Dinner Tonight

I have been missing in action on the blog, but have been cooking up a storm and been taking lots of pics, so here goes tonight's healthy dinner....
Roasted Chicken and Asparagus, and Mac 'n Cheese
Chicken legs are always on sale for .99cents/pound, so I use them often because of price point, moistness, and high iron level (I'm a regular blood donor!!) I almost always skin my chicken, and then I rubbed with Lawrys, garlic and lemon pepper. If time, I usually throw in a zip lock and use a little olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic and assortment of herbs that I have on hand. Anything will do. I didn't have time tonight, so hence the seasonings. No salt and pepper necessary. I decided to grill on my grill pan first, as I like the look and taste of grill marks.

I then threw them on a baking sheet and roasted at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.
Next comes the Mac 'n Cheese. Now, some of you might be surprised by this being on my menue, but once you see the "sneaks" in it, you will understand why I allow it....
This recipe is Ellie Kreiger, the nutrition chef on Food Network:

Step one is measure and weigh out your ingredients. I could not find squash puree in two grocery stores, so I cut up a butternut squash, you can easily buy ready to go at Trader Joes or Costco, and then I steamed for about 15 minutes. I drained the squash and poured milk into the same pot adding back the squash. Brought to simmer, as stated in the recipe, and then pureed.

Meanwhile, bring pasta, whole wheat, of course, to a boil.

Mix pasta and sauce, place in baking dish and top with bread crumbs topping as given in recipe.

Twenty minutes into chicken baking, put mac in the oven as well.
I then heated my second oven to 450 degrees. If you don't have the luxury of two, then when you pull out chicken and pasta, up temp. I placed my cleaned asparagus on baking sheet, sprinkling with a little olive oil and tossing and then sprinkling with some parmesan cheese. Roast in oven for 5-10 minutes.
Dinner is complete....