I came to this recipe through fellow Calgarian Julie VanRosendaal of Dinner With Julie, and she found it through the New York Times. Julie made a few changes, and I, in turn, have made my own.

This is what one pound of grated cheese looks like.

This mac and cheese is easy; blend, stir, bake, stir, bake and stir a little more, and then you’re done. Cool. The changes I’ve made add a bit more flavour and more vitamins. I swapped half the cheddar for double smoked cheddar; brilliant. Yum.

I also roasted up some cubed butternut squash with some rosemary, and mixed that in with everything. Finally, I topped the dish with a generous sprinkling of breadcrumbs, so I could have the nice, crusty top that I do love.

Smokey Easy Mac & Chees(ey)

1 cup full-fat cottage cheese
2 cups full-fat milk
1 tsp dry mustard
Pinch ground nutmeg
½ tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ lb. medium cheddar, grated
½ lb. smoked cheddar, grated

½ lb. dry elbow pasta

2½ cups cubed butternut squash
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp minced rosemary leaves

1 tbsp butter, in chunks

¼ cup breadcrumbs

Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a large casserole dish.

Combine all the cheeses, milk, and spices in a binder and blend until you have a big ol’ cheesy milkshake.

Toss the butternut squash with the canola oil and rosemary leaves.

Pour the cheesey purée over the pasta in the casserole dish and stir. Cover with foil and bake. I’d really recommend using foil, and not the lid for the casserole dish, as the sauce tends to bubble up and fuse the lid to the pot, which is very difficult to pry off when the dish is north of 350°F.

Bake the pasta for 90 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Roast the butternut squash in the oven along with the pasta, stirring along with the pasta.

After 75 minutes, stir one more time and mix in the butternut squash and the butter pieces. Bake uncovered for the last 15 minutes after sprinkling with the breadcrumbs.

Serves 6–8. Yum!