Take your mac to a whole new level…and eat some veggies too!

What you need:

• 4 tbsp flour
• 4 tbsp butter
• 3 cups milk
• 3, 8oz pieces of cheese grated (6 cups)
• A dash of nutmeg
• Salt + Pepper
• 1 pound radiatore pasta 
• 2-3 winter squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
• Oil

Preheat oven to 400 F

Lightly oil squash halves and lay cut side down on baking hseet, bake for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, get your pasta water going, and cook pasta al dente. Grate all the cheese. You will get about 6 cups, reserve 1 cup for the topping.

Then make a bechamel  sauce (this is the secret to gooey mac):

 In a large pot melt the butter over medium high. Add the flour and cook  for 2-3 minutes until large bubbles form. Then gradually add 3 cups of milk  into the sauce. Do this is half cup increments. When the sauce thickens enough that when you draw your spoon across the bottom of the pan and you can see the bottom, then it is time to add more milk. 

Once you’ve created a nice thick bechamel sauce, add a dash of nutmeg and season. Take off heat and stir in the grated cheese. At this point your pasta should be ready! Add the pasta and stir to coat. Then fill your squash halves with the mac.

Bake for about 15 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the top is golden. Serve warm!

If you are cooking for less than 6 people, you can cool and freeze the stuffed squash before baking. Then simple bake frozen when you want to enjoy them.