Alligator In Wonderland: Mac and Cheese with Secret Veggies

I wanted Mac'n'Cheese. I didn't want to break my streak of eating healthy. So I compromised. I knew there had to be a way to make cheese sauce using pureed veggies but wasn't finding anything on the internets. So I did what people must have done before google and I improvised. It turned out pretty well, if I don't say so myself. What I ended up with was a sauce that was versatile and forgiving. A cheese sauce that doesn't break or rely on cream or butter or flour to hold it together. You could use other vegetables like sweet potatoes or butternut squash I chose cauliflower and carrots.

Ingredients

Half a head of cauliflower
two cups baby carrots (or cut whole carrots)
1/2 a medium sized onion peeled halved
four and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
two cups whole milk, warmed
18 ounces pasta (elbow Macaroni or other shaped that will hold sauce well)
pot with water enough water to boil pasta
one pan to roast cauliflower and bake pasta

optional

1/2 pound beanie wienies (or other cooked meat)
2 cups mustard greens ( or other veggies) I like the spicy mustard flavor with mac'n'cheese.

Start by roasting cauliflower and onion at 350 for about 20-25 minutes or until just soft and browned.

Boil pasta; only cook it till it is barely done. Leave it just a little under done and it will cook the rest of the way in the oven. .

While pasta is boiling put raw carrots, roast cauliflower, onion, four cups of cheese , and milk in Blendtec. Blend on Soups setting. (If you do not have a high powered blender roast all veggies and heat milk to just boiling. Blend until smooth with regular blender/food processor or immersion blender)

The resulting sauce should be thick and a little grainy. Taste it. It tastes like cheese covered cauliflower, so nummy. If you want to make any changes to the flavor do so now. You can also add more cheese if you want ,the base can take it, just pulse it in until it's smooth.

Drain the pasta. Put the pasta in your baking pan. Mix in any other desired ingredients (Meat and veggies) in. Cover all of it with sauce mixing in around to coat everything. Pour more sauce on top and cover with 1/2 cup cheese. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until pasta is soft and cheese is melted.

Serve and enjoy!