/2 cup Ricotta cheese
1/2 cup pepper-jack cheese shredded
1/2 cup Jarlsberg shredded
1/2 cup Queso Fresco chopped
3 Tbls grated Pecorino Romano
2 Tbls butter

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cook pasta nearly “al dente”, drain. DO NOT RINSE PASTA! and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the tomato sauce first, mix well. then incorporate the pepper-jack, the Jarlsberg and the Queso Fresco. Mix in the ricotta. Arrange pasta on a baking dish, spread to a thickness of 1 to 1 and 1/2 inches not more. Put the butter on top and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on serving dishes, sprinkle with Pecorino Romano and enjoy!