Comfort Foods

Frances Janisch

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Craving something salty, cheesy, greasy, or generally evil? Save yourself the guilt and whip up one of our good-for-you versions of your favorite bad-for-you recipes. With healthy recipes for chocolate chip cookies, macaroni and cheese, and even pizza, now you can eat what you want and lose weight, too.

Macaroni and Cheese

2 1/2 cups dried radiatore, rotelle, or elbow macaroni (8 ounces)

2 cups reduced-fat (2 percent) milk

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup American cheese, cubed

1/2 cup coarsely crushed seasoned croutons

2 tablespoons finely shredded parmesan cheese

Make it: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and return to pot.

Meanwhile, in a large screw-top jar, combine 1 cup of the milk, flour, mustard, salt, and pepper; cover and shake until combined. Pour into a medium saucepan. Stir in remaining 1 cup milk. Cook and stir over medium heat just until bubbly. Reduce heat to low. Add cheddar cheese and American cheese, stirring until melted. Pour sauce over pasta, stirring until combined. Spoon into a 1-1/2-quart casserole.

Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. In a small bowl, stir together croutons and Parmesan cheese; sprinkle over casserole. Bake, uncovered, about 5 minutes more, or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.