Grandpa's Mac N Cheese

I remember my mom making baked macaroni and cheese for me when I was little. Of course, at the time I preferred the chemical orange boxed version.

Fortunately my taste buds have matured (even if I haven't) and I now LOVE my Grandpa Lysinger's recipe for baked macaroni and cheese.

A few years ago I managed to get my Aunt Dixie to find the recipe so I could have a copy and it has since become a favorite of everyone I've ever cooked for (which is a pretty big list, actually).

As we get older and our ability to keep our waistline the size we wish diminishes, I have been trying to make some of the good ol' comfort food a bit healthier.

The recipe as I received it is:

Preheat oven to 350.

7oz elbow macaroni (about 2 cups uncooked)
Cook macaroni according to package directions. While it is cooking, combine the following ingredients:

2 cups small curd cottage cheese
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 slightly beaten egg
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash pepper
8oz shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Add macaroni, stir & pour into baking dish. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for about 45 minutes.
I made a few changes, substituting whole wheat macaroni, low-fat cottage cheese, low-fat sour cream and reduced fat cheddar.

I also like to sprinkle a little chili powder in addition to the paprika.

I made the first batch with just cottage cheese since I was out of sour cream, and it was still pretty darn good. After my grocery store trip today I added a little sour cream to the remainder and it's quite tasty.