| • 2 Tbs vegetable oil |
| • 1 red bell pepper, chopped |
| • 1 onion, chopped |
| • 1 clove garlic, minced |
| • 2 cups frozen corn |
| • 1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained |
| • ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes |
| • ¼ tsp cumin powder |
| • ¼ tsp chili powder |
| • 4 ounces (one cup) elbow macaroni |
| • 1½ cups unsweetened almond milk |
| • 1 Tbs margarine or butter |
| • 1 Tbs all-purpose flour |
| • 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Montery Jack cheese |
| • 1 slice whole wheat bread, torn to ½-inch pieces |
| 1: Cook and drain macaroni according to package instructions. | |
| 2: Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a three-quart baking dish (deep oval Corning). | |
| 3: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, onion and garlic. Cook and stir 5 minutes. Add beans and cook five minutes. Add corn, salt, cumin, and chili powder. Reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes or until corn thaws. Stir in macaroni. Set aside. | |
| 4: Heat milk in a small saucepan over low heat. | |
| 5: Melt margarine in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour to make a paste. Gradually stir in milk. Cook and stir until slightly thickened. Gradually stir in cheese. Cook and stir over low heat until cheese melts. | |
| 6: Stir cheese sauce into macaroni mixture. Mix well. | |
| 7: Spoon into prepared baking dish. Sprinkle bread pieces over casserole. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly. Set stand 5 minutes before serving. |
Using Canola oil, the complete pan comes to 1,720 calories. Makes four servings, officially, at 430 calories each.
This ended up pretty bland. Salt would probably help it. (We took the ½ tsp of salt out, figuring that the beans had some.) Also, we dressed it with green Tabasco and a dash of Srirachi, and that helped it a lot.
Adapted from the "Favorite Name Brand Vegetarian Main Dishes" cookbook. Original recipe called for a cup of sliced mushrooms rather than the beans, and for some jalapeño pepper.