Sometimes necessity leads to great creativity. Tonight I needed to use up as much produce as possible, leading to Clean Out the Fridge Pasta.
While 1/2 pound pasta cooked in boiling water, I melted 3 Tbsp butter in a medium pot over medium heat. I added 6 spring onions (sliced) and 1 pint button mushrooms (quartered). Once the onions and mushrooms softened, I added 1/2 a poblano pepper (diced) and continued to cook the vegetables for about 2 minutes. Then I stirred in 2 Tbsp whole wheat flour and cooked the mixture for another minute. The flour forms a paste around the vegetables. I added 1 1/2 C skim milk, stirring until the flour and milk combine to form a thick sauce. I added 2 deli slices of pepper jack cheese and 1/4 C shredded cheddar, reduced the heat to low, and stirred until the cheese was incorporated. Finally, I added the cooked pasta, 1 large tomato (chopped), and 1/2 C peas (thawed, if frozen). I sprinkled 3 slices of crisped bacon (crumbled) over the pasta and served warm.
The mild pepper is even mellower in this milk-based sauce, and the other vegetables lend fresh notes to this twist on mac and cheese. Conveniently, this pasta dish freezes well, so I packaged single servings in small containers for easy lunches.